Remember the last time you tried an amazing store sample body butter? After the initial "awe" of this creamy sampling, you walked around the store feeling soft and sexy. Every moment became more engrossing as you continued to smell and feel your hands again and again. "This is fabulous", you quietly exclaimed to yourself. "I love it. I am going to buy it", and you proceed to the check out.
But, somewhere in this incredible experience, usually on your ride home, you begin to notice your hands are feeling a little dry again. Sometimes they feel dryer than they were before you put on your new beloved lotion sample. What?!
This doesn't make sense. Where is my moist buttery feel? I was so into this experience.
Actually, it makes perfect sense when you understand alcohol's used in lotions, more specifically SD alcohol, denatured alcohol, or, less often, isopropyl alcohol (not fatty alcohols like cetyl, stearyl, and cetearyl which are not considered harmful). When you see the names of these volatile alcohols listed among the first six ingredients on an ingredient label, without question they will aggravate and be cruel to your skin. No way around that, it's simply bad for all skin types. Consequences include dryness, erosion of the surface of the skin and a strain on how the skin replenishes, renews, and rejuvenates itself.
Pull the lotions out of your bathroom and read the labels. Did you know that the primary ingredients in most lotions are alcohols, petroleum, mineral oil, and numerous other ingredients that you may need a chemical dictionary to understand. They are designed to create dependency; so that you are constantly re-hydrating all day long. Why would lotion manufactures with millions of dollars in Research and Development consistently develop products that remove moisture (usually within the hour) stripping your skin of its natural oils? It seems counter intuitive, right?