The Body Shop Hemp Face Protector

I have been on the hunt for a moisturiser for a long time now that actually does what it says on the tin. Okay, so it's not technically in a tin, but you get my drift. We all want what we pay for, but for so long now I've been buying products and having high expectations for them, and yet they fall flat. Which leaves my skin still dry, my hopes dashed a little, and my bank account looking a bit slimmer. I was giving up hope and just thought I'd go through life with dry skin, however, that changed when I stumbled across this little gem.

A couple of months ago, I did give a brief review of this in my The Body Shop Haul, but I'm going to go into a bit more detail with it now that I have been using it for a while. I've been using this every day for almost three months now, so I feel like I've got more of an accurate description together about it. This was recommended to me by carrying out an 'ultimate skincare regime' on The Body Shop's website, where you'll be asked to answer some questions and it'll give you the best products for you based on what you answered. As I've got very dry skin, this is one of the products that came up for me. Hemp seed oil - which is in the product - is said to be one of the best sources for fatty acids that will help to nourish your skin (don't worry, it doesn't make your face fat!). If it's going to moisturise my face and give it some nourishing TLC, then I'm not going to say no. It was also said to give instant relief to dry skin and to also help to protect your skin and keep it hydrated during harsh weather. It all sounded like big talk for quite a small and innocent looking product, that is also only £8... So did it live up to it's word?

In a nutshell; yes. It did. For something that is so inexpensive, I'll admit I thought TBS were pulling my leg. But they weren't, and now my skin is thanking me a lot. As I mentioned in my previous review of it, the product does look quite thick when you first glance at it, but when you apply it with your fingers, you'll find the product is rather thin and goes on very easily. As soon as you apply it to your skin, you can feel that you're being hydrated and it also banishes any feeling of tightness that you might have due to your skin suffering. With the product being quite thin, a little definitely goes a long way, so this 50ml tub will last a fair while - even if you moisturise day and night with it. It also feels so lightweight when you put it on, and it doesn't feel greasy on your skin - it may look a tad greasy whilst it's sinking in, but once it's made it's way into your skin, that won't matter so much as you'll have softer and more moisturised skin.

I've found that the product does sink in really well to the skin if you massage it in when you apply it. I do suffer with not just dry skin, but extremely dry skin, due to a various amount of reasons. This product has helped a whole lot, but I definitely need to use it morning and night to keep the dry patches at bay. However, I do have to be careful to not apply too much as my skin ends up looking really greasy and when I go to put my makeup on, the moisturiser kind of peels off. If you've ever had this happen to you, you'll know it's not pleasant and it's a right pain to sort it and your makeup out once it's started to happen. As my skin is quite arrogant apparently and likes to do this quite a bit, I'll apply the face protector all over my face at night so that it can sink in overnight, and then I'll reapply it thinly in the places I need it most in the morning. This usually prevents me over-moisturising and it also helps prevent the peely-product nastiness.

To sum it up, this is an amazing steal for £8. For such an inexpensive product, I was honestly expecting it to be rather crap and just another one to mark off my list. But I take those initial thoughts back as it has helped my skin so much, as it's lasting forever, I've hardly used any over the last couple of months and it's not even half used yet! It doesn't completely get rid of my dry patches, but I think that's unrelated to the product and I think it's more to do with me not drinking enough, not getting enough sleep, not exfoliating enough and so on. I dare say that if I bucked up my ideas and took better care of my skin in more aspects (I am trying) that this product would help get rid of my dry skin altogether. It is an absolute godsend and I cannot thank The Body Shop enough for making this little beauty. I will definitely be going back to repurchase it, and I will be recommending it to any family or friends that also have the same skin troubles as I do.

Nicole x