Many of the other reviews for this product are written by the elderly, on behalf of the elderly, for by other adults with some health problems.
Sigh.
I'm 29, and fairly healthy. Currently pregnant, but no biggie. I just have THE DRIEST SKIN EVER.
I live in Oregon, thank God, otherwise I would just peel away like an onion. I don't know how people in drier climates survive, I really don't. Do they DRINK this stuff?
Anyway. My skin is ridiculously dry. It's always been on the drier side, but something about this magical winter is just killing it. Might be extra sensitivity due to the pregnancy, I'm not sure. I have tried just about EVERY lotion, cream, and even oil, under the sun. This one is the BEST.
Let me run down my own personal reactions to the competition:
Aveeno - doesn't actually absorb into my skin, leaves it able to almost rub off after applying
Lubriderm - too dry, not enough moisture, leaves skin feeling taut
Vaseline - works okay, but greasy
Cetaphil (the tub) - GREASE CITY. Also when I used it on my face (where peeling & flaking is an issue) it broke me out.
Cocoa Butter (Palmers & Queen Helene) - same issue as the Aveeno, it wouldn't really absorb in and left me feeling like it was rubbing off
Bath & Body Works - combination of not moisturizing enough (Even the creams in the tubes) and the rub-off factor
Neutrogena - not quite enough moisture for winter time
Nivea - Definitely not moisturizing enough, and some of them smell a little TOO perfumey
Olay Quench - Has sparkles in it. Enough said.
Johnson's Baby Lotion - this is my go-to summer moisturizer. Mostly because we have like a gallon of it left over from when my son was born. It keeps the cracking at bay, but doesn't really do a 100% job.
Johnson's Baby Oil - I use this in times of desperation. Obviously it works great! Any oil would, I imagine. But... it requires a long drying time, potentially gets oil marks on my sheets/towels/clothes, and makes my hands super sticky. Also if my son were to run into my legs for a hug, he would slide right off me and probably land on the dog, which would then create a nasty oil-and-dog-hair situation. Use only for skin emergencies.
Vaseline (straight up petroleum jelly, not the lotion) - this is Skin-911 for me. In DIRE situations I rub it straight on. It has all the problems of baby oil though, but magnified. It works best if applied at night time under some cotton clothes or something... and be prepared to wash the sheets. =/
And more, I'm sure.
What the Gold Bond does though? Is amazing. It leaves my skin feeling HYDRATED. I've been using it for about a week now, religiously applying after each shower to my legs & hips (was getting odd blisters & cracking on my HIPS, omg I'm so geriatric.) and just did a calf-check... normally this would be alligator city. But, nope. Looks smooth and healthy. Feels soft to the touch, with no disgusting powdery dead skin flakes coming off in a poof of dust like I'm a corpse in a cartoon.
I don't find it to have any smell at all, which is a pity. I do like a nicely scented lotion now and then. I wish Bath & Body Works actually worked for my skin anymore... but maybe not smelling like a tween at the mall is a good thing, right?
As I said, I've been using it for a week or so and my legs are completely healed. I've also been trying to make a point to put it on my hands more often. I have some Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream that I really like to use, but never remember to put it on... since the Gold Bond absorbs so much more quickly and doesn't give me greasy hands, I'm more likely to use it. With a toddler, I do a lot of hand washing, so this stuff has really been a lifesaver this week. When I bought it (in desperation at Walmart, wondering if Depends are in my near future!) I had SIX cracks/open sores on my hands, mostly on the knuckles but 2 of them on the pads of my fingers, in the crack at the joint. I have used nothing else but the Gold Bond and they are all nearly healed. My hands also look nice and moisturized, no flaky skin there either.
In short, this is not a fancy lotion. It's definitely not one with pretty marketing or a flowerly smell that your girlfriends will ask about. But? It gets the job done BETTER than anything else, period. This is my new winter staple. Hopefully when spring/summer rolls around I can switch to something less heavy duty/medicinal. Neutrogena or Johnson's or something. But if you have SERIOUSLY dry winter skin, don't even bother trying anything else. This is what you need. :)