Wednesday 3 November 2010

Disaster of the Diabolical Bath Foams

This article was originally posted at http://aichakubeautification.blogspot.com. If you see it anywhere else without credit, the content is stolen without permission.

I had a series of shower foam mishaps in the month of October.

Somehow, I have a very bad memory and I couldn't recall why I had to use such "expensive" organic bath foams and handmade soaps. So last month, I attempted to be thrifty by getting some commercial shower foams that come in large quantities for an attractive price.

Through the weeks, I had one disaster after another. I shall  do a short and quick recap of each shower foam I tried in sequence. Hopefully you can benefit from my learning experiences.


Shokubutsu Whitening Body Foam





REVIEW


Pros
  • Not drying but not moisturising
  • Cleans well
Cons
  • Causes itchy skin
  • Overly floral and pungent scent


VERDICT
YY /5

I really liked the idea of Shokubutsu shower foam. It claims to contain 100% cleansing ingredients from plants, it's from Japan (a country renowned for manufacturing quality products) and for this range of shower foam - it also claims to have whitening power. Add to that the cheap drugstore price, the pink and white packaging, and you have a winning formula that grabs my attention! Sadly, though, I had mixed results from using this shower foam. I liked the way the shower foam cleansed my skin without drying nor leaving an oily film of emolient. However, I was not too fond of the overly floral scent that lingered even several hours after my shower. Neither was I happy that after a while, I started to get itchy patches all over my body! I don't know what caused the itching. I noticed that neither Sodium Laureth Sulphate nor any of its cousins was nowhere on the list of ingredients. Maybe it's the scent that caused the reactions? I didn't finish the bottle of shower foam.



Ginvera 3 in 1 Royal Jelly Shower Milk



REVIEW
Pros
  • Moisturising
  • Smooth texture
Cons
  • IT STINKS!!!!!


VERDICT
Y /5

The perfume is overwhelming and punjent like cheap car air freshener scents that you get in taxis. The perfume lingers on the body for more than half a day and gave me a terrible headache. I threw away the bottle I had. I couldn't even bear to use it for washing brushes nor could I do my mother the disservice of passing it to her.


Lux Soft Kiss Body Wash



REVIEW
Pros
  • Smooth texture
Cons
  • Awful scent!


VERDICT
YY /5

It has a chemical strawberry-ish scent that is overpowering. I also found my skin getting itchy. I don't think I can use Lux products as you will see from my next bottle of bath foam.


Lux White Glamour Body Wash


REVIEW
Pros
  • Pretty moisturising
  • Smooth texture
Cons
  • Smelly


VERDICT
YY /5

Another one that smells too punjent and also gave me a terrible headache. Even my son complained when he hugged me. Passed it to my mom, she likes the scent. *eek*


Johnson's Naturally White Daily Moisturising Wash
(Sorry I can't find a stock photo and I didn't take a picture of the item I have.)

REVIEW
Pros
  • Smooth texture
  • Cleans without leaving a film
  • Pleasant scent
Cons
  • Not very moisturising


VERDICT
YYY /5

Well ok, this one passed the review, but it was still a trifle drying for my skin. :( So I don't think I'll repurchase this. I'm a little disappointed that it's not moisturising enough because I wanted to try the Melt Away Stress range. Now I don't think I will. I'll just rely on the products with Lavender essential oils.


Olive Organia Aroma Green Body Cleanser



REVIEW
Pros
  • Great scent
Cons
  • Wrecked my skin!
  • Too harsh!


VERDICT
YY /5

I finally found a shower foam that I enjoyed using but this was the one that broke the camel's back. My ezcema became full-blown and my skin turned itchy, red, with peeling skin and dry lines. All over my body, especially in the "crevices" like between my fingers, at my elbows and etc. I was scratching like mad after a shower and no amount of moisturiser helped. I had to give this up. I took a look at the ingredient list and I suspect it's due to the Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES), BOTH of which were included and listed FIRST, after water. Should have known better than to buy something that is so strong.


CONCLUSION

After this debacle, I've since returned to using SLS and SLES-free organic bath products that smell wonderful due to the inclusion of essential oils. I also bought myself a new batch of handmade soaps. I'll talk about these in another more positive post. Essentially, I think SLS/SLES and scents are bad for me. I can tolerate some SLES if the product contains alot of moisturizing elements, but otherwise, it's a No-NO! Especially SLS.

This article was originally posted at http://aichakubeautification.blogspot.com. If you see it anywhere else without credit, the content is stolen without permission.

© Copyright aichakubeautification. All rights reserved.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi! I really sympathise with you cos I have my share of bad eczema days too and I didn't keep track of my triggering factor (except for a dishwashing detergent & triclosan that I know) :( I am now using Dove (orginal) and so far, it works well for me :)

astrorainfall @ beauty box said...

Yeah I totally agree that cheap drugstore brands for body wash products are awful for those who have sensitive skin. I also feel itchy after using them. Japan's drugstore brands are like that too and I avoid them like the plague.

I used to have a serious eczema problem so I don't mind spending more on quality shower gels/creams to avoid such breakouts etc.