Worth A Revisit : Eucerin Sensitive Skin PH5 Wash Lotion For Body And Face

Paris B 39 Comments

Some things just don’t seem to need reviewing or writing about, but they are probably the items we use the most often and use UP the most often too. In my case, let me introduce you to the Eucerin Sensitive Skin PH5 Wash Lotion, a face and body wash for sensitive skin. I wrote about this way back in 2007 and although the name has changed a little, here it is again nearly 5 years later! A product with lasting power for this fickle minded female! 😀

eucerin ph5 washlotion body wash review

I don’t have sensitive skin as a rule, but I started using this one a few years back after being introduced to it, and because I saw it on sale at Guardian. Any resolve I have is always weakened by a pharmacy sale 😛 I like to buy the 1000ml bottles when they are on sale, that come free with the smaller bottles of the same wash lotion. I use these everyday anyway, so any saving is always a good thing.

You might be wondering though, why I use this so often, although I love switching body washes? If you look at my shower caddy, its PACKED with hair, body and face washes but I always come back to this one.

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Tip: Dry Skin Woes and How I Cured Mine

Paris B 53 Comments

Whenever people ask if I have sensitive skin, it always gives me pause. Do I say yes if my facial skin can tolerate quite a lot but the skin on some other parts of my body can’t?

dry skin on my hands and how I cure it

You see, I don’t have sensitive skin anywhere else on my body except for my hands. Its something I noticed and paid attention to in the last few years and I’ve traced my “allergy/sensitivity” to:-

  • harsh detergents – no washing up for me without gloves
  • certain chemicals – yet unknown which but usually in body washes, shampoos or face cleansing gels
  • certain organic products – depending on concentration of ingredients
  • prolonged contact with paper – work hazard

What happens in my case is nothing very serious from a health standpoint. However, its terribly serious from a aesthetics and comfort standpoint.

For me, if I come into contact with any of the above, within 2 days max (except for paper), the skin on my hands start to harden, dry out and peel. And its serious chronic continuous peeling. As long as I’m exposed to the item, it will continue. its so bad my hands look like that of a burn victim. And it does not recover as quickly even after I stop contact with the offending product.

I recently had a very bad bout – I have not yet been able to trace it to the particular product – where I had one of the worst ever reactions. I really should have taken a picture but I was spending too much time trying to cure it so all you have is a picture of my finger as shown above. Multiply that by 5 and include the palm and you get the general idea. Better this way. I don’t spoil your breakfast/lunch 😉

Using hand creams don’t help in my case. They alleviate the discomfort for a short while but then it comes back. That leads me to believe that many hand creams out there only work on the surface. They do not help “cure” a dry skin problem, no matter what they claim. Didn’t stop me however, and I did find a combination that helped me cure my problem! I’ve shared below some of those I tried and what eventually helped me.

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Ask & Answer : What is your favourite sunscreen or sunblock?

Paris B 25 Comments

ask us!

I blather on about sunscreens so much that reader Jessica thought it might be a good time to pick my brains on what is THE sunscreen for her 😀 Here’s her request:-

Hi PB!! I know what a big fan you are of sunscreen so hope this question’s easy to solve 😉
I am currently in search for THE sunscreen as I am getting more and more aware of how bad UV can be for the skin. Problem is, most sunscreen (be it for the face or body) can be a litle too sticky and some of them have scents which are overwhelming!
So, PB (and fellow readers), can you please recommend some of the possible sunscreen products which are of good quality, not sticky (mattifying effect is the key word!), easily absorbed and without any of those plasticky scent??
Thanks much!!

Well Jessica, I detest sunscreens that have strong plasticky scents too. I grew up with the smell of Coppertone sunscreen invading my nostrils almost everyday while my mom slapped it on me. This was in the days before we had more choices available in the market. Then it was Banana Boat sunscreens, both of which I now detest with a passion. Its a personal thing – brings back memories of swimming lessons 🙂 I do however thank her for her foresight in protecting my skin from those harmful UV rays when it was not in vogue to!

However, because we are all different and our skins can tolerate different levels of chemicals or products and we all have different requirements and preferences, I’m afraid there is no THE sunscreen I can recommend. I can however tell you which are the ones I have tried and which I like to use.
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Could I be allergic to Zinc Oxide in Sunscreen?

Paris B 51 Comments

allergic to zinc oxide?

I’d read so much about zinc oxide and how its THE BEST UV blocker out there, blocking both UV-A and UV-B rays effectively. Zinc Oxide is also recommended for people with sensitive skin because its a physical blocker and therefore less likely to irritate skin unlike chemical blockers.

So of course I had to try sunscreens with Zinc Oxide – its supposed to be the best after all!

I tried 3 different types – 2 on my face and 1 only on my arms. The ones I tried were the Australian Cancer Council Ultra sunscreen (only on arms), Diorsnow Sublissime UV Ultimate Whitening SPF50 PA+++ and Sunplay Skin Aqua UV Moisture Milk (both on face).

Sunscreen with Zinc Oxide clogged my pores

To my surprise, within 2 days I found myself getting clogged pores and breaking out from the Sunplay Skin Aqua and DiorSnow sunscreen. I’d actually picked up the DiorSnow sunscreen because it contains a high percentage of zinc oxide – they actually tell you that it contains 19.41%!

I was not sure if it was the sunscreens so I went back to all my usual non-irritating skincare and added back the sunscreens one by one. And true enough, the clogged pores and acne returned, mostly on my chin and along the jawline.

I struggled to get my skin under control and cut out everything including the sunscreen, going back to my Eucerin White Solution Treatment SPF40 with Tinosorb – a chemical sunscreen. Guess what? My skin is now under control and healing and no more clogged pores than usual!
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