Lotions. I have a love-hate relationship with them. I love how it makes my skin soft, but I hate putting it on in the country's insanely hot and humid weather. Plus, I get a lot of lotions as gifts that seeing all of them sometimes makes me even more lazy to use them. It’s like I’m overwhelmed at the sight of them. At one point I had about fifteen to twenty types of body lotion on my dresser. I gave a lot of them away but there was still a lot tucked away at the back of everything.
Given the recent pandemic and the fact that I had not gone out much since then, being just at home (in this heat) made me too lazy to put on lotion. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the lotions I have turned watery. I had opened one tube up and spilled the contents on my hand expecting it to be the same consistency as when I first got it. I then checked all the other lotions I had in my drawer, shaking them, and finding out that they had all become watery.
I went online to search for why this happened. I was already thinking that the lotion was expired. But since a few of them were new, I tried to see if there was another reason. Some people online said this happens when lotions go bad, but they do not necessarily expire. But since it is harder to apply and it doesn’t work as effectively as when it wasn’t watery, they do advise people to throw the lotions away.
Still, others suggested that unless the lotions are clumpy, suddenly have a different color. or smell bad, these lotions can still be used. Some suggest adding ingredients such as xanthan gum or mixing it with body butter to help turn it back to its original consistency. There were also suggestions to refrigerate the lotion too since some lotions become watery from extreme heat, especially if it is in a room that doesn't always have air-conditioning on.
The sight of all the lotions that have become watery just sitting on my dresser makes me feel bad because it was such a waste. Throwing it out would mean adding to the solid (and liquid) waste polluting the planet. Because of that, I’ve decided not to throw them out just yet. I’ve tried one that I only use at night for my feet, elbows, and knees. So far, I haven’t had any adverse reactions to it even if it has become watery, so I guess it hasn’t gone bad just yet and that it was only affected by the extreme heat we commonly experience in the country.
For anyone else out there that experienced the same thing with their lotions, I suggest doing a spot test first before using the product. You need to be sure that it hasn’t gone bad and that it won’t cause skin irritation and damage your skin. It wouldn’t hurt to be careful given the condition of the lotion.
As I said at the start of this post, the best solution would still be to throw the watery lotion out and buy a new one. In my case, I just have to make sure that the next lotion I buy won’t be too big that I’d risk it going watery on me because it took too long to use it all up. I will also make sure to refrigerate it since storing it in a cool and dry place as advised did not exactly make a difference. I don’t think the manufacturers of lotions took into account how insanely hot it can be in Southeast Asia during the dry season coupled with the El Niño phenomenon (might be time for them to look into that).
If anyone else out there has any suggestions about what I can do with the lotions that would not be a waste, please let me know. I would appreciate the help!
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