I know I sound like a broken record sometimes, but winter for me is all about staving off dehydration.
As soon as those cold winds start to blow and the temperatures drop down a few notches, my skin starts screaming for moisture. It. Can’t. Get. Enough.
In my quest to find the right skincare products to keep it soft and moisturised (who am I kidding, I just try new skincare products because I like it 😉 ), I turned to French pharmacy skincare.
La Roche Posay Cicaplast Baume B5, Lipikar Surgras Concentrated Shower Cream, and Lipikar Baume AP+, to be exact. Did they deliver?
Cicaplast Baume B5
I love using La Roche Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 on those days when my skin is particularly dry and sensitive. Admittedly, that doesn’t happen often, but it’s good to have something to turn to in case of need, isn’t it?
The balm feels more like a thick cream and leaves a white sheen on the skin when you first apply it. Luckily, it absorbs pretty fast, so you don’t have to put up with it for long.
The formula is a blend of rich natural butters (like Shea) and humectants (like Glycerin and Panthenol) with skin soothers thrown in for good measure. Here’s how it works: humectants attract moisture from the environment into the skin while Shea butter seals them in. Once trapped, moisture plumps up the skin, softens it, and gives it a lovely glow.
Panthenol does double duty. Together with Madecassoside (a component of centella asiatica), it soothes irritated skin and redness. If my skin gets too dry or flaky, I put the cream on and it instantly feels calmer. It stops stinging and doesn’t feel so tight anymore.
If your skin is dry and sensitive that anything seems to bother it, I highly recommend you check this out.
Related: Is Shea Butter The Best Moisturiser For Dry Skin?
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Lipikar Surgras Concentrated Shower-Cream
If you’re a regular reader here, you know that the skin on my body is very dry. A gentle moisturiser that removes dirt without drying it out even more is a must for me (and not the easiest to find, either).
La Roche Posay Lipikar Surgras Concentrated Shower-Cream fits the bill perfectly. It uses a mix of gentle cleansing agents (for the curious, they’re Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Coco-Betaine, and Sodium Laureth Sulfate) that remove dirt and grime without disrupting the skin’s protective barrier. After the shower, my skin is clean and soft. Finally.
Just be careful when you use it. This stuff is not a shower cream. It’s a shower gel. A super runny one. It doesn’t foam much and feels super nourishing on the skin, but as soon as you open the lid, way too much product is gonna pour out.
Don’t say I haven’t warned you.
Related: The Best Skincare Routine For Dry Skin
Lipikar Baume AP+
La Roche Posay Lipikar Baume AP+ has both Shea butter and Mineral oil, two of the most moisturising substances on the planet. It should be a thick, gooey mess. Instead, it feels surprisingly lightweight on the skin and sinks in quickly.
Shea butter and mineral oil work by creating a shield on the skin that traps in moisture. This way, they keep skin hydrated and protect it from the environment (think harsh weather and pollutants).
Niacinamide gives them a helping hand. It moisturises skin, soothes irritations, and even helps treat eczema. It’s quite the multitasker.
The best part? This cream is gentle enough even for sensitive skin. You can use it both on your face and your body, on you and your children. If skin is dry, irritated or has a bad flare up, this’ll soothe it and moisturise it back to health.
It’s not the most exciting product out there. It doesn’t have exotic ingredients, an unique scent or creative gimmicks. It’s just a solid moisturiser for dry and sensitive skin that gets the job done well and quickly.
The bottle is huge so it will last you for a long time too. 🙂
Related: Everything You Need To Know About Niacinamide In Skincare
Price & Availability
Cicaplast Baume B5, £6.50; Lipikar Surgras, £10.00; and Lipikar Baume AP+, £19.50 at Look Fantastic
Cicaplast Baume B5 Ingredients
609675-15 Aqua / Water, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter / Shea Butter, Panthenol, Butylene Glycol, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Trihydroxystearin, Zinc Gluconate, Madecassoside, Manganese Gluconate, Magnesium Sulfate, Disodium EDTA, Copper Gluconate, Caprylyol Glycine, Citric Acid, Acetylated Glycol Stearate, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Tocopherol, Pentaerythrityltetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxycinnamate. CI 77891 / Titanium Dioxide (Code F.I.L.: B47889/1)
Lipikar Surgras Concentrated Shower-Cream Ingredients
Aqua / Water, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Coco-Betaine, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Sodium Chloride, PEG-200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate, Glycol Distearate, Sodium Glycolate, Ceteareth-60, Myristyl Glycol, Citric Acid, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Parfum / Fragrance, PEG-55 Propylene Glycol Oleate, PEG-75 Shea Butter Glycerides, Polyquaternium-7, PPG-5-Ceteth-20, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Hydroxide
Lipikar Baume AP+ Ingredients
Aqua / Water, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter / Shea Butter, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Niacinamide, Paraffinum Liquidum / Mineral Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Brassica Campestris Oleifera Oil / Rapeseed Seed Oil, Ammonium Polyacryldimethyltauramide / Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, PEG-100 Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-20 Methyl Glucose Sesquistearate, Cera Microcristallina / Microcrystalline Wax, Paraffin, Sorbitan, Tristearate, Dimethiconol, Mannose, Disodium EDTA, Capryloyl Glycine, Vitreoscilla Ferment, Xanthan Gum, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Sodium Benzoate
