C.O. Bigelow Lemon Hand Treatment

One of my favorite products when I was in college was the C.O. Bigelow Lemon Hand Treatment and I stocked up on this product before Bath and Body Works stopped carrying it.  I am reaching the end of my supply so I started playing around on the actual C.O. Bigelow website to see what they still carried from this Lemon product line.  To all of you that aren't in the know about Bigelow, this company started as a separate apothecary in the middle of the 1800s and a line of their products was picked up several years ago by Bath and Body Works, bringing these great formulas more into the mainstream.  Ever since college, many of the C.O. Bigelow products have been my favorite body products and I wish that an actual Bigelow store was much closer to me.  The closest one is now in New York City since I don't believe that the one that I used to frequent is in King of Prussia anymore.  I can't even imagine the amount of beauty products that I would have if I lived in New York City...

Some pieces of the Lemon line are still carried in Bath and Body Works and I have used and covered this line several times before, so you can still find some of these products to try out.  However the poroduct that we are looking at today is not so you will have to do some online ordering if this product really appeals to you, I think that this product is worth the search if you ahve dry hands and/or love the scent of lemons.  Both of these statements describe me so this is one of the best hand products for me to use. 

"This ultra-moisturizing and skin-brightening formula absorbs quickly to treat dry hands.", is the product description provided by the C.O. Bigelow website.  This product contains the following three active ingredients: Lemon Oil and Extracts (6.25%), Grape Seed Oil (.75%), and Licorice Extract (.25%).  This product also contains shea butter to help the hydration.  The description of the product is pretty accurate but I am going to expand on the information. 

This product has a light lotion texture and sinks into the skin very quickly and easily, without leaving any greasy residue.  I would recommend this product for anyone who has normal to dry hands, pretty much anyone can benefit from this product.  The Shea Butter and the Grape Seed Oil help to hydrate dry areas and allow the skin to retain moisture after repeated washings.  The Lemon Oil in this product helps to fade areas of sun damage and hyper pigmentation however with the addition of this as one of the active ingredients, this is best used as a night hand cream in the summer months.  Lemon is a very effective natural de-pigmenting agent however it can make skin photosensitive, making the skin extra sensitive to the sun.  I would recommend being diligent with sunscreen if you choose to use a product line with natural lemon in during the summer months.

The scent of this product is very light and is 100% natural lemon.  Since the fragrance is the natural oil, it is not going to hang around all day so this product can be used with any type of fragrance and will work well for men also.  This will disappoint those of you who like a strong fragrance but I love how light it is and how it won't compete with any other fragrance that I am wearing that day.  This is a big reason why this is a favorite hand cream of mine!

photo courtesy of C.O. Bigelow