Name: Norwegian Formula Fragrance-Free Hand Cream
Brand: Neutrogena
Size: 75ml
Price: €5,95
From Neutrogena’s website:
Neutrogena® Hand Cream delivers effective relief for dry, chapped hands. This clinically proven, highly concentrated formula rapidly heals dry hands. It noticeably improves the look and feel of your skin. Hands feel soft and smooth after just one application.
What I liked:
– makes skin soft
– helps heal dry and cracked skin
– fragrance-free
– comes in a tube which is more hygienic
What I didn’t like:
– heavy consistency
– feels tacky before it is absorbed
– takes a couple of minutes to sink in
– can be drying
– you need to reapply a lot to keep your hands moisturized
– after a few hours from application, skin feels dry again
– heals dry skin, but that takes a lot of time and product
– the price
Being anal about washing my hands (I do it like 30 times a day at least), you can image how dry and cracked they can get if I don’t use a good moisturizing hand cream regularly. I’m constantly trying new ones all the time and my latest purchase is Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream in the fragrance-free version. It was the lack of a fragrance (and this really has no odor at all!) that made me buy this, despite the price is higher than what I normally pay for hand creams, as that’s one of the ingredients most likely to cause irritations and so I always go for scent-free products whenever possible.
However, I’m sad to report there’s not much else I like about this cream. When I squeeze the tube, a whitish clear film of cream comes out and it has quite a heavy, not-too-easy-to-spread consistency and I need to be careful to only use a very small amount or it’ll take forever to absorb into the skin. It takes a few minutes to sink in even when I use very little and until it is completely absorbed, my hands feel tacky. I really hate the way it feels on my skin but if it worked well I could put up with it.
But it’s just average. It does help heal my dry skin and make it smooth, but only if I apply it several times throughout the day. With most hand creams, I just have to apply them one or twice a day, more only on those winter days when my skin is all cracked and bleeding, to keep my hands in good condition. But with the Neutrogena one, after a couple of hours I can feel the skin on my hands starting to get dry again, which forces me to reapply. And even though it helps heal cracks and dryness, it will take several days of constant reapplication to see any results.
This is probably due to the fact that this cream is mainly made of Glycerin. Now Glycerin is a great ingredient that attracts water from the environment and the deep layers of the skin into the more superficial ones, to keep skin hydrated and prevent moisture loss. But when, like in this case, there is too much of it and too little of other emollients providing a moisturizing action and restoring what Glycerin took away, Glycerin can attract too much water from the deeper layers of the skin, bringing it to the surface. And once there, the water can easily be absorbed by the environment leaving your skin drier and you having to reapply again and again and again. Or better yet, change cream. I know I will after my tube runs out.
Summary
Overall, Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Fragrance Free Hand Cream really disappointed me. It comes in a hygienic tube and is fragrance-free so it’s less likely to cause irritations, but its moisturizing effect only last a few hours and unless you reapply often, your skin can actually feel drier. I also hate the thick and tacky hard-to-spread consistency.
Rating: 3/5
Disclaimer: the item was purchased by me for both personal and review purposes. The review is based on my own personal and honest experience with the product. For more information, please see my disclaimer.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
This is my favorite hand cream – I love it soooooo much. I’m sorry you don’t really like it:( I’ve tried a bunch of hand creams, and I like how thick this one is, and it stays on my hands for hours without me needing to reapply it. Also, this might sound crazy, but I use this is a face cream sometimes too. Usually after putting it on my hands I’ll pat some extra cream on my face (I have dry skin). Or I’ll apply it as an eye cream – it goes on great under makeup and it doesn’t clog pores. I love it! Oh, and the version with fragrance smells sooooooooo horrible (they just changed the fragrance and it smells like cheap, nasty perfume).
Jeni´s last [type] ..Maybelline Dream Matte Powder
Jeni, I’m glad you like this cream. I wanted to love it so much but it just didn’t work too well for me. I guess my very dry skin needs something with more moisturizing ingredients and less Glycerin. I never thought of using this on my face though but I will give it to a go. I have combination skin with some dry patches on my cheeks so I’ll use it there and see if it works better than on my hands. Thanks for the tip.
I typed quite a long comment earlier, and somehow it just disappeared.
anyways, I used this hand cream during the winter months some years back, thanks to my hubby. And I love it. Like you, I washed my hands for n times a day, and still do so now. It really helps, though now I am using a host of other hand creams. I still use this one sometimes, at bedtime, like a hand treatment.
I used it on my dry, chapped bleeding lips during the winter months too.
Vonvon´s last [type] ..Review: Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange(TM) Body Butter
Vonvon, that’s too bad, I’m sorry.
I’m glad this cream works for you too. I seem to be the only one the cream didn’t benefit much. I guess my skin just doesn’t like too much Glycerin..