*REVIEW** Sunfood MSM Lotion

 My psoriasis, which was doing better all winter - as it generally does - decided to flare up a while back. Another patient I chatted with at the infusion clinic told me about using MSM-based products topically. She says that she uses her gel-based product mostly for pain relief but noticed that it is very hydrating and healing to the small patches of eczema she has.

I had no idea what MSM actually is though I have seen supplements advertised online so I tried looking up topical versions. Most results were for brands only hawking their own products so I took this from a GPT response: 

MSM lotion refers to a topical skincare product that contains methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) as one of its key ingredients. MSM is a naturally occurring compound that contains sulfur, which is important for the formation of collagen, connective tissues, and healthy skin.

MSM lotions are often used for various skin conditions and skincare purposes. Some of the potential benefits associated with MSM lotion include:

Moisturization: MSM lotion can help hydrate the skin, keeping it soft and supple.

Soothing properties: It may have soothing effects on irritated or inflamed skin, making it suitable for conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, or acne.

Anti-aging effects: MSM is believed to promote collagen production, which can help improve the elasticity and firmness of the skin, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Scar reduction: Some people use MSM lotion to minimize the appearance of scars, including surgical scars or those resulting from injuries.

Joint support: While MSM lotions are primarily used for skincare, MSM is also known for its potential joint-supporting properties. Although the lotion is not directly absorbed into the joints, some people believe that MSM applied topically can indirectly benefit joint health by reducing inflammation in the surrounding tissues.

MSM lotions are available in various formulations and concentrations, so it's important to follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer. As with any skincare product, it's advisable to perform a patch test before using it on a larger area of the body, especially if you have sensitive skin or known allergies. If you have specific skin concerns or medical conditions, it's recommended to consult with a dermatologist or healthcare professional for personalized advice.

(Note that I highlighted some of the more pertinent bits and added the link to Wikipedia.)

Deciding to give a lotion a try, the problem I had was finding something affordable that seemed to be of a "clean" formula. Depending on the patch test, I could be out some money. After looking at several brands and types (I didn't want a gel or anything with scent or a lot of added ingredients.), I found this one from Sunfood. 

8 ounces is lasting
longer than expected

Immediately after doing a patch test on the back of one hand, I thought I really might have wasted fourteen bucks - which would buy a lot of flour or a couple of packs of chicken... 

My skin wasn't irritated or anything but the lotion absorbed and dried so quickly that I was puzzled. I expected the temporary dampness that I get with some good moisturizers. Still, I wanted to see if I could use the lotion on my face and the upper part of my body (bosom and shoulders) so I applied some and then went about my business.

To be honest, after about half an hour (when I thought about it again), I realized that even though my hands were completely dry - dry enough that I hadn't been smudging paperwork and didn't actually feel the lotion at all - they were hydrated. My hands were not moist but they were not ashing up when I scratched them with my fingernails. They were dry but hydrated - this is the best description.

Notice the top 2 ingredients

This is going to sound weird but this lotion provides a kind of "dry moisture". After using it, my skin is not moist but well-hydrated. This is almost like the Embryolisse face cream, which has the same dry moisture effect. But the MSM lotion effects last longer.  

For the week that I've been using the lotion, I have been able to whittle down my skincare routine from 5 items (sunscreen, serum, toner, hyaluronic acid, and face cream) to 3 (sunscreen, this lotion, and toner). If I want to be real, I could actually do without the toner. It and the hyaluronic acid were to help my face hold onto the moisture of the face cream...

The big test for me was how well this would work overnight. Normally, as a night routine, I use one of my face creams topped with a light touch of German-made Nivea cream. As much as I love my Nivea, the MSM lotion did fine all by itself - at least during this summer weather. I can't wait to see how it does during the super-dry winter months.

These are all positives

What I really like most about this lotion is how good it makes my skin feel. In just the short time I've been using it, my face has held onto the hydration during the entire day. That one rough elbow I have? It's so much smoother. The small patches of psoriasis near my ankles? The worst patch began looking better after about Day 3 and both patches felt better immediately. (I'd show you Before and After photos of my ankles if I wasn't so embarrassed by the Before pics.)

I have said this before and might do so again, but this lotion is a game-changer for me. I was subscribed to the Embryolisse but I'm going to replace that with a Subscribe and Save on this MSM lotion. I do love, love, love the Embryolisse but it does nothing for my psoriasis and it's not quite as hydrating as this lotion. My only complaint about the MSM lotion is that I can only find the 8-ounce size bottles for this brand.

There are several brands and forms of MSM moisturizers. I don't know anything about taking a supplement internally. I take enough meds so I will stick with this topical lotion! 

As always, I am not giving healthcare advice or suggesting this for anyone else's use. I am simply relating my personal experience with a product I really do like. Also, I was not compensated in any way. The lotion was bought and paid for by me.

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** J.R. Watkins Daily Moisturizing Lotion

Don't you love it when you are having a rough day and something good and unexpected happens? That's why I'm in a better mood tonight than I was when I woke up this morning.

