How to save on LOTION?

[heydude]

Holy cow lotion is so ex$pen$ive! how do you save on it?!

[danna]

Coupons, sales, samples, and use when you are just out of the shower (you nees less and it works better)

[thinkgreen]

I moisten my skin with water first and then use the lotion. Just as danna says, you need less and it works better. It goes on much smoother too.

[try2bfrugal]

I try to use edible foods as moisturizers - vegetable glycerine, coconut oil, almond oil, etc. I would like to find natural food replacements other personal care items like soaps and shampoo, but I am not there yet. I use coconut oil on my legs and one jar from Trader Joe's has lasted a long time so far.

[Selah]

Olive oil is nice, too, and a little goes a very long way, especially if you put it on right after your shower when your skin is still damp.

[Dhiana]

With the good stuff a little does go a long way. A lot of the inexpensive ones contain mineral oil which fools your skin into thinking it has already produced enough oil so it doesn't make enough of your own natural oils. That's why beauty mags say to stop using your moisturizer for a while and it will beging to work better for you again.

I've been happy with Vaseline brand moisturizer, it does go on sale fairly often at CVS/Rite Aid type places and I sometimes have found coupons for it also.

Hand Creams are made a bit differently than Body Creams so it helps to make sure you're using the right one for the right purpose.

[herbgeek]

I often make my own. Not lotion so much as a heavy duty cream. Equal parts cocoa butter, beeswax and oil (usually almond oil). This comes out solid, like a chapstick. I put it in push up tubes (sort of like deodorant containers) and can be rubbed on feet, elbows etc. Otherwise I mostly use jojoba oil, and I mix my Dr. Bronner's liquid soap 1/2 and 1/2 with oil, so that I don't need the lotion so much in the first place (I still have to supplement in the dry winter months, but not the rest of the year).

[Tammy]

I use very little soap ... So I need very little moisturizer. My opinion is that we wash off the good stuff, then pay to replace it with inferior stuff.

[Sad Eyed Lady]

Also, nearing the end be sure to store you bottle upside down. It is amazing how much lotion will still come out long after many people would have tossed it. Of course, this goes for shampoo or anything liquidy.

[SimplyL]

I use a little olive oil in dry season and moisturize after showers. I also will cut the bottle in half, to ensure that I'm getting all of the product out. There can sometimes be a week's worth clinging to the interior of the bottle!

[pony mom]

You can get better quality lotions from Vita Cost at good prices. I buy a huge 32 oz. bottle of Alba Organics body lotion for $10-12; the same lotion in the 8oz bottle is $12 in Target. It's a good deal if you care about what you put on your body (no parabens/preservatives, cruelty free, unscented). It's one of the few lotions I've used that works well.

If you want really cheap, Walmart sells a big bottle of Queen Helene lotion for $2. I use it for clients' feet during a massage. It's not something I would use for myself, as the scent reminds me of their smelly feet.

The suggestions of olive oil are great too. I always worry about it staining though.

[awakenedsoul]

I buy huge bottles of body lotion at T.J. Maxx. The prices are good, and the lotions are excellent. I also use goat's milk soap. That seems to keep my skin much healthier. I buy it by the loaf from a family in the Midwest.

For my face, I use homemade cold cream. It has olive oil, vegetable oil, eggs, and lemon juice. It does stain my pillow case, though...

[catherine]

Lotion is like dryer sheets to me--non-essential. On rare occasions I take the free stuff they give you in hotel bathrooms, just in case I need it, but I never feel like I need it. Do it?? Am I the only one who rarely uses it?

If you're talking moisturizer for the face, I ask for that for my birthday and Christmas, and my dear BIL usually comes through with my favorite brand (Origins). I usually get enough to last me through the year.

[pony mom]

Why not try grapeseed oil? I've been reading a lot about it and may try it when my Alba Organics is running low. It's supposed to absorb easily so you won't stain anything, and work really well. Not as cheap as cheap lotion, but better for you. Probably can get a huge gallon bottle of cooking-grade oil pretty cheap, as opposed to organic or cosmetic-grade.

[Wildflower]

I use soap with a moisturizer in it, so don't have to use much lotion at all.

[mtnlaurel]

Also, nearing the end be sure to store you bottle upside down. It is amazing how much lotion will still come out long after many people would have tossed it. Of course, this goes for shampoo or anything liquidy.

And at the very bitter end I cut off the end of the tube/bottle and scoop out the last few drops.

This is not really cheap...... but I love a particular kind of lotion that is pretty spendy to me
http://www.kissmyface.com/product/item/26

Used to I could find it at health food stores in the 'pump your own' section fairly reasonably, but it's not as easy to find the 'pump your own' on the beauty products any more.
So I arranged through the health food store to buy my own huge vat of it and it has lasted years.

I just love the scent and it makes my skin feel great. And each time I smell it, it makes me happy.
I started using it at a particular time in my life that was really good and each time I put it on & smell it, I am transported right back there.

I am a lotion junkie - I have had bouts of excema throughout my life - for my hands I have found CeraVe works best (again NOT cheap, but you can find coupons for it to help)....
And I have faithfully used a face lotion since high school
Emollients are one area that I allow myself to go The Cadillac route guilt free.
(Cadillac to me, if you look at magazines at all the lotions out there you really could spend a fortune)

It's one thing that got through to me from my dear Grandmother... it's so sweet, when my Grandmother had passed... the dear, dear man that 'fixed up' my Grandmother for her burial said to me, "I have NEVER seen such beautiful skin" and she was in her early 90's at that point. She was of the generation that lathered on Cold Cream at night.
And my mom too was always coating herself in peanut oil like she was getting ready to jump in the deep fryer.

So I'm a believer.

[Tussiemussies]

One of the best things you can use on your body is Extra Virgin, Cold Pressed Olive Oil. You just use a little and it is very good for your skin. You won't smell like it. It lasts a long time.

Have you ever tried dry skin brushing. If you check that out and use the evoo after your shower your skin will be really soft and healthy!