Rating Renew Intensive Skin Therapy

Renew is a lotion that is infused with Melaleuca Oil, available through the Melaleuca company. Based in Idaho Falls, Idaho, this company offers products made with mostly natural ingredients. Though I don't think most of their products are worth the membership, there is one product they sell (namely Renew) that is a fairly good value. Here's my rating of the Renew Intensive Skin Therapy lotion.

The first time I used this it was from a sample given to me. I was suffering from an allergy on my hands, which causes my skin to break out in skin 'bubbles' and then they will eventually flake off. It's caused by a surface allergy to some cleaning product I must have been using. Usually the stages of this allergy have to run their course, and I'm left with really rough skin on my palms for weeks before new skin appears. Of course, I was using different lotions, including directly applying baby oil; none of these really help much, however. Then I tried out Renew and within minutes of this lotion absorbing, it made the visible appearance of my palms smooth again. So I decided to give it a few more tests to see how well this lotion can perform.

Rough scaly skin

As I mentioned before, it worked great on rough scaly skin caused by allergies. It didn't irritate the allergy, only heal it. With a few applications of it, my skin was almost back to normal and felt smooth again. But will it work on elbows, knees, and heels? I decided to give it the real test.

Most of us are on our feet all day for one reason or another, and our feet get a real beating. There are thousands of products out there that claim to restore your feet, some are reasonably priced, while others are ludicrous. Dry skin can be pretty annoying, especially in the summer when your feet are seen the most through sandals. This is the time I used this lotion on my feet. The lotion seems a little bit watery, and is not as thick as body butters. In fact, I'd say it is even more watery in consistency than Jergens or any other brand you see on the market that comes in a pump bottle. Needless to say it doesn't seem very impressive. It goes on thin and seems to absorb fast. So what can be the benefit in that?

Well, I tried it on my heels and found that it works just as good as a body butter, but doesn't leave a greasy residue. But body butters don't work all that well on heels unless you prepare them by using a heel file and a foot scrub or soak. This is the same with Renew. You need to have some kind of preparation on your heel; you can't just apply it directly to calloused skin and expect it to soften well. So, in this test I would give it a B because it doesn't work any better than any other lotion on scaly areas. Nevertheless, I really appreciate the non-greasy formula of Renew as opposed to other lotions.

What's in it?

The promotion of this product is in its contents. It has Melaleuca oil. This oil is natural and conditions skin better than most any other oil. I've used it on my face when my skin has irritations that only get worse with regular facial lotions. Although this isn't specifically a facial lotion, I would say it works better than the others I've tried (including Complex-15 and Olay). It is light enough for wear on your face, absorbs quickly, and doesn't leave your face greasy. It seems to protect your skin from the elements and chapping. I give it an A for use on your face.

Overall Value

For a lotion that is less than $20.00 for a good-sized bottle (8 ounces), it is the best value I've found. Vaseline brand lotions are in a similar price range, but don't perform nearly as well as Renew when put to the heel test, and certainly can't double as a facial lotion. Finding a lotion that can be used effectively on the body and face is a real value. I rate the overall value of this product an A. The greaseless formula is great, and it has a light scent like a sunblock that isn't overwhelming. I'd recommend Renew for sensitive skin, especially.