Lotion Explained

Ever wonder what the difference is between face lotion, hand lotion, body lotion and foot lotion? 

Basically what it comes down to is your skin's needs, and those needs differ from one part of your body to the next. The skin on your hands is thinner and requires extra hydration whereas the skin on your feet is much thicker. Face skin is thin and sensitive and the pores are prone to clogging.

So how is this reflected in the different types of lotion? 

• the amount of ingredients used determines the thickness of the lotion
• the type of ingredients used (oils, botanical extracts, etc.)

Let's look at thickness first. Body lotion is thicker than face lotion. Hand lotion is thicker than body lotion and foot lotion is the thickest lotion. Lotions are quickly absorbed and don't leave a greasy feel. If you need something thicker and heavier then we move into face cream, body cream, hand cream and foot cream. You can recognize a lotion from a cream simply by its container. A lotion is thin enough for a bottle whereas a cream is packaged in a jar. 

The type of ingredients are also specific to where it's meant to be applied. Face lotion requires oils that are light and noncomedogenic (don't clog pores). They may also contain ingredients to combat acne, wrinkles, oily skin, UV rays, etc. These ingredients are typically expensive so you wouldn't want to use face lotion all over your body. On the other hand (or foot!), foot lotion requires greasy and heavy oils and may contain ingredients for natural exfoliation.

So, do you need them all? Well that depends on your skin's needs. At the very least you should have a face lotion and a body lotion. You may find you need to use heavier creams during our dry winter season or if your skin is drier than normal.