Category Archives: Body washes

by

Dr Bronner’s Liquid Soaps

Dr Bronner. Great soaps, unusual packaging. If you want to find out more about the history behind the huh-yuge amount of text on a bottle of Dr Bronner’s liquid soaps, Wikipedia’s a good place to start.

I will be concentrating on what’s in the bottle. Now I really love these liquid soaps, made from pure Castile soap. They’re non-drying, smell great and the ingredients list is short and sweet. I’ve been using the Lavender and Rose versions for ages (they just last and last) in the shower and as handwashes. I only have one slight quibble.

18-in-1.

Really?? I read ALL the text on the bottle and I can’t find an explanation for the 18-in-1. It rather suggests there are 18 different uses. Which suggests I’ve been using my soaps at a fraction of their full potential.

So I’ve had a bash at a full 18 uses. Feel free to add your own in the comments!

1. Shower gel

2. Hand wash

3. Shampoo

4. Hand wash (for clothes)

5. Face wash (if you don’t have particularly dry skin)

6. Dog shampoo (I have it on good authority that Rebecca from Biteable Beauty does this)

7. Cleanser for make-up brushes

8. Washing up liquid……running out of ideas a bit now

9. Foaming bath, possibly?

10. Foot soak (bit of a cheat. It’s a bath for your feet really)

11. Gentle detergent for wiping down kitchen worktops

12. Baby wash (I’m justifying this as distinct from full-sized people wash because there are so many separate products on the market)

13. Baby shampoo (see above)

14. Cat shampoo (sorry)

15. Hamster shampoo (really struggling now)

16. Christmas present (ah ha! A new theme!)

17. Birthday present (I’m on a roll…)

18. Paperweight

Dr Bronner’s liquid soaps, approx. £6 for 236ml. Available from Waitrose, Lovelula, Big Green Smile and There Must Be A Better Way.

Ingredients (