November 25th, 2005

While it’s probably bad form to complain about the overwhelming effects of your weight loss the day after we all pigged out, I’m making it up to you with product reviews. As my friend Rich will attest, slimming down isn’t all happiness and joy. No such luck. Skin takes its damn sweet time catching up… Quite disturbing!

Enter my latest experiment: Firming Lotions
Initially, I planned to give each product two weeks on their own, applied twice daily. After a week I switched methods, having realized it would be hard to make adequate effectiveness comparisons. Then, I submitted to two weeks with each applied to a different body part. Yes, this is horrible science, but hey… What do you expect for free?

Nivea Skin Firming Moisturizer — This comes from a fairly respected manufacturer, and it touts the benefits of Co-Enzyme Q10. That’s a supplement I use regularly, but I’m not sure if it can cross the dermis. This was the first one that I tried. The texture is great (spreads easily), it has a strong but pleasant smell, and doesn’t leave a funky feel, but the actual firming effects were not noticable.

Dove Intensive Firming Lotion — This one boasts seaweed extracts. Maybe those billboards with zaftig models sucked me in, or something. Picked this up at the drug store but didn’t have high hopes. First of all, it smells nasty. To make matters worse, it doesn’t spread well and it leaves a tacky feeling behind. However, I am happy to report better firming effects than I experienced with Nivea.

Neutrogena Visibly Firm Body Lotion — You know I save the best for last. This one actually works! You’ll notice firmer skin within a week. Pretend you’re not bothered by the somewhat unpleasant smell. The spreadability and after feel could use some work, too. But you’ll actually see improvements, thanks to active copper peptides that do the job. Short of forking up cash for StriVectin, this is the stuff, kids.

Entry Filed under: Completely Girlie