Wednesday 28 November 2018

The #MyAquaphor Challenge

Winter is coming, and the prospect isn’t pleasing. It’s the time of year when the fuel bills rocket while the house sags under the weight of laundry drying indoors. The children are marching school germs and slimy footprints everywhere and the bathroom is arctic when you go for a midnight wee. And as if that wasn’t enough, my hands are cracking apart. But not just my hands - my kids’ hands too. All that beautiful baby-soft skin, unworn by a lifetime of gardening, sunburn and air-conditioning, is on the fast train to calamity.

Everything today's schoolkid needs

They don’t help themselves, of course. It’s bad enough that they don’t dry properly after hand-washing, but then they leave their gloves on the table when they go out to play in the cold and damp. At least mine aren’t warming their hands on the radiators, but it’s only a matter of time.

Such dermatological abuse means one thing: a house full of dry, cracked and irritated skin.

Moisturiser alone is not enough: if the skin can’t retain the moisture, it’s still going to dry out. I’m embarrassed to say that it took me a long time to work this out, but at least I now know that once the clocks go back, it’s time to dig out the water-free balm.

As you can imagine then, when Netmums asked if I’d like to try Eucerin’s Aquaphor soothing skin balm, I bit their (soft, smooth) hand clean off.

For the uninitiated, Aquaphor’s water-free formula was introduced more than 90 years ago, making it a tried and tested classic. It has only seven ingredients, thus minimising the likelihood of allergy. Of those ingredients, perhaps the most important is glycerin, which is proven to improve skin regeneration and improve the skin’s natural barrier function. Once applied, the semi-permeable barrier that it provides can regulate the natural rate of water vapor loss and help the skin to retain the moisture it needs.

Well, that’s the science. In layman’s terms, it’s a waxy affair that the skin needs a few minutes to absorb, so if you need to finger your fancy curtains, be sure to do so BEFOREHAND!

I applied some about an hour ago, and while I’m now completely touch dry, I can still really feel the layer of protection on the tips of my fingers. I can imagine Nordic fishermen smearing this round their chops before a long December day in the North Sea - it really is that good.

The other great thing about Aquaphor is that it is totally versatile. If I’m going away for a weekend, I can leave my lip balm at home, meaning I’ve one less thing to forget. It’s also useful for skin prone to rubbing and blisters or other skin damage due to frequent exercise, as well as chafing and sensitive baby skin - and way more besides.

But why take my word for it? After all, I’m no skincare expert and I’ve been given a free tube - perhaps I’m biased. I asked my son to provide an independent review, and here’s what he had to say.


Could you ask for a better recommendation than that?!

This post is an entry for the BritMums #MyAquaphor Challenge, sponsored by Eucerin.
Discover the benefits of Eucerin

2 comments:

  1. He's brilliant and looks super smart in the video!!! Well done Billy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great to hear how you got on and to see the video too. Commenting for myself and on behalf of BritMums and thanking you for taking part

    ReplyDelete