Burt’s Bees Hand Salve Review

Caution: This post contains graphic details of my extremely problematic and dry hands. Read at your own risk! 😉

I love skincare products, and I end up spending quite a lot on them! Hand creams are one such guilty indulgence of mine. I suffer from terribly dry hands, and nothing seems to help them. Add to this the fact that I’m as lazy as a person could be, and skip applying creams regularly, which obviously, doesn’t help the situation. So I’m always looking for products that work extra hard for me. I bought this Burt’s Bees Hand Salve on one such impulse last year.. Burt’s Bees products are all natural, and mostly based on beeswax (no prizes for guessing, of course). This one claims to be ‘a Farmer’s Friend’. Woah, that’s a really tall claim, as nobody’s hands work harder than a farmer’s. Let’s check out if it lived up to this or not.

Ingredients and Claims:

Packaging: I completely adore products that come in a tin packing. They look so classic, vintage and timeless! Though quite unhygienic of course, I have this habit of washing my hands a lot, especially before dipping my hands into a tub of product, so I don’t mind. The tin was something that made me fall hard for this hand salve. When I finish this product (whenever that is!) I intend to use this to store something useful. 🙂

My Experience: Bought on a whim, I had extremely high expectations from this product by Burt’s Bees. Let’s get to the product details:

Appearance, Color and Scent: The product was a pale yellow colored one, which was perfectly set inside the tin. It looked a lot like frozen butter, or maybe wax! But, one sniff of the tub and I was completely overwhelmed by the characteristic scent of eucalyptus oil. It actually reminded me of Vicks Vaporub B) The initial impression wasn’t really great, as I never wanted a hand treatment to smell so characteristically medicinal! The scent has notes of rosemary, as it does contain rosemary oil.

Texture: Salve, literally, means an ointment. The texture is true to its name, as it is very ‘ointment’y on touch. It is like a frozen oil sort of consistency, which melts into its liquid form when you rub it on. It isn’t creamy if you expect it to be so; it is quite oily and waxy, which makes it ideal for night time use only. You cannot use it during day-time if you plan to work on a laptop or handle your mobile phone, as this would leave these greasy marks everywhere. However, as per the claims on the container, you CAN use this before doing gardening (or farming, if you happen to be a farmer), as I assume that the oily film would protect your hands from the dirt and grime. I personally never do gardening so this was out of question. I don’t mind the oiliness, but yeah, it is kind of too oily for my liking..

 

Efficacy: You need very little of it: a hazelnut-sized amount is enough to cover your hands, so the tin has lasted me forever. Being oily, it doesn’t get fully absorbed, and leaves an oily film on your hands. However, it does sink in after sometime, but leaves a very oily layer behind.

 

SO, the biggest question. Does this stuff work? The answer is: yes, but only to an extent. I have the roughest hands ever, and plus, my cuticles are problematic. The icing on the cake comes from the hardened skin near my fingernails (technically called as ‘hangnails’). I used this regularly for a few nights, and this product did seem to work. My cuticles were a bit moisturized. The hangnails seemed a bit resolved. But it was not an “OMG! This is magic potion!” sort of effect. I expected more, ‘coz I had high expectations from the all natural brand that is Burt’s Bees. If you have hands which are not as dry or problematic as mine, then this may work better for you. It works for me too, but not too much, which is sad as I had developed a slight liking for the vapo-rub smell as well! 🙂 I still use it occasionally at night, and would continue using it as it does work, albeit only in a mild manner.

FFS Rating: 2.5/5 (I’m forgiving you for the medicinal scent, but deducting on the high oiliness, and below-expectation performance)

Price: I got this for ~$10 in the US. I think it retails for ~Rs 1000 in the Indian Sephora outlets. The quantity is 85 grams

Where to Buy: You can buy it online from Flipkart (they have the travel-sized container for this at Rs 699, which you can easily get for Rs 450 after discounts). Or you could buy it from Sephora.

Pros and Cons:

PROs:

1. The tin is quite cute 🙂
2. You need very little product, so this tin would be your friend for a long time to come
3. Is effective to some extent
4. All natural: no preservatives, chemicals or colors at all

CONs:

1. The scent might not be everyone’s fave
2. Not an all-round solution for my very dry hands
3. A bit too oily, so is fit for night-treatment only
4. Certainly expensive in India, not so much in the US though

Final Word: If your hands are not very problematic, especially if you don’t have the problem of hangnails, then this would suit you quite well as a night time treatment. This is all natural and has no preservatives, so those who are very particular about their skincare stuff to be chemical-free would literally love this. It would be great for you if you do a lot of pottery or clay work with your hands, or are into gardening, as I believe the oily layer would really act as an effective barrier. As for those who are looking for a day-time hand cream can totally skip this as it is way too oily.