So some people say their pump is broke, and at first I thought mine was too! It's not. There's the pump part you press down, and there's a ridged bit just below with an arrow on it. Twist the ridged bit in the direction of the arrow until it won't twist any more, and then twist the pump part itself in the same direction a little, and voila, press down a few times and the product should dispense. Twist ridged bit back the other way to "lock" the pump and prevent accidentally dispensing product. Onto the lotion itself; a few months ago I ordered a smaller 200ml tube version to try out and before that even ran out I ordered the 500ml bottle; my review will talk about both and I'll note any differences between the 2. MY SKIN; I have dermatillomania, which is a compulsive skin-picking disorder. You know you shouldn't pick, but you can't help it, even if it hurts, bleeds or looks unsightly. Anywho. I'm terrible for picking at my fingers and my face; any rough, dry, dead skin, any spot or cut scab, ANY "imperfection" as my brain sees it, and I'll pick. I bought this as I've tried various other things, and I know my sister uses this on her son for eczema. I want to keep my skin as moisturised as possible to try and reduce my skin-picking. SCENT; I love scented lotions and potions, but understand sometimes fragrance irritates skin. The 500ml bottle is truly scentless, but the 200ml tube DOES have a very slight scent, nothing nasty (actually kinda soothing), I put it down to the oat and shea content. APPLICATION (hands); despite being a little thick, I find it applies and smoothes out nicely, and while it absorbs well I find it leaves a tiny bit behind, not exactly sticky or like a film, and not even enough that it'll smear/mark your phone screen whilst tapping on it. It's hard to describe, but I do feel SOMETHING for a short while after. Having said this, I do use a little extra because I want to ensure there's enough available for my skin to absorb and the feeling doesn't bother me. FACE; I used the 200ml tube on my face as I found my usual favorite face moisturiser (ELF's Holy Hydration cream) was struggling to keep me moisturised since Christmas. I have dry skin thanks to a prescription of Adapalene/Differin retinoid as a teen to treat acne and oily skin, though my T-Zone can get a little oily still. I've tried various brands, ones targeted at spots, at exfoliation, even ones that claim they won't mess with your skin because they contain only what's needed but still broke me out (looking at you, Simple...). None really worked; either they did nothing to my skin or they made it worse and broke me outor made me dry or even gave me a dermatitis reaction. Took me a long time to find Elf's HH stuff, and they really DON'T break me out. I thought perhaps using this Aveeno miiight break me out a bit, with it being a little thicker and mainly for body use. It. Doesn't. Ohmygoodness. This doesn't break me out at all. It doesn't mess with my other moisturisers, my spot-dabbing stuff, my makeup. It makes my skin look a little matte after application and absorption, which can be a plus for some but not for others. My skin feels soothed, comforted, not tight or itchy or irritated. No stinging, even on open spots or sores or cuts. I don't run it in too hard, I just very gently smooth it over the skin, and sometimes pat afterwards too. In the start I actually mixed it with my normal moisturiser and they don't pill/ball up or anything. I will say that I don't use it every single day as I probably should, but I'm going to try now I have the big bottle, and if I need to I'll update my review. Hopefully I won't need to as it's already long enough :/ sorry! Photos are the 2 types I got; 1st purchase was the 200ml tube, then the 500ml bottle, and also the condition of my fingers. Not perfect but no open wounds or flakes! Short nails because I'm having them done soon. 2nd photo is a month or so after using Aveeno; having healthy skin around the nails helps keep nails healthy and I have only an old scab or two. 3rd photo is from a couple of months ago before I started using the Aveeno; cuts where I'd picked and they'd bled and scabbed etc.
