Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream

Image from neutrogena.com

When our housekeeper went home for a month-long vacation in January, my mother and I divided the housework among ourselves. Other women deal with this situation by covering their furniture with plastic or making their family members wear slippers inside the home, but for Mother of Shryh, it was business as usual. Business as usual meant the house gets dusted, vacuumed and mopped every morning without exception. I came away from the experience with a greater respect for my mother's housekeeping and a calloused right hand. I knew my hands were going to suffer, and I tried to keep rough skin at bay by moisturizing them several times a day with an old staple -- a L'Occitane Shea Butter hand cream. It was no match for work-roughened hands (although it made them smell great) so I decided to just let my hands heal in time.

It is March, however, and the callouses have outstayed their welcome. In desperation, I picked up a tube of Aquaphor ointment at Target, hazily remembering an online discussion of its wonderful dry-skin banishing properties, and squeezed a dollop onto my palms the second I got into the car. I massaged it into my skin and my dry cuticles, only to realize in seconds what a mistake that was -- the ointment coated my hand with a greasy petroleum-jelly film. As it wasn't a moisturizer, it sat on my skin like an oil slick and refused to be absorbed.

I'm having much better luck with the Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream, which was purchased only two days ago. The initial application caused a brief panic when I noticed that the thick cream was nearly the same consistency as the Aquaphor. The cream was not immediately absorbed into my skin and left a thin whitish film all over my hands. To my great relief, the whitish cast soon disappeared and the difference it made was felt immediately. For the first time in months my hands felt smooth and touchable. The cream softened the dry, flaky skin on my right palm and I felt like I was wearing silk gloves, a sensation which persisted even after I washed my hands. I have tried several hand creams before and while they were excellent moisturizers, Neutrogena's Norwegian Formula Hand Cream is the first to make me believe that my hands are actually being protected.

At less than US$5.00, Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream is an affordable yet effective hand cream that I cannot recommend highly enough. If you have dry, chapped skin, look no further and get a tube at your nearest drugstore like Walgreens, Guardian's or Watson's.