You know when your skin is dry and you scratch it, and it leaves a white mark? That's what my hands can be like. Not only dry but old-looking. I decided to take better care of my hands because it was starting to be such a turn-off to look at them (well, a turn-off for me..I'd look at them and go, "Euuuw." Not good.)

I consider my hands to be Extra Dry, although not so dry that it cracks. I decided to keep lotion by my desk so I could put it on all day. I wanted something that would last awhile and wasn't in a big heavy tub. At a local drugstore, I found Jergens Ultra Healing Lotion. It comes in a sleek white plastic bottle and costs less than 4 bucks. It promises to soften and heal, and the effects should last 24 hours. It also said that it was meant for people with dry skin. Hey, that's me!

On the back label, this is what it says:

"Extra Dry Skin" needs a fast-acting lotion with maximum healing power to provide lasting relief. Jergens Ultra Healing lotion provides fast relief and leaves extra dry skin looking and feeling touchably soft and healthy. This long-lasting formula, which contains pantented lipids (ISCE & SPLE), penetrates beneath the surface of extra dry skin to heal it from within.

Okay, that sounds great. But what's an ISCE and SPLE? This is what Jergens has to say:

ISCE - a patented form of a natural lipid that helps improve the moisture-retaining ability of the skin.

SPLE - a pantented form of a natural lipid that reduces scaling and restores your skin's fine texture.

How It Worked For Me

One thing I can say about this lotion is that it does absorb very quickly. It's very lightweight. It's a white lotion that has a mild scent that I can't describe. It's not a floral or musk or fruit-scented. It smells like what lotion used to smell like back before Bath & Body Works and Body Shop decided to make things smell like something in particular.

The problem with Jergens Ultra Healing Lotion is that it doesn't make much of a difference to the skin. It goes on smoothly and although I can feel it on my hands, I can still scratch my skin and see a tiny bit of white, especially in this one dry patch by my wrist. It doesn't matter how much I put on. The little tale they tell that the lotion lasts 24 hours is bogus. Before the hour is up, my skin goes back to being akin to the alligators.

I've tried using this lotion every day for the past month. I only use it at work. I find that there is no difference to my skin and it remains dry. It doesn't even feel particularly soft.

What has worked for me, and this is a completely different review, is Aquaphor. It is really worth the money, and had I not been feeling cheap when I bought the Jergens lotion, I should've just splurged on something that really would've made a difference.

Ingredients

water, glycerin, cetearyl alcohol, petrolatum, mineral oil, ceteareth-20, cetyl-pg hydroxyethyl palmitamide, cholesteryl isostearate, allantoin, dimethicone, cyclomethicone, glyceryl diluarate, stearic acid, aluminum starch octenylsuccinate, sodium carbomer, methylparaben, propylparaben, dmdm hydantoin, fragrance

Water is good. Glycerin is a humectant that does draw moisture, so that's good. Cetearyl alcohol is an emulsifier or a thickner. Petrolatum is the stuff Vaseline is made out of, and it does help the skin. Mineral oil is derived from petroleum. Ceteareth-20 is another thickner. The cetyl-pg hydroxyethyl palmitamide and cholesteryl isostearate are the two ingredients they claim they have a patent on (the above mentioned ISCE and SPLE). Allantoin is supposed to be an anti-irritant. Dimethicone and cyclomethicone are silicones and make the skin have that nice feel...it's similar to anti-frizz serums some people use in their hair (like me!). I'm going to end there because what's important are the main ingredients. So, as you can tell, the ingredient list isn't bad, but somehow it just doesn't do the job as well as, say, if you were to slather Vaseline on your hands and put on some cotton gloves.

Summary
Jergens Ultra Healing is neither healing or effective for extra dry skin. I don't even think it would make a difference for plain old dry skin. Perhaps if your skin is already fine and you just wanted to add a little something because you washed your hands, then it probably is suitable. However, if you have dry skin that needs a super shot of moisture and emergency relief, there are other brands that do a much better job.



Recommended: No