This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Aquaphor.
Yes, this is a compensated review from BlogHer and Aquaphor, BUT! I would have totally written it anyway because I am in love with this product. In fact, I owned so much of it already that when I received the free samples I'm supposed to be reviewing, I gave them to my pregnant friend so that she could learn the joys of a diaper cream that doesn't smell AND that doubles as a heal-all for baby's skin.That should be my review right there, but I'll actually go ahead and say more.
Growing up, my mom used the same diaper cream that everyone used. (I can actually conjure up that smell in my mind if I think about it.) When I got pregnant, I just assumed everyone still used smelly creams, and I was resigned to using them myself.
Until!
The day after we returned from the hospital with our darling daughter, and my visiting mother-in-law asked if I'd heard of Aquaphor.
"NO! WHAT'S AN AQUA FOR?" I replied, thinking I was clever. Because I was covered in spit-up and boob juice and quite possibly my own drool. I don't think my MIL was half as amused as I.
She explained that Aquaphor is the only thing her daughter will use because it is awesome AND completely odorless. And then just in case I wanted to try it, she went out and got us some.
I do not know if I am capable of writing what it's like as a new mother, freshly back from the hospital in a shocked-and-awed stupor, to use a product that just works.
Personally, it's not like anything went wrong when I got home...I just couldn't tell if I was doing anything right, either:
Is she eating enough? Am I holding her okay? Is she sleeping too much? Do I need to wake her up to change her? Is she too hot? Too cold? Is it okay that she fell asleep here instead of there? Should she be wearing a hat?
So the first time I saw the faint red marks around Eve's thighs where her diaper gathers, I knew enough to say, "Okay, this is not good." But I didn't know if that's what I was supposed to use the Aqua-for. (HA! I crack me up!)
I opened the jar and was relieved that there was no scent at all. I dabbed my finger into it and was relieved that it wasn't gross or greasy. I put a little bit on Eve's red marks, and then just hoped for the best.
Not much later, when she needed to be changed again, I didn't know what to expect. But you can imagine my astonishment when her red marks were totally gone. The truth is, I felt like Florence Nightingale. I was a healer! Something was wrong with my baby and I used the right thing and then the thing that was wrong wasn't wrong anymore! I AM A GREAT MOTHER! TA-DA!!!
(Yes, it was really the magic of Aquaphor but I will totally take the credit.)
But then? IT GOT BETTER!
One day while breastfeeding, I was staring at Eve's face, wondering when the skin on her forehead would heal. (Newborns go from being in fluid to being on dry land, and their skin can get/stay very dry as it "sheds" its in-womb properties. Regular grown-up moisturizers are not good for baby skin, and even gentle lotions aren't so good for babies' faces.) I looked to my side table and noticed the tube of Aquaphor just sitting there. I wondered...
The label said it protects and relieves chapped skin, so I figured I'd give it a shot. LO AND BEHOLD. Obviously it didn't clear up her dry skin in one shot, but regular application seemed to make it better. (Of course, her skin was a little shiny for a while, what with the ointment glistening on her forehead, but whatever. I'll take "glisten" over "red and flaky" any day.)
But once I realized what a miracle salve Aquaphor was, I started using it for everything. Sometimes Eve will still get pink patches of dry skin on her face, and I'll dab some Aquaphor on them and they clear up right away. (Note: VERY helpful for photos!!!) I smear the Aquaphor all over her legs when they get really dry and baby moisturizer just won't cut it. I also use Aquaphor to protect her skin from further damage/inflammation when she scrapes herself with her fingernails (which happens because I am still not very good at clipping them, whatever). I even use it on my hands when they get chafed (from my obsessive hand washing and sanitizer using -- it is flu season after all!).
And again, for the record? ALL of this was true before they ever sent me a single sample. Lucky for you, because now it's your turn to benefit!
Enter my "What's YOUR AquaPHOR" contest below (Get it? What's your Aqua FOR? Does NO ONE find this amusing but me?), and you can win over $200 in cool stuff! Details as follows:
::::What You Win::::
Winner (chosen at random) will receive a use-as-you-please $100 Visa Gift Card. Just in time for the holidays!
More importantly, Winner will ALSO receive an Aquaphor Gift Basket worth over $100, stocked with:
More importantly, Winner will ALSO receive an Aquaphor Gift Basket worth over $100, stocked with:
- 2 Aquaphor 14oz Baby Jars (these are the big daddys I have at our changing stations)
- 2 Aquaphor 3 oz tubes (the ones I have in the medicine cabinet and next to the facial tissue in the bathroom)
- 2 Baby-to-Go Aquaphor .35 oz tubes (for the diaper bags)
- 2 Aquaphor 8 oz bottles of Gentle Wash and Shampoo
- 2 Eucerin Hand Crème
- Eucerin Original Lotion 8 oz bottle
- Eucerin Original Crème 16 oz jar
- Eucerin Calming Crème 14oz Tube
- ...and a Rubber Ducky!
Leave a comment about how you do, would, or could use Aquaphor.
Rules:
- The contest will begin on Tuesday, November 17th and will end Tuesday, December 15th (at 5 pm PST).
- No duplicate comments.
- Make sure the email address you include/leave in the comment is correct.
- You may receive ONE additional entry by linking on Twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
- You may receive ONE additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
- You can enter up to 7 additional contests by checking out the other BlogHer reviewers' posts!
- This giveaway is open to US residents, aged 18 and over.
- Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
- You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
- Please see the official rules here: Official rules
::::BONUS::::
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