Skin MD Review and GIVEAWAY! *CLOSED*

The winner of the Skin MD lotion is comment #6, Jamie! Congrats! :-)
Starting last year, when the weather started getting colder, I was having trouble with dry skin. (I know-I'm getting old!) I hardly ever had dry skin problems before, so I wasn't used to constantly putting lotion on, and my hands, especially, just kept getting worse and worse. Well, when I was contacted to do a review of Skin MD lotion a few weeks ago, I thought "What great timing!" My hands were starting to dry out again from the cold, dry weather and I really wanted to find a lotion that worked!

After the lotion arrived, and I read what the lotion was about, I became even more interested. This is what is so special about Skin MD:

"Everyday contact with soaps, cleansers, shampoos, household chemistry and other substances that strip away skin's own protective layer (a thin film made of natural fats, lipids), leaves the skin's deeper layers unprotected. Without this protection in place oils and the natural moisture of the skin evaporates and absorption of irritants is no longer prevented.

Conventional lotions only add artificial moisture to the skin temporarily alleviating the dryness or itching, but these moisturizers don't actually solve the problem, they only treat symptoms without eliminating the cause. Dry skin is unable to absorb the newly added moisture to allow repair – it does not get "locked" into the skin. It gets lost easily. That’s why we keep applying more and more of the conventional lotions. Even so, skin easily gets addicted and may even suspend production of it's own moisture, relying on added moisturizer.

Skin MD Natural is a shielding lotion, a very special type of lotion helping the skin restore its integrity, enhance its protective functions so that the skin is able to heal naturally and regain its youthful appearance. Skin MD Natural works by bonding with cells of the skin's outermost layer to form what works as an invisible shield. This layer of protection prevents environmental irritants and pollutants from penetrating the skin, while sealing in the skin's own natural oils and moisture, helping resolve the dry skin condition.

Skin MD Natural uses only the finest natural ingredients, and is focused on urging the skin to be active, and to use its own moisture to effectively heal itself. It is not oily or sticky, doesn't sit on top of your skin leaving a greasy residue on everything you touch, it doesn't rub or wash off easily, is hypoallergenic, fragrance, colorant and paraben free and dermatology tested.

It's for Moms, Dads and Kids of all ages. It's an easy, safe and natural way to care for your skin throughout the day. Every day."

Doesn't it sound great!? (It actually is-just read about how it worked for me!) :-)

The condition of my skin was terrible, so I put the Skin MD lotion on immediately and applied it every 2 to 4 hours for the next few days. After that, I applied it once or twice a day and my hands slowly improved. Now, 4 weeks later, my hands look and feel great! (Sorry to sound like an infomercial, but it's true!)

A few things that I noticed and loved about the lotion was the pleasant scent, that it's thin and blends in quickly and it leaves your hands smooth and soft.

I also took a couple before and after pictures of the worse part of my hand, so you can actually see how it worked:

Before:

After 4 weeks of use:

(I still can't believe how dry my hands had gotten! Yuck! Sorry for such a gross image!)

As you can see, the Skin MD lotion has really healed my hands. They haven't looked like that first image again since the first few days of use, despite the single digit temperatures and dry air. I am really quite impressed!

I do have to admit that I don't have a lot of experience with other lotions, since this is a newer problem for me, but I also don't see a reason to have to try anything else!

Buy it!: a single 4 oz. bottle runs $18.00. I know that sounds pricey, but a little bit goes a long ways!

Win it!: The people at Skin MD have offered one of my readers to win their very own bottle of Skin MD Natural Shielding lotion! All you have to do is head on over to the Skin MD Natural website and tell me a location near you where you can buy it. Be sure to leave your e-mail address so that I can contact you if you are the winner.

Giveaway will end on January 12th, 2009 at 10:00 PM EST. Winner will be chosen via Random.org and notified by e-mail. Winner will have 48 hours to respond and if I don't hear from them I will choose another winner.

*Disclosure: I was not compensated in any way to do this review. The product was offered to me to review and keep. All the views expressed in this post are my own.