Review: Tropic's Superfood Hand Therapy

With summer trying to get into full swing it means getting outside as much as possible between the showers, doing some gardening and taking in the Turf! For me that means my poor hands are going to get some tough love and will need some TLC. 

When I received Tropics Superfood Hand Therapy to try I was delighted. Having already tried their Eye Refresh Roll which you can read about here I had high hopes and I'm glad to say it didn't disappoint! 

So being a Superfood Hand Therapy Cream what is is supposed to do? Well, it is an "intensive age defying treatment for your hands and cuticles". And it does this with the following;

Olive Squalane - Softens the most rough skin.

Mango Butter - Replenishes & hydrates.

Oatmeal Infusion - Repairs & soothes.

Papaya Extracts - Brightens & improves skin tone.

My first impressions was of the packaging. I liked that it was bright and simple. The lid too is great as you press it to open so it makes it very easy to close when you've cream on your hands. Many's a time I've been frustrated trying to twist caps on with cream on my hands but this is no more with this innovative lid! 

When I first used the cream, I was struck by the smell! It is just divine! This isn't surprising with ingredients such as Macadamia Oil, Papaya Extract, Grapefruit and and Bergamot to name but a few! 

Day 1 Before using Tropics Superfood Hand Therapy

Before I began using the cream, I noticed my hands were very dry as you can probably see from the image above. Between cleaning about the house, the garden, unloading turf and minding our two little ones my hands had seen better days! 

Not only do I love the smell of this cream, I also love how light it is. Many creams I've used in the past, I've felt to be "heavy" and almost look like a layer over my skin. The Superfood Hand Therapy absorbed well without my hands feeling greasy. With my hands being so dry it took a couple of uses of the cream to bring them back to life again! Once they were revived I felt the effects of the cream were long lasting. What I mean by this I never felt I needed to use the cream on a daily basis as I have in the past with others. 

My hands now!

After only days of using the cream my hands felt so much softer. I've noticed too with continued use that my nails feel stronger which is great. Overall for me, I found it to date to be one of the best handcreams I've used. 

Tropics Superfood Hand Therapy retails at £12 for 80ml (€17.21 approx) which you can buy here. I think for the price and the size it is well worth it. A little goes a long way so you get great value for money. 

All of Tropics Products are Certified "cruelty free",  Vegan Approved and Made with Natural Plant Extracts. You can learn more about Tropics Beliefs and Values here!

Hand Rescue? Or Not?

So, some of you may have already read my post on an attempt to save my poor hands from the daily "trauma" I put them through! For those of you who haven't read the it, here's a link to get you up to speed  http://chirpsfromalittleredhen.blogspot.ie/2014/11/day-1-hand-rescue.html

So after 7 days of continuing as I normally would as in not using gloves to clean the fire or using cleaning products this is how Aveeno's Hand Cream, Sally Hansens's Maximum Growth Varnish and Vinegar stood the test!  

Review:

Vinegar

The Vinegar I only used on Day 1. I felt the difference it made to my cuticles was fantastic and during the 7 days, I wanted to see how well the Aveeno's Hand Cream would maintain this result.

Aveeno Handcream

On average I used the Aveeno's Hand Cream twice a day on days 1 to 5 and thereafter once a day.
From day 1, my hands definitely felt smoother and as the days progressed a lot softer and not as tight especially with the colder weather coming in.
Compared to other hand creams I've used in the past I felt once / twice a day was enough and never felt like I'd to constantly reapply after hand washing etc like I have with others. It seemed to penetrate well into my skin.
I massaged the cream into my cuticles on each application and while it softened them, it wasn't to the same extent as my hands. I felt I might of been better to have used a cuticle oil / cream to give them the TLC they deserve.

Sally Hansen Maximum Growth

I used the Sally Hansen Maximum Growth as directed which is daily. On day 5 I removed what I applied as it I felt it was a lot of build-up. After removing I continued as directed.
While my nails didn't grow any faster than normal, it certainly helped preventing them from breaking and strengthened them.

Verdict

I think the pictures speak for themselves. To me my hands feel younger and not as dry.
While my cuticles don't feel as I'd hoped I need to remember the lack of care I was giving them prior to this.
They are products I will definitely add to my regime along with a cuticle cream / oil to get them into better shape!

Before / After Left Hand 

Before  / After Right Hand

Day 1 - Hand Rescue!

In the past I've been great at picking up "lotions and potions" and convince myself each time I will use them on a daily / weekly basis and start a new regime to take care of my skin. For the first few days I'm great but then I lapse to every other day to eventually not using the products at all! Sadly many of which have ended in the bin.

Since losing some weight recently I've gained more confidence in myself and I want to start taking better care of my skin. So with the winter creeping in upon us I thought a good place for me to start would be my hands.

I treat my poor hands terribly, never wearing gloves when cleaning the fire or when using cleaning products about the house. I feel sorry for my poor hands being neglected so much and worried too of how they are going to look in the coming years compared to the rest of me! I say this as I recall reading an article some years ago in a Sunday magazine and it compared images of peoples hands and their faces! Their faces said one age but their hands told the truth - OLD! So with this in mind and the season that is in it, I'm going to make a start on caring for my little hands and get them into better shape!

So the products I recently purchased with good intention to help my hands and nails are Aveeno Hand Cream, Sally Hansen Maximum Growth and one from the kitchen cupboard - Vinegar! Vinegar you might ask? Well, I'd read recently that it is a great softening your cuticles so I thought it would be worth a try!

Before Pics! 

What did I do?

Step 1: Vinegar Soak 

After washing and drying my hands I soaked my finger tips in Vinegar for 5 minutes one hand at a time. 

I did my left hand first and after soaking it for 5 minutes, I gently pushed back my cuticles using my right hand thumb nail. I've used cuticle sticks in the past but have always found using my nail easier. 

When I completed my left hand and followed the same procedure with my right.  

Step 2: Hand Cream

I used the Aveeno Hand Cream and massaged into my hands taking care to rub into my cuticles too. While I thought I'd only used a little, I may have used a little too much! This goes a long way and ended up using the excess along my arms. Next time I will use less and will get more if I feel needed

Step 3: Sally Hansen Maximum Growth

Once the hand cream had dried, I used the Sally Hansen Maximum Growth as directed which was one coat daily.  

After Pics!

You will have to wait and see on Day 8! 

Day 1 Verdict!

Vinegar: 

I was very surprised at how well this worked at so softening my cuticles. It was very easy to push them back. I've used cuticle creams in the past and found using the vinegar a lot more effective. 

Seemingly too it helps your Nail Varnish last better, so this will be interesting to see! 

Aveeno Hand Cream:

After only one application my hands feel a lot smoother and not as dry or as tight as before. The pics may not show it as well but to the eye, they definitely don't look as dry. 

Sally Hansen Maximum Growth:

Well, so far lovely shiny nails so I will just have to wait and see how they are after daily usage!  

Next Step:

So, the plan is that I will apply the Aveeno Hand Cream as I feel needed during the day day, taking care to massage into my cuticles and keep them back. If I feel my cuticles need more attention I will use the Vinegar soak again. 

I will apply the Sally Hansen Maximum Growth as directed which is daily. 

Finally, after 7 days of following these steps, I will pop back with my review to see what the changes are! 

If you have any tips / comments please free to share ... I could do with all the help I can get, lol!