Reclaim Your Skin From Winter

For a Latin girl who grew up in Miami, I am unusually fond of the winter, much to my family’s surprise. I keep telling them the secret is the right equipment. For example: hand and toe warmers in gloves and boots when the temperature is in the teens and you’re headed out to cross-country ski. Or the right combination of layers, from base to wind block to keep the warmth in when snowboarding in the evening.

The one thing I truly dislike about winter is the way it makes my skin look and feel—mainly, like a desiccated piece of fruit. My legs and elbows start to look more reptilian than human, and my fingers and heels crack and become rather painful (even bleeding). Once the cycle of dryness begins on my hands and feet, it becomes almost impossible to heal. I spend most of the winter looking like Michael Jackson with bandaged finger tips.

In order to survive the winter with my skin intact, I have been searching for the right equipment to keep my skin healthy and looking good. I have tried different products and asked everyone for advice. Again and again, Curel has been suggested—as a matter of fact, two pharmacists at two different stores recommended it.

So when I received some Curel products to try, I was excited but a bit skeptical. I feel like I’ve tried everything—what could be so different about this?

I decided to try the Hand and Cuticle Therapy Cream first. When you first dispense this lightweight cream into your palm, it’s hard to believe it could treat hands as dry and chapped as mine. Surprisingly, it does: it immediately absorbs into the skin and feels dry and velvety soft and not at all greasy. My hands actually looked younger immediately. Even after washing my hands (which I do often), they still felt moisturized and protected.

This cream also has a beautiful light smell that comes from Monoi oil. Monoi oil is an infused perfume-oil made from soaking the petals of Tahitian gardenias in coconut oil, and is well-known as a skin softener.

I decided to bring the cream to work on a shoot where the models’ hands were very prominent to really test it out. I am excited to report that everyone loved the cream and couldn’t believe how wonderful it felt and how great it made their hands look, without a greasy feel.

As for me, after a week of use, the cracks on my fingers are no longer visible and I have started using the fragrance-free original lotion on my body. I’ll report back in a few weeks to let you know if the reptilian skin on my legs has returned to its human form.

For now, stay warm and don’t forget to use the right equipment!