Review: Aveeno

The lovely people at Aveeno sent S and I a couple of their products to try out.

This was super exciting for me, because I've seen how awesome Aveeno is.

When I was pregnant, I had the mother of all nasty rashes on my sides and belly.  Here's a photo of me two days before S was born:

It was so bad that people (midwives etc) were commenting on it during my labour, and took a good few weeks to die down after she was born.

It wasn't just horrible to look at though; it itched like absolute... itchiness. I went back and forth to the doctor, with all manner of lotions and potions - but none of them worked. I slathered myself in this gloop every morning, and during my last weeks at work I was sneaking off to the toilets to put some more on and hopefully alleviate the itching. It was driving me up the wall - and then, once I'd gone round the bend and come back again, a friend asked me, "have you tried porridge?"

Porridge?

What?

My friend told me she'd had a similar complaint when she was pregnant, and her midwife had suggested putting some porridge into a flannel and fastening the corners like a tea bag, then putting it under the running water when running a bath. I thought she was bonkers, but was willing to give anything a go. It worked, and I ended up buying porridge and flannels specifically for this - but cleaning up afterwards was horrendous - imagine cold, gloopy porridge in a flannel. Sticky, nasty, gooey. It got everywhere.

My friend later asked me, "have you heard of Aveeno? It's made from porridge!"

It's not made from porridge as such; it's made with "colloidal oatmeal" and is suitable for dry and sensitive skin as well as those prone to eczema. I found out about Aveeno too late for it to be of use during my pregnancy, but since I know how amazing porridge can be for itchy skin, I was keen to try it for the dry skin I tend to get quite often. 

S also gets dry skin from time to time, and in the last two years we've gone through an entire medicine cabinet of lotions and potions in attempt to relieve it. Aveeno is now a part of our daily routine: at bed time, I rub a little Aveeno into her left leg, and sing Baa Baa Black Sheep. Then her right leg, and more Baa Baa Black Sheep.  Then her left arm, and... well, you get the idea. There's a lot of singing, and a lot of Aveeno. It helps keep both of our dry skin at bay.

What I really like about Aveeno though, is that it's not scented or full of a load of rubbish. A lot of skincare products - even for babies - are scented and have all manner of added ingredients but Aveeno seems a lot more natural. It's very rich, so a little goes a long way and it lasts ages.

Note: We were sent some Aveeno but that was not dependent on my writing a favourable review. All words and opinions are my own.