I won't go into why my day started out so crappy, but it got worse when I had to make an emergency run over to Walmart to get some clog buster for the bathroom. I am telling you, this week just started and it is trying to be a doozy.

Anyway, I get over to the store and have to search 3 shelves to find the correct product to clear the drain. So many choices! And I noticed a white bottle that looks out of place among all the Drano, Liquid Plumber, Mr. Plumr, etc., and decided to take a peek. It sure didn't belong on the cleaning aisle:

Man! Talk about flashing back to my younger years!

The last time I saw anything other than extract and some spices from the Watkins label was... well, never. I do remember one of my aunts or someone using a salve that might have been from Watkins but, mostly, I remember all the cakes and gravies that my mother and her friends made using a Watkins product. (I especially can recall the vanilla extract that I was taught to use with baby powder as a fragrance!)

Since some other shopper had obviously put this bottle of lotion down in the wrong part of the store, I had no idea how much it might cost. I put it aside in my basket, thinking that I would just do a price check later. I had some other items to pick up - you know how it is: since I was there - and was already thinking I was going to go over the daily budget.

Guess what good and unexpected thing happened next? When I was slipping my phone back into my purse, I found a twenty stuck in the side pocket. Found money! That almost never happens to me. First thing I did was get tickled and make some other shoppers give me the side eye. I was thinking about a joke a comedian told about Bill Gates: "For someone that rich to get excited about finding forgotten money in a coat pocket, they'd have to find something like four million dollars!" No doubt.

Well, found money or no, I should have tucked it back into the purse until another rainy day, but... There was that lotion.

Maybe it was nostalgia, but I just had to have that lotion. Of course, my sneaky behind was going to try to free the pump and sample it right then and there. You know, just in case I hated it or something. I couldn't be smooth enough about getting the pump turned open, so I just went ahead and bought the bottle. One thing about Walmart, they don't mind doing refunds. Trust me, I know.


Once I got the lotion open. I was so happy that I had splurged some of my found money. The smell alone took me right back to my mother's kitchen on the days she'd make one of her lemon meringue pies. I never even liked those pies that much, but the smell...!!! Heavenly. Come to think of it, that's probably why I like lemon-scented candles so much.

Of course, the thing with scents and fragrances in moisturizers is that they might be overwhelming or - even worse - they might irritate the skin. Lord knows, I don't need that. I already have a rash on my ankles that my doctor is going to be checking out at my next appointment.

I made sure to test this lotion on one arm first. The smell, lovely as it is, doesn't really linger as strongly as it applies. I'd say that it evens out to faint and almost vanilla-tinged odor after about five minutes. The lotion actually moisturizes like a heavier cream formula and left a subtle wax-softness that would make my touch feel pleasant to someone else.

The one thing that puzzles me is the label's statement about the lotion being "99% natural".

no parabens, phthalates, propylene glycol or dyes.

Looking at the label of ingredients, I can't really discern what isn't natural until I squint. I think it must be the acetate they are talking about. Or maybe one of the other ingredients mentioned near the end of the list?

What I do know is that this feels so good as an all-over moisturizer. You know that wonderful feeling you get after a shower when you jump into freshly laundered sheets? Well, that feeling ramps up a notch if you're all smoothed up and smelling good with this lotion.

Another nice thing about the lotion is that the moisture does last. I didn't pay much attention at first but, when I washed my hands about an hour or so after applying, I could feel the lotion coming off in the water. Later, I did try to pay attention to how long it lasted and I know that it lasted at least another three hours (maybe more), but then I had to wash my hands again. The lotion that I applied to the rest of my body was fine all day - meaning I wasn't dry that evening. I can tell by how dry my calves are. Usually, depending on the weather, I might have to re-apply some moisture (usually one of my oils) to my legs at least once or they will be a bit dry at bedtime. I think that's because my jeans rub against them.

Because this lotion brought back so many memories of J. R. Watkins products, I had to go take a peek at their website. I downloaded a catalog and for my niece's upcoming birthday, I'm going to get some of the extracts and laundry soap. That doesn't sound like an exciting birthday gift, but she also remembers my mother (her "Grammy") using Watkins stuff. I think she will be pleased with the gift basket.

When my niece gets to try some of the other products, I will be sure to come back and do a post on them.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair

My Influenster Vox Box came the other day so I got to try out Vaseline's Intensive Care Advanced Repair.

my thanks to Influenster

When I first looked over the label, other than wanting to rap the rhyming name of this lotion ...

Gimme a beat!

"Intensive care

Advanced Repair"

see the little droplets?

... I noticed that that the product is contains "micro-droplets pf Vaseline Jelly". That put me off a little because I always get a too-shiny look from Vaseline Jelly. I don't like that too-shiny look. For one thing, I am too dark skinned to walk around shining like new money. (My nickname is Penny, after all...)

Because I am all about giving peace products a chance, and because having a shine that will wash off is not the worst thing that can happen and because I took an especially warm shower that dried out my skin... I went ahead with the dry skin test.

Oh, yeah. Forgot to tell you about that. Included in my Vox Box was a little "diagnostic tool". Okay, that might have come out sounding too techy. The tool is really just a card with a couple of detachable strips to test the Before and After state of my skin. It was pretty cool.

my skin wasn't too bad..

While I liked this when I first put it on, I did feel that it was not nearly moisturizing enough. I mean, this is winter time when my skin tends to dry out LOTS. I did go ahead and continue to use this for the week, just to give it a fair trial. Surprisingly, the more I used it, the better it seemed to work. By about Day Three, I noticed that my knees (one of the "ashier" parts of my body) didn't seem as dry by bedtime. My elbows didn't do quite as well. They weren't as dry as usual, but my glycerin does better (and that may be because I tend to lean on my elbows when sitting at a table to write or read). Still, I like the overall results of this lotion after some regular use.

The one thing I don't like is that this is a little bit shiny on the skin when applied. It takes about fice or six minutes before that shine goes away. I still detected a little bit of a sheen afterwards. That fading of the shiny-ness might be from the lotion absorbing into the skin.Maybe? However, as far as effectiveness, I didn't get immediate results, but there was improvement with regular application. I wasn't crazy about the smell, but it's not very strong and it does fade.

My feet are the absolute desert of my body. That was sort of an accidental test for how this lotion works better with continued use. Since I was using the lotion on the rest of my body, I also used it on these dawgs of mine. Every night, I moisturize my feet either with glycerin or petroleum jelly, then put on socks. This will allow me to get through most of the next day without having to re-moisturize my feet. While I was testing out this lotion, I skipped the other products because, well, basically I'm lazy. By bedtime, I just want to get bedded down quick as I can so I can watch TV and crash. What I noticed after a few days of using the Intensive Care is that my feet were still pretty decent by the next night. I still used more lotion and the socks, but there was that improvement.

For my body care needs, I don't think that I will trade my regular moisturizer for this one, but I am going to keep using it on my feet.

If you are willing to give this a try, make sure to give it at least a few days before you judge results. It could depend on the type of climate you live in. In ours (cold outside, too warm and dry inside), I needed time to get results but once I did, well, I was kind of impressed. I do wish the lotion didn't leave that shine though.

Peace
--Free

**UPDATE** My sister used this for a couple of days and says she doesn't like it. She says it's nice when it goes on but does not last long at all. The main thing she doesn't like is that it feels "thin" to her. She actually uses another Vaseline lotion so I was surprised when she disliked this one.  The other lotion she uses is her favorite because it lasts so long and leaves her hands soft even after washing.

DISCLOSURE:
I received this product at no cost in exchange for a fair and honest review.

**REVIEW** Kiehl's Creme de Corps (lotion)

From my wonderful L'Oreal box of goodies, I picked out a couple of faves. I've already reviewed 5 Sec Blur from Garnier. My other fave? This lotion from Kiehl's:

It's good stuff. Just as promised by the site's info, the lotion is non-greasy and hydrating. I was kind of surprised at how well it worked when I used it. For one thing, it doesn't seem as thick as some other "rich" lotions out there. It feels a little wetter.

PROS:

• Takes very little to get results
• Gives skin a nice softness that lasts all day long
• No unpleasant odor (I smelled nothing)
• Has a squeeze top - not  a pump (great for packing!)
• Comes in sizes from 2.5oz - 1 liter (that one has a pump)
• On-site reviews claim that it does improve skin texture over time

CONS:

• Pricey (from $11 to $75)

As usual, I didn't read all the suggestions for use before I, uh, used the product. I just slapped some on and rubbed it in. Turns out, there's a little tip for better results (I guess): apply lotion and let it "soak in" before dressing. That makes sense, if I applied more of it, but I'm being stingy to make the bottle last. I apply it the same as I do any other lotion - meaning I just apply it and go.
Maybe I'll try the "soak" application one day. Right now, it's all I can do to find time to shower and moisturize at all.

I've talked here before about the state of my extremely dry feet. This lotion works well enough to make my feet feel good. (I've been drinking more water lately, so that could be a contributing factor.) Because I'm a fanatic about moisturizing, I don't let my skin get too dry in the first place but, if I had to rate this lotion, I'd say that it does work really well. Since I haven't been using the "soak" method, I can tell you that it doesn't take much of it to moisturize from the shoulders down. My hands are almost as dry as my feet (almost, sort of) because I tend to wash and sanitize them throughout the day. The Kiehl's does soothe that dryness instantly, and the results last a long time.

I don't know if I will be able to buy this lotion often but, if I could, I would. The price is in a neighborhood I reserve for shoes and purses: $29.50 for the 8.4 oz bottle I received. However, there are a variety of sizes so the $11 2.5 oz bottle would be a nice to have in one of those purses.

If you have super-dry skin and are looking for a good lotion, this might be worth it. The reviews from customers (on the brand site) are very favorable.

By the way, I noticed that Kiehl's has a facial cream. Interesting. I'm going to have to see if I can get my hands on a sample...

Peace
--Free