Reviewer Information

• Name: Cora Hussey
• Age: 23
• Gender: Female
• Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
• Weight: 155 lb (70 kg)
• Email address: cahhmc "at" yahoo "dot" com
• Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
• Date: February, 2004

Basic Product Information

• Manufacturer: Dermatone
• Year of Manufacture: 1999
• URL: http://www.dermatone.com/
• Listed weight: 0.5 oz (14 g)
• Weight as delivered: Unknown, I have no full tins
• Measured Size: Circular 2 in (5 cm)
• MSRP: $4.10 US

Product Description

The idea for the Pommade is to protect skin. I use it for everything from facial sunscreen to sunburn treatment to a wind barrier, but I imagine it can be used for much more. I primarily use it as lip-protecting balm. The Pommade inside is slick and solid in temperatures below about 70 F (21 C). Above that, it can shift around within the tin but does not become completely liquid. I apply it by dipping a finger in, getting some on my finger tip, and then applying it where I want.

Field Testing

Once I realized its effectiveness, I have not been on a trip without it. Period. This amounts to more than a half year of continuous use and carrying it with me. I have long since used up my original tin, but I always have a couple lying around which take turns going out with me.

Trip Details:

I have used Dermatone Pommade in the Sierras of California, the Cascades in Washington, and the Rockies of Colorado. Temperatures ranged from 90 F (32 C) to -30 F (-34 C), and conditions ranged from snowy and icy to dry sandy desert. Elevations ranged from sea level to 14,400 ft (4400 m), and terrain was mostly mountainous. The Pommade has been with me in the harshest weather and conditions I have been in, from 60 mi/hr (97 km/hr) winds with blowing ice, to 80 F (27 C) temperatures on blazing glaciers, to day-in-day-out contact with salt and wind while kayaking on the ocean.

Important Usage Points:

+ Product as Advertised: Yes
Comments: It indeed prevents chapping and damage from wind and sun. There is really not much else advertised, except that it is "Legendary", and I tend to agree with that too. To give an example, three years ago I was trying to find my way back to camp after dark one night in a storm which was cold, around -20 F (-29 C) (as I checked later when in camp) and blowing snow and ice bits. I wore a balaclava and goggles, but could not keep the seal between them tight. Thus, I applied some Dermatone Pommade over my nose tip and cheek edges which were sticking out and exposed. After an hour of pushing through the dark, I arrived at camp. Though my nose and cheeks hurt a whole lot from the ordeal, they were perfectly fine. No frostbite whatsoever. No real chapping or ripping from the windblown ice. I was astounded. Another instance occurred on a series of early morning starts on a glacier in the Cascades in Washington. We faced strong winds constantly, and it was too hot to wear face protection without overheating. On the first day, I forgot to apply Dermatone and when I woke up the next morning my superficial cheek skin literally cracked from windburn. After that, I applied the Pommade for the next two mornings and my skin significantly improved by the hike out. Those two examples, along with many others in my adventures, have certainly convinced me of the legendary status of the Pommade.

+ Durability: Excellent
Comments: The tins stand up very well to abuse. I carry the tins around constantly in my pocket in winter, and they never unscrew of their own accord in my pocket. Over time, grit gets into the threads on the twist closure, but it is easy to clean with my fingertip or even firm glove pressure, and so it is not a big problem. One other thing is that if I carry the tin around in my pocket in hot weather the Pommade melts and can sometimes end up spilling out of the tin when opened. As for the length that a single tin lasts, well, they last a long time for me. My first one lasted nearly a year before I found all sorts of uses for it. When applying it, I find I need hardly any for my lips, and a small pea size on my fingertip for my lips, nose, and cheeks. A little goes a long way.

+ Versatility: Excellent
Comments: Simply said, I have tried countless sunscreens, Chapsticks, and other protective and remedy-type skin products, and none come close to either the effectiveness or breadth of application that Dermatone Pommade does. I use it on my cracked and ripped hands after a hard day of climbing. I use it on my lips before and after bright sun exposure. I can stick it up my nose to prevent sunburn up there, and it feels just fine -- not oily or burning or weird at all. For bad conditions, I apply it to my lips, nose, and cheeks, and for worse conditions I even apply it to prevent chapping on my wrists, toes, fingers, and ears. I have found it tends to keep heat in well, and so in cold weather I always apply it to whatever happens to be poking out of my clothing, be it my nose or fingers or anything. It also helps on my unhappy skin -- I have found nothing better for cracked and even bleeding dry lips, or for abraded heels or hands. The Pommade seems to loosen dry skin and protect the skin beneath it. I have found that the "crunchy lip skin" which I (and apparently many others) obtain on winter, mountaineering, or other more weather-extreme trips heals and flakes off nearly twice as fast as with simple Chapstick or pure petrolatum.

+ Taste and Feel: Excellent
Comments: I consider this to be important. I have also tried other pommade type and petrolatum type products and some either taste horrible or bitter or just plain chemical, and others feel oily or burning. I have found Dermatone to be very neutral. As mentioned above, I have used it on cracked skin and up my nose with no ill effects. No other sunscreen or Chapstick type product I have found has quite the same neutrality when it comes to not offending my senses while protecting my skin.

+ Weatherproofness: Excellent
Comments: As mentioned earlier, the Pommade does wonders for protecting my skin against wind and even cold. For sun, I have used it as any sunscreen and have never been burned on the spots where I apply it. I have found that I need to reapply it every two hours while sweating profusely, and every 30 minutes if I am constantly wet, windy, salty, or some other extreme. Other than that, I apply it at the beginning of the day for weather or sun protection, and as I need it for damaged skin and I have found that to be sufficient. It does not seem to build up on my face over many days like some oily sunscreen does, and it also does not seem to collect dirt any more than my normal sweaty skin would. And, once melted in hot weather, it congeals again in cooler weather with no apparent ill effects. Overall, it resists weather very well.

Summary

Simply said, in harsh conditions I consider Dermatone Pommade to be worth its weight in gold. It is so versatile that I have found it to benefit my lips, face, and all exposed and unhappy extremities. I use it in cold, wind, and sun, and will continue to use it as long as I recreate in the outdoors. In short, I cannot say enough good things about it.

Upsides for me:

• It works against wind
• It works against sun
• It works on my cracked skin
• Simply said, it works

• A bit expensive (yet still very worth it)
• Grit can get in the tin closure threads
• Hot temperatures melt it so it can spill out of the tin

Read more reviews of Dermatone gear
Read more gear reviews by Cora Hussey

Reviews > Health & Safety > Sunscreens > Dermatone Sunblock > Owner Review by Cora Hussey