I Can't BELIEVE It's Not Butter!

This time of year is particularly hard on my skin. It's already dry, but I've had itchy skin for as long as I can remember. When I was a teenager, I would scratch myself at night during sleep and wake up with slashes across my back and behind. For a while, my mom thought I was being attacked by demons. Ok...that had nothing to do with the scratches...

I drink lots of water and I always have lotion on hand. But some areas need a little something extra so whether I'm at the dinner table or in bed, I always put extra butter on my buns.

1. Face It.

At night, I need what I call a sealant for my moisturizer. This product, available at Target, is a little something I like to call a pina colada for the face. That's mainly because it smells like a pina colada.

2. Think outside the box.

Let me tell you something white people--the black folk have been hiding secrets from us in a section of the store labeled "African American." Listen, just because a product says "Black and Beautiful" doesn't mean you can't use it. I noticed a bottle of cocoa butter with that exact title a few weeks ago and imagine my surprise when it smelled like pudding and went on like a vat of satin mixed with "yes please." Meanwhile, I will continue to shop from Ashro and determine whether or not I can get a case of this stuff at Sam's Club.

3. Butter me up.

Sometimes you need to afford yourself a little pampering. I like to use the higher end butter products on my hands because I enjoy the scent and so does everyone else. I lean toward crisp, tropical scents or sultry, musky vanillas but ever so often it's fun to try new products that promise more than your average fill-in-the-blank-mart, cost conscious results. 

My latest interest has been in a company called Bliss. You can find their products at beauty counters like Sephora or chain retailers like Belk or Macys. The company was founded in 1996 by a woman who suffered from acne as a teen and developed a passion for skin care. Their blood orange and white pepper butter sounds delightful. I've never heard of white pepper products.

You can also find the same type of hydration in products that are not labeled as butter. For instance, creams, balms, and Jergen's new milk products are all fairly comparable although I thought Jergen's coconut milk was a bit sticky.

The technical intention of a balm is meant to have healing properties. So when you purchase a balm, you may have extremely dry, cracked, painful skin. I use it as a means to lock in moisture so I don't wake up in the mornings feeling like a mummy. Designate 24-Heaven Balm by Bliss to feet and hands. And in case you didn't know, using balm under mitts or footies helps retain the moisture. 

The big winner here really is the Black and Beautiful for $2 a 17 oz bottle of wonderful, but some of you already are yawning at the lack of surprise.