We’re going deeper into the dry skin season.   Lotions are needed.  Not for beauty or appearance, but to stop itchy, scaly skin.  Especially if you’re a diabetic.  Personally, we prefer those that are fragrance free, just because of allergies.  But there’s hardly a household anywhere that doesn’t keep a bottle of lotion on hand.  When we were younger, we bought the generic kind that were  cheaper and seemed to do the job. But we older folks sometimes  pay a little more for a richer, higher quality lotion that combats our increasingly fragile, dry skin.  Beware! Pump lotions may cheat you.

If you’re looking  at shelves full of lotion at the drugstore, you’ll notice that most of them come in the form of pump bottles.  Naturally, they’re more appealing.  Pump bottles stand on their own, don’t take up much counter space, and are much easier to use.  It’s possible you buy more than one for every bedroom and bathroom in the house.

But here’s what happens.  By the time you’ve gotten down towards the bottom, the pump no longer works.  The bottle is opaque, so the consumer is not aware that there’s a good inch or so of perfectly good lotion at the bottom.  Trouble is, you can’t get it out very easily.  Good lotions tend to be thicker.  If you unscrew the lid and try pouring the lotion into the palm of your hand, it doesn’t flow out. So, you toss the bottle into the trash can, and buy another bottle.

Let’s say you’ve paid $13 for that bottle of lotion.  That means there’s probably one tenth of unused lotion, which amounts to a dollar or two of waste.  Manufacturers love that.  But as a  thrifty consumer, I don’t.  Here’s how I outwit the lotion scam.  I turn the bottle upside down against a crook in a chair.  No, it won’t stand up straight.  But the lotion flows toward the other end, where I can scoop it out with my fingers. Often, there’s enough to last a week or so. You can also cut the bottle in half with a scissors,  and scoop out what’s left, but that’s pretty messy.

However  the best way  to save money is to  buy a bottle  or tube of cream instead of a pump.  Warning! Pump lotions may cheat you.  And, in these inflationary times,  it’s important to get what you pay for..