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I Never Thought I Needed Body Lotion — Until I Tried This Life-Changing One

Emma Loewe
Author:
January 19, 2022
Emma Loewe
mbg Sustainability + Health Director
By Emma Loewe
mbg Sustainability + Health Director
Emma Loewe is the Senior Sustainability Editor at mindbodygreen and the author of "Return to Nature: The New Science of How Natural Landscapes Restore Us."
Image by mindbodygreen / mindbodygreen
January 19, 2022

For the longest time, applying body lotion was on par with getting my allergies tested or learning about the stock market. It was something I knew I should be doing but had never quite gotten around to. Once in a blue moon, I'd catch a glimpse of my dusty (and likely expired) lotion bottle and quickly lather some on as a favor to my skin. But it was always a chore and one that didn't feel like it was making enough of a difference to turn into a habit.

Why I decided to try postbiotic body lotion.

This winter, my long-neglected skin fought back. On cool and dry nights, the urge to scratch at itchiness around my knees and on my arms kept me awake. After ruling out other causes and frantically washing my sheets and mattress, I decided that it was time to finally make moisturizing my body as much of a priority as moisturizing my face.

I figured there was no better product to help me do so than mindbodygreen's postbiotic body lotion, fresh off our new personal care line. For starters, it was created to go beyond moisturizing to actually help restore the skin microbiome (in turn, calming the skin, reducing inflammaging, and supporting regeneration) using next-gen postbiotics. After years of neglect, I figured my skin could use this extra love and attention.

Since I've worked at mbg for years and know the formulators of this product personally, I was also confident that the lotion was made with the strictest ingredient standards. We really do practice what we preach over here, and all of our personal care products and supplements are made with impressive purity and transparency standards. In this case, that means you won't find any parabens, phthalates, petrochemicals, silicones—or over 1,000 other ingredients regulated by the European Union—in the formula.

Finally, as a sustainability stickler, I appreciate that the bottle is made from renewable sugar cane instead of fossil fuels and covered in a cap instead of a hard-to-recycle pump. The bathroom is such a tricky source of waste, but this product—and all the packaging it's shipped in—can be recycled curbside.

With this checklist covered, I gave the (very sleek) lotion bottle valuable real estate in my shower and hoped for the best.

What I noticed when I started using it.

My first time using the product, I was struck by one thing right away: It applies thick and even a bit white. It reminded me of mineral sunscreen that needs to be fully rubbed before it can blend into the skin. When I asked about why it comes out of the bottle this way, mbg's beauty director Alexandra Engler explained to me, "This body lotion is meant to not only hydrate deep into the skin, but it's supposed to act as a shield and bolster your natural skin barrier. Our skin barrier is so vital to our overall health, but unfortunately, modern lifestyle habits have a way of abusing it. So we wanted something that was going to strengthen the skin while moisturizing it. Additionally, the biotic ingredients should sit on the surface level of the epidermis—where most of the skin microbiome resides. This way, they can support and nurture your natural flora as intended," she said. "A lot of body lotions on the market don't have real, sustained results because they actually don't address the multiple layers of the skin barrier—this one does from all angles."

While it took me by surprise at first, this has quickly become my favorite thing about the postbiotic body lotion. After a shower, I'll rub it all over in small sections, and wait until the white coat fades about a minute later. This is my visual cue that the product is working its hydrating magic and actually being absorbed while protecting the delicate surface of my skin.

Plus: Unlike the body lotions I've sporadically used in the past, this one leaves no sticky, uncomfortable residue behind. After that initial minute, I'm free to get dressed without covering my clothes in product—even tighter things like jeans glide on easily.

Once it dries, the only thing that's left is hydrated skin. I can finally see what I've been missing for all these years: My skin is noticeably softer and smoother, and it just feels healthier. The bedtime itchiness has faded, and I'm sleeping easier knowing that I'm caring for a part of my body that does so much to care for me.

I never thought a body lotion could be this addicting.

After a few weeks of using this product, I can now confidently call myself a body lotion convert. Instead of begrudgingly moisturizing once in a while, I'm actually excited to do it after every single shower. What was once a chore is now officially a ritual, and one that I look forward to keeping up with for the rest of winter and beyond.

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