Product Review: Suave Skin Therapy Cocoa Butter with Shea Moisturizer

For years, Suave has presented affordable beauty products to the public. They produce shampoos, soaps, lotions and various beauty items at a reasonable price, but is it really worth saving a few pennies on Suave products? Suave thinks so. In fact, they are so confident in their ability to compete with higher-priced products that they offer a money-back guarantee in their "Suave Promise" that states, "We guarantee your full satisfaction or we will replace or refund your purchase."

Their latest campaign, "Say Yes to Beautiful" targets mothers who have "let themselves go." They've begun a newsletter, "The Hot Moms Club" and a webseries, "Into Motherhood" to market their products to busy moms. On their website, Suave claims that their lotions "...nourish dry, sleep-deprived skin." So is it true?

I've suffered from dry skin as long as I can remember. The winter months were always the worst, offering up flaking, itchy, uncomfortable skin. There were times I'd scratch and scratch 'til I was nearly bleeding...and it still itched! I used moisturizing soaps, lotions and creams to no avail, until my doctor recommended I try a product that contained cocoa butter.

I tried several brands, including Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Lotion at $4.75 for 8.5 fl. oz. and The Body Shop's Cocoa Butter Hand & Body Lotion at $24.00 for 16.9 fl. oz. While I'm not Suave's target demographic, I was curious to see if their lower priced product would be worth it for my flaky, dry skin. An 18 fl. oz. bottle of Suave's Skin Therapy Cocoa Butter with Shea Moisturizer cost $3.59.

I used the lotion every day on my hands, arms and legs until the product was gone, but after only a week, I noticed a great improvement in my skin's moisture. I no longer suffered from itchy, flaky dry skin. The moisturizer has a light cocoa butter scent that quickly fades. The scent doesn't interfere with any of my sprays or perfumes. It is non-greasy and absorbs quickly.

The only con I discovered is in their bottle. I purchased the 18oz pump bottle. Unfortunately, once you begin to run low, it becomes difficult to pump the lotion. However, Suave does market this product in a squeeze bottle as well.

While higher priced brands may be "trendier" or more prettily packaged, Suave has created a product that delivers in their Skin Therapy Cocoa Butter with Shea Moisturizer. I recommend it to anyone who's been spending unnecessary dollars on similar products at higher prices.