Worth It: Cream To Heal Tortured Skin

Much unlike many a magazine editor who recommends you buy all sorts of crap that they most likely got for free, your Jezebel staff doesn’t get jack shit (other than books, unsolicited). And that’s how it should be. But on our own time, in our personal lives, we still buy stuff. Thus we’re introducing Worth It, a daily recommendation of random things that we’ve actually spent our own money on. These are the things we buy regularly or really like, things we’d actually tell our friends about. And now we’re telling you.

I don’t usually ask my dad for personal grooming advice — if I did, I might learn about the latest in beard-trimmers. However, there’s one area where he is my go-to guy: dry skin. I inherited from my dad skin that’s not just dry, but prone in winter to flaky red patches that itch and are extremely gross. My first December in New York prompted this panicked phone conversation:

Me: “Dad, I look like a leper!”
Dad: “A leopard?”
Me: “That too.”

His recommendation was specific: Cetaphil lotion, but not the kind in the tube. Only the kind in the jar, he explained, would keep my leopard-leprosy at bay. So I got myself some Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream (which turns out to be what “the kind in the jar” is called), and within a week of smearing myself with the stuff daily, my scaly patches were gone. Now I use it after every shower, and the patches have yet to come back, even in harsh winter weather. Also, the cream isn’t oily or greasy, and I can totally put my pants on afterward without feeling all gross. A jar of it is under $15, and lasts nearly six months. It is more than worth it.

Cetaphil Fragrance-Free Moisturizing Cream, $13.49 at Drugstore.com.

Worth It only features things we paid for ourselves and actually like. Don’t send us stuff.