The Gift That Everyone Wants This Year!

Day 2: BC Spa Manicure Extreme Repair Hand Creme

Hello to all, and welcome to Day 2!

Thank-you all for the encouragement and feedback from yesterday's post. Thank-you for taking the time to read it, and most importantly, thank-you for coming back today!!! If you watched the YouTube video or read Gary's blog that was linked at the end, then it's probably no surprise to you that today's product is a natural follow-up to the Instant Manicure. That said, this hand creme shines in its own right, with or without the Instant Manicure.

When I first became a consultant and attended BeautiYOU (free training/refresher for consultants and guests – let me know if you want to come learn about products old and new!), I was told to try as many products as I could, but to pick 3 that were my all-time favourites. I know that this was so that I would know what to recommend to my clients, but over time this became a challenge as new products were released, and as I tried different items, my top 3 would change from day to day! Clients have asked, and I've answered honestly every time with products I love, but sometimes I'm just not prepared for the question and I choose at random. That said, this is hands-down (see what I did there?!) always on the list.

As long as I can remember, I've been obsessed with hand creme. Literally, I would have between 2-8 different tubes in my purse at any moment in time, and I would apply it without abandon. For me it's not about having soft hands, but rather my hands get VERY dry (summer or winter, it's all the same to my hands!) so I look for the most moisture with the least amount of grease (I have enough of that on my face by the end of the day, if I wanted it on my hands I would just rub them across my forehead! Gross, I know. But who really likes grease? Other than bacon. Who doesn't love bacon? I digress.) Well actually, on the topic of bacon, I know vegetarians and vegans don't like it. Neither do my sisters (all 3 of them!) even though only one of them is vegetarian, but they don't count here. Neither do vegetarians or vegans, unless you can read a blog without lecturing me about the virtues of your diet over mine. Mine involves meat and sugar, with some green added for good measure (and sometimes that's just food dye), but I don't push my diet or my products on you, I ask that you do the same and we will love each other as we are, and not how we think the other person should be! BeautiControl is not vegetarian/vegan, for the record. Phew, I'm glad we got that out of the way early on! It would have been awkward on Day 188 to have to deal with it! Plus vegan or not, I'm sure hand creme tastes gross, so I wouldn't recommend eating it either way.

Right, so hand creme. The #1 question that I've been asked, is “What's with the sunscreen warning on the back?” For anyone who hasn't read the back of their Extreme Repair Hand Creme in detail, it says this: “SUNBURN ALERT: This product contains alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) that may increase your skin's sensitivity to the sun and particularly the possibility of a sunburn. Use a sunscreen, wear protective clothing, and limit sun exposure while using this product and for a week afterward.” Terrifying, right? Well to be honest, I used this product for nearly a year without ever noticing that alert. Even though it's right there, in normal-sized font. Right under the directions. Above the ingredients. In both English and French. BEGGING to be read. But I didn't, until 2 of my sisters asked about it within 24 hours of each other. Remember those non-vegetarian-but-bacon-hating-sisters? Yeah, them.

To get to this answer, first we need a lesson in acids and exfoliants. There are 2 types of exfoliants, physical and chemical. Physical exfoliants are abrasive, and take off layers of dead skin that are sitting on top (like in the Instant Manicure). Chemical exfoliants both remove some dead skin, and works to loosen the “glue” that holds those dead skin cells on, so that they come off easier. Once you exfoliate to remove the dead skin cells, the new skin underneath is more sensitive because it has never been exposed to the elements. The ingredient that this alert warns against is AHAs, which is an aggressive chemical exfoliant.

If you read the ingredients list, you'll notice that “alpha hydroxy acids” isn't on the list. Actually, it's “lactic acid” that you're looking for. Does that sound familiar? Here's my complete knowledge about lactic acid in two sentences: 1. It is an acid formed when milk sours. 2. It's what builds up in your muscles when your body burns sugar during a workout, and that's what makes you sore – eating protein and burning fat instead of sugars can help take away the pain. What's news to me is that it's actually an AHA! And since it's working to exfoliate, your hands are more prone to sunburn. That said, I have yet to meet anyone who has been affected by the AHAs in the Extreme Repair Hand Creme. BUT, better safe than sorry is BeautiControl's policy, and I love it that way! Imagine if you'd had problems and had no idea why? Not cool!

What IS cool, however, is that when you use this hand creme, you don't need to re-apply for up to 3 more hand washes! Yep, that's right! By 3 hand washes, we mean with the regular soap that you use at home. Or dish soap, like Dawn or Palmolive – the kinds that hate grease but love your hands. Industrial soap is another story. That's what I like to call the gross pink soap (or is it white or clear where you work?) that you find at schools, hospitals, most public washrooms, and government workplaces. You will probably need to re-apply after washing your hands with that awfulness. The upside is that my hands used to crack and bleed from that soap, even if I faithfully used my normal, unscented (for the workplace!) hand cream.

Since I was working for the federal government I had to use this soap a lot, and I was miserable. I couldn't bring in anything scented, due to anti-scent policies, and I couldn't find anything fragrance free that actually worked and didn't cost my left arm or the promise of my firstborn child. And then I found BeautiControl and the Extreme Repair Hand Creme. In its original formulation (the white tube), it's unscented! AND...my hands didn't bleed any more from the soap at work!!! Sure, I had to re-apply after every hand wash, but the protection that it gave me when I washed my hands was worth applying it more often than recommended. Oh, and all of my co-workers loved it too, even the ones allergic to scents/fragrance!

Not only does it prevent the dryness and chafing that comes with frequent hand washing, awful soap, dry weather, and several skin conditions (including Eczema), several clients and I have noticed that when we do get cuts on our hands, they heal MUCH faster when we use the Extreme Repair Hand Creme. While inconvenient, paper cuts no longer feel like they will stop me from working for the next several days (a bit of an over-exaggeration, I know, but how many of you have started sucking your finger as soon as you cut it, only to see it turn red and gross by the end of the work day because your saliva infected it before you could get to some home-cooked lovin' and polysporin? I know it's happened to you at least once, we're all friends here so you can admit it!).

The last thing to mention here is packaging: the larger/regular container has a nice flip-top that has never (in 2 years) popped open on my unexpectedly, and I love for its ease of use. The mini version is great because it's a cheaper cost up front (although not necessarily the most cost-effective), makes a good add-on for gifts or Christmas stockings, and is a lot lighter to carry around in your purse. BUT...the caps screws off, rather than flipping open. This is always fine for me to take off, but it took a while to master putting it back on while juggling the creme on my hands and possibly other bags/things that I'm trying to carry. In the end, I still think the smaller container is worth it for my personal use, but it is something to consider if you would rather the convenience of a flip-top on your hand creme.

In short (Haha I made another funny! Wow, I'm good!), if you take away my Instant Manicure I will be upset and cry. I'll complain a lot, but I'll live. If you can even call it living when you don't have Instant Manicure in your purse, your shower, and beside your kitchen sink. I don't. But take away my Extreme Repair Hand Creme, and I will hunt you to the ends of the Earth to get it back. And we will never EVER EVER be friends again. That's a promise. If you haven't tried it, I will gladly share. But the container will probably not leave my hands to make sure that it doesn't walk away. And if even 1 of the mini containers strategically placed around my home (or in my purse) disappears or runs out, I feel like a lost puppy outside in the winter, whose nose is cold, and whose ears are cold, and whose tail is cold. If I haven't had caffeine yet, this will probably last a good 30 minutes. That's enough about mornings and a caffeine-free existence. And definitely enough about winter. At least for today. Tomorrow's always a different story...

As always please leave comments, feedback, and questions. And share, share, SHARE with your friends. And enemies. And frenemies. Just spam everyone on your Facebook, while you're at it!

THE FACTS

Name BC Spa Manicure Instant Manicure

Item # 16069 (Regular) or 16181 (Mini)

Price $16.00 CAD/$15.00 USD (Regular) or $6.50 CAD/$6.00 USD (Mini)

Size 3.4 oz/85g (Regular) or 1 oz/28g (Mini)

Directions on Product

“Massage onto dry, chapped hands as necessary to smooth and soften.

Website Description

“The skin on your hands is especially susceptible to damage. That's why we've created BC Spa Manicure Extreme Repair Hand Creme. With this amazing product, you can soften and smooth your hands while delivering moisture to protect against dehydration and the signs of future damage.”

Beauti Book (Catalogue) Description

“Soften and smooth your hands while providing a barrier against dehydration and future damage.”

Sample Card Description

“After using Instant Manicure, apply this non-greasy creme to lock in the essential oils and nutrients and creat a “moisture glove” that will smooth hands while delivering moisture to help protect against dehydration and future damage.”

Ingredients

Water, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Urea, Stearic Acid, Lanolin Alcohol, Lactic Acid, Tartaric Acid, Allantoin, Citric Acid, Lecithin, Simethicone, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, DMDM Hydantoin, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate.

Is it on Gary's Blog?

This item itself is not featured in length. It is mentioned in yesterday's article (http://beauticontrol.typepad.com/gary/2013/05/give-a-girl-a-hand.html) as a product that compliments the Instant Manicure, it is mentioned in his article about Eczema (http://beauticontrol.typepad.com/gary/2008/02/dealing-with-ec-1.html) as a way to help treat the symptoms when combined with the Instant Manicure, and it is also in a Q&A blog (http://beauticontrol.typepad.com/gary/2008/11/your-questions-answered-1.html) which is where I learned about the oil fact.

Is there a YouTube video?!

YES! It's the same video as yesterday (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMdFNALYTDQ), start it at 1:28 to hear about the Extreme Repair Hand Creme.

Where do I find this online???

Here: www.beautipage.ca/Maryam/ ---> Bath & Body ---> Hand Care

Or this really ugly/long link: http://shop.beauticontrol.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10051&storeId=11051&productId=85406&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=23245&top_category=