Lush's Ultrabalm

As I'm sure you realize, changing your polish as frequently as I do, and using as many chemicals on your hands as I do, can lead to some pretty serious skin issues. Lately I've been struggling with tough cuticles, no matter how much I filed or clipped them.

I'm not a huge fan of petroleum-based hand creams, other than the obvious greasy feeling, I'm not thrilled with the idea of slapping an oil refinery by-product on my skin. I was using cocoa butter to varying degrees of success for sometime, but that lead to an awkward problem when I realized that my dog would freak out and obsessively lick my hands whenever he smelled it on me. Believe it or not, dog slobber is not an effective moisturizer either.

I had tried lemony-flutter, the cuticle cream made by LUSH a fantastic bath and body company that supports ethical product sourcing and vegan ingredients. While lemony-flutter smelled great and felt wonderful, it just couldn't keep up with my nail routine. It absorbed very fast, and didn't seem to do much for my hardened cuticles.

Today when I stopped by my local Lush counter, a rep suggested I try Ultrabalm. It's advertised as an all-purpose body balm, which can be used on everything from your lips to cuts and scrapes, so I'm not sure why I never thought of using it on my hands. While it is advertised as being "light" and "readily absorbed", I found my results to be rather the opposite. It's plant based waxes really helped soften the skin around my nails, and the thicker texture meant that application was easy. After using it just 3 times tonight, my rough spots are noticeably softer, and the redness and irritation from last-nights glitter fight seems to have calmed. It does leave a slightly greasy feeling immediately after application, but that goes away quickly.

I would recommend this product to anyone who changes their polish as frequently as I do, or even to casual at-home manicurists. I'm sure you'll see more Lush products in reviews to come!