Lacto Calamine Lotion - A Review

One of my readers had asked me to do a review on Lacto Calamine Lotion. I have never used this product before in my life (except one time when I got chicken pox). So for this purpose I went and purchased a small bottle to try out for a week.

I bought the aloe moisturiser lacto calamine lotion meant for dry skin.

What does it claim: A lot apparently. They claim this is skinsurance. A daily use formula with Kaolin & Special Moisturizers.

Discover Skinsurance for Dry Skin.
1. Moisturisation
2. Protection
3. Dead skin Removal
4. Acne Control
Apply everyday for soft, clear skin.

Ingredients: Aqua, Light Kaolin, Sorbitol soln 70%, Propylene Glycol, glycerine, Aloe Vera gel, Castor oil, Zinc Oxide, Zinc Carbonate, Simethicone and  permitted colours, emulsifiers, preservatives and perfume.

Price: 30 ml bottle costs 32 Rs. This is the smallest size. You also get bigger sizes. 


Pros: 
1. The lotion is tinted, it can be worn during the day as a great tinted moisturizer. Only problem is that they have just one shade, and if you apply too much it tends to leave a whitish cast on the face. Maybe they could diversify into other shades and this could be India's answer to Tinted Moisturiser.
2. Highly affordable.
3. All the ingredients are absorbent in nature, so may be a good choice for oily skin. And also does feel a little cool when applied to the skin.


Cons: 
1. Not moisturising enough for my dry skin. I felt the lotion was seriously lacking in moisture and it actually dried out my skin more during the winter. It does not have ingredient that would have acted as a barrier to moisture loss, like mineral oil or dimethicone. All its ingredients are drying and not suitable for dry skin.

2. No SPF. Although it does have Zinc Oxide which acts as a physical UV ray barrier and is used in sunscreens. So maybe this lotion does have sun protective properties, only they have not quanitified it in terms of SPF

3. I didn't like the texture - it was just too powdery when it would dry up. 


Will I repurchase: I will, but not to use as a moisturiser. I discovered that this works great as a clay/kaolin base when preparing home made face masks. So I will repurchase it for this purpose. But not for use as a daily moisturizer.

I know this is a HG for a lot of people who have skin infections, acne, sun-burn, tans, splotchy, pigmented and oily skin. Fortunately I have neither. So cannot comment on how effective it is at clearing up tans, acne, redness and curbing oil production.

Frankly I approached this with a lot of expectations because of the long legacy it seems to carry as a cure - it - all for the skin, but I found this seriously lacking as a moisturizer for dry skin.