little white truths

I received this Alpha-H hand cream earlier this year as a GWP, and it took me a while to open it because I've been drowning in hand creams until more recently when I managed to get through most of them.

To start with I was using it during the day but I switched it to night use a few weeks ago when I finished the other bedside table hand cream I was using, and since doing that, all I can say about this product is that it's completely dried my hands out and I don't want to use it anymore. Maybe my feet will be happier with it.

I probably don't need to tell you that Alpha-H is my favourite skincare brand of all time and it's rare that I come across something from Alpha-H that I don't like.

Sure, I've used plenty from Alpha-H that's ok but not a repurchase, but this may be the first product I've tried from the brand that not only doesn't work for me at all, but it also adversely affects my skin. Guess there's a first time for everything.

Interestingly, though, not only has it had rave reviews but it's also apparently won some awards (see Alpha-H's website here) so obviously it's just one of those things that doesn't gel with my skin.

Alpha-H claims/product details:

• A beautiful, rich, silky cream
• A nourishing, anti-ageing treatment that's designed to restore moisture, softness and youthfulness to hands that are dry and prematurely aged
• Also strengthens, smooths and improves the appearance of cuticles 
• Completely and instantly absorbed by the skin without leaving an oily residue
• Containing a bouquet of essential oils such as orange blossom, rose, geranium, chamomile, lemon and rosewood
• Draws on the rejuvenating and protective properties of jojoba oil, avocado oil and vitamin e
• Improves skin elasticity and flexibility
• Exfoliates dead skin cells
• For all skin types
• To use: apply liberally and massage cream into hands; to encourage and strong healthy nails, be sure to massage into the cuticles
• RRP $39 AUD for 100ml, but do shop around

Verdict

Gosh it's hard to know where to start with this product, but here I go.

It's a thick white cream with an interesting scent: it smells a tiny bit like lemon meringue pie to me, but in a weird way. I can live with the scent but it's rather odd and it's not something I'm used to.

As soon as I spread it over my hands, I can feel the waxiness of the texture. I don't like it. I wouldn't say this is a super greasy cream, but it's definitely waxy and it absolutely leaves a film. A bad one. Not what I want from my hand cream.

The film is the reason why I stopped using this during the day: I just don't like how waxy my hands feel after use and it's one of those films that doesn't go away unless you wash it off.

Also, this cream doesn't absorb properly. I know this not only due to the film, but also because of how awfully dry my hands feel whenever I use it. My hands are already dry and they get no relief from this cream. Worse, I'm also convinced that it's working against me because the longer I've used it, the drier they've become. 

As mentioned above, it was after switching this product to the overnight spot that I realised just how bad it's making my hands feel. Before then I was using another hand cream overnight and this one perhaps twice during the day, and the other hand cream was doing a good enough job that I didn't realise how much this one was sucking the life from my skin. Now I do.

On the claims: this isn't silky to me - it's waxy; no it hasn't restored moisture, softness or youthfulness to my dry hands (it's done the reverse); no I don't believe it's completely absorbed by the skin, and it definitely does leave a residue; and no I don't think it's improved skin elasticity or flexibility, nor has it done anything positive for my cuticles.

Overall I'm baffled by this product and, considering how dry and awful my hands look and feel, I'm also rather angry with it. Ha. But if you look at Adore Beauty, for example, everyone has given it five stars so perhaps it's just me!

Not a fan.