Posts Tagged lotion

We’re huge fans of double-duty items here at Practical Travel Gear. If one product can do the work of two, it earns points in our book. We’re all about packing as little as possible.

That’s why I was eager to sample Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion + Sunscreen SPF 15 — moisturizer and sunscreen are two products I always travel with. Plus, living in Colorado’s mountains, at high altitude and in an arid climate, I moisturize and sunscreen my skin all the time. Even in the winter months, I keep SPF on my face when I’m outside — especially on the ski slopes, where snow reflects the sun’s harmful rays.

Skin MD Natural calls this product a “shielding lotion,” rather than a simple moisturizer, because it purports to “enhance the skin’s own natural protective abilities by turning the outer layer of skin into what could be described as a hydrating invisible shield.”

I’ve been using the lotion at home and away for the past couple weeks now, mostly on my face and hands. When applied, the lotion feels silky smooth and it absorbs super quickly — not greasy or oily at all. A huge bonus: it doesn’t smell like sunscreen at all. In fact, the product is completely odorless. It’s also got some nice naturally healing ingredients, like aloe vera, Vitamin E and chamomile.

Unfortunately, this product comes in 4-oz bottles, so it’s not ideal for packing on its own when you only want to carry on. It’s also not cheap: it retails for $25/bottle on the Skin MD Natural website, which does offer special pricing for bulk orders.

Notoriously thrifty, I think that due to its price, I likely wouldn’t purchase this product on my own (I’d been sent review products from the company). That said, there are dozens of testimonials and “before and after” photos on the Skin MD website from users who have suffered from eczema and psoriasis, whose skin improved immensely after using its original flagship product ($18). If you suffer from extremely dry skin, if you wash your hands a lot (say, as a health-care professional, or a mom who does too many dishes by hand), or if you garden a bunch and quickly develop cracked skin from handling soil, you might consider asking for a couple of free samples to see if the shielding lotion works for you. (See the website for details.) There’s also a store locater to find a pharmacy near you — some stores also have samples on hand.