TONYMOLY Magic Food Banana Hand Milk 45ml

The Magic Food Banana Hand Milk is the hand cream that put TONYMOLY's packaging on people's shelves. It comes in a soft bottle shaped like a banana, and while that is unquestionably the reason most people pick it up the first time, the formula underneath is a competent hand cream rather than a novelty.

The moisturising base combines shea butter and coconut oil as emollients with glycerin and urea as humectants, which is a sensible pairing. The emollients sit on the surface and slow water loss, while the humectants hold water in the upper layers. Urea has a second function in hand creams: it softens hardened skin, which is useful on knuckles and around the nail bed.

"Hand milk" describes the texture. It is lighter than a thick barrier balm and absorbs faster, which makes it practical to use through the day rather than only at bedtime. The trade off is that it is not the heaviest option available if your hands are badly cracked.

Two notes. The formula is fragranced, carrying the banana scent the packaging promises, and it contains the colourants CI 19140 and CI 15985. It also contains shea butter and coconut oil, both of which are comedogenic, so this is a hand cream rather than something to use on the face.

Features

●        45ml soft bottle in banana shaped Magic Food packaging

●        Shea butter and coconut oil as emollients

●        Glycerin and urea as humectants

●        Lighter hand milk texture that absorbs quickly

●        Banana scented

●        Made in South Korea

Concerns

●        Dry hands

●        Rough skin on knuckles and around the nail bed

●        Hands that tighten after frequent washing

●        Wanting a hand cream light enough to use during the day

Suitable For

●        Dry and normal skin on the hands

●        Daytime use, since it absorbs quickly

●        Handbags, desk drawers and gifting

●        For hands rather than the face. Patch test if you react to fragrance.

Made In

South Korea

●        Pairs emollients with humectants, so it both holds water in the skin and slows water loss from the surface

●        Urea softens hardened skin, which helps on knuckles and around the nail bed

●        The lighter hand milk texture absorbs quickly enough to use during the working day

●        45ml fits easily in a handbag, a coat pocket or a desk drawer

●        The banana packaging makes it an easy small gift

●        A practical entry point into Korean hand care at a low price

1.     Wash and dry your hands.

2.     Squeeze a small amount onto the back of one hand. Start with less than you think you need.

3.     Massage it across the backs of the hands, into the palms and along each finger.

4.     Work it around the nail beds and across the knuckles, where skin tends to be driest.

5.     Reapply through the day, particularly after washing your hands.

6.     For very dry hands, apply a generous layer before bed and wear cotton gloves overnight.

Key Ingredients

●        Shea Butter is the primary emollient, reducing water loss from the skin surface.

●        Glycerin is a humectant and one of the most reliable moisturising ingredients available.

●        Urea is a humectant that also softens hardened skin.

●        Coconut Oil acts as a second emollient in the formula.

Ingredient Claims

●        Contains fragrance. Patch test if you react to fragrance in leave on products.

●        Contains the colourants CI 19140 and CI 15985.

●        Contains shea butter and coconut oil, both comedogenic. This is a hand cream and is not intended for use on the face.

Full Ingredients List

Water, Glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Butylene Glycol, Macadamia Integrifolia Seed Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Musa Sapientum (Banana) Fruit Extract, Urea, Pentylene Glycol, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Cetearyl Glucoside, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Fragrance (Parfum), Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Tromethamine, Ethylhexylglycerin, Milk Protein Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Disodium EDTA, Tocopheryl Acetate, Phenoxyethanol, Yellow 5 (CI 19140), Yellow 6 (CI 15985).

TONYMOLY launched in South Korea in 2006 and became one of the most widely recognised K beauty brands internationally, known for playful packaging as much as for its formulas. The Magic Food line is the clearest expression of that approach, with products arriving in the shape of the ingredient inside: a banana bottle for the banana hand cream, a peach for the peach products and so on. The designs were a significant part of how a generation of shoppers outside Korea first encountered the category, and the Magic Food hand creams remain among the brand's most popular products.

•  1 x TONYMOLY Magic Food Banana Hand Milk, 45ml