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Monday, February 26, 2007

Keri ... is so very

I was sent some Keri moisturizer to try and review. For those of you who don't already know, I loves me some free stuff. So, of course, I am all over any opportunities to try new stuff for free.

I had high hopes for a kinder, more natural version of Keri, since their big push is for their shea butter formula. Shea butter is, according to Ideal Bite, predominantly produced without pesticides. Wow, a naturally organic ingredient - I was psyched.

The shea butter formula smells really nice, and absorbs quickly into the skin (more on that in a minute). The lotion itself, however, is a little thin. I'm probably used to the JASON cocoa butter I've been using to prevent stretch marks, which is a much thicker, more buttery texture. Regular lotions can seem wimpy and thin in comparison. But the lotion does seem to work well - I have fairly dry skin on my legs, which I vainly shave even in the winter (stubble drives me nuts), and a couple days' use has kept the skin on my legs from being flaky or itchy. Pregnancy has given me all sorts of weird rashes, too, and the Keri keeps the rashes down (as do the other lotions I have been using to stay moisturized).

Now on to the absorption issue: while it's great that then lotion absorbs well (after all, who wants slick, sticky skin that needs to air dry? Bleah), the problem is what's IN the lotion, absorbing into your skin, namely two kinds of parabens, which are linked to breast cancer.
Additionally, the lotion contains 3 varieties of polyethylene glycol, which has been linked to leukemia, breast and uterine cancers. Now on to iodopropynyl butylcarbamate, which is potentially linked to infertility, is a liver/gastrointestinal toxicant, and a neurotoxin. Yipes.

One nice thing about the ingredients is that Keri lists the scientific name of the natural ingredients and then advises the consumer of what it is, say, shea butter (unsurprisingly), sunflower seed oil, or aloe leaf juice.

The aloe leaf juice is also found in the regular Keri lotion, which has the same consistency as the shea butter formula, but doesn't smell as nice - it has more of a regular "lotion" smell. Not unpleasant, just not as nice as the shea butter.

The verdict: Keri is so very ... on the right track with the shea butter, but about the same as other mainstream moisturizers when it comes to potentially toxic ingredients. Parabens are no longer on my skin's menu, so I won't be using Keri in the future. For people who are OK with these sorts of ingredients, Keri is a fine choice, as it moisturizes nicely and smells good. The choice is up to you, of course. Happy moisturizing!

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1 Comments:

At 8:16 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm off to check the ingredients of the Shea Butter lotion I purchased awhile back. It smells great and now...I'm suspicious.

 

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