Bio Oil Compared to the the Generic: The Verdict is In!

A while back I wrote about a product that I was using that I was really happy with: Bio-Oil. I'd read a lot of reviews during my last pregnancy, but was still a little skeptical about actually trying it. I'm not sure why because when I was pregnant with Sadie I went through lotion after lotion that claimed to help pregnant mom's prevent stretch marks and dry, itchy skin, but somehow the jump over to oils didn't happen. I had baby oil, but it was so greasy that it probably contributed to my hesitation to purchase anything else like it. The lotions didn't do much for my itchy dry pregnant skin either so this time I took the plunge and tried Bio Oil. As I wrote earlier, I love it. It has very little, other than "oil" in the name, with the greasy oil that most of us are familiar with.

My next experiment, however, was to try the CVS generic kind that's supposed to be exactly the same (and if you look at the labels they are basically the same). We have a big incentive with the employee discount to shop for all things CVS generic, and have had mixed results. About half the time the product really does measure up to the brand name. The other half of the time it has nothing in common with the original (cough medicine was a BIG example of that... CVS's "tussin" did nothing compared to the actual Robatussin we ended up having to buy when the generic didn't work at all...).

So I was hopeful when we bought the generic "bio oil."

And I have to say that I wouldn't recommend it. As soon as I started using Bio-Oil my skin felt moisturized. It felt like it actually absorbed into my skin. The generic felt like a layer on top of my skin (and actually made my stomach feel itchier if that's possible). I'm not sure how to describe the feeling, but it almost felt "squeaky." I did use it for the month, but I have to say I was glad when the bottle ran out.

The other Bio-Oil tip I've discovered is that it really is important, at least for me, to use it twice a day. Out of simple laziness I cut back and my skin didn't feel nearly as hydrated (and I spend my days walking around drinking out of a giant water bottle all day too!) The pregnant belly itchiness was almost as bad as it was initially, and I wondered if the Bio-Oil had been a fluke... but as soon as I started using it twice a day the itchiness disappeared. And so far, despite the fact that I'm already pretty gigantic, no stretch marks have made an appearance (making it all 40 weeks will be the real test!).

And just in case you're wondering (because my uncle asked me this when he was visiting) this is a totally voluntary, unsolicited review of a product I'm excited about! But if it helps other itchy pregnant tummies I'm happy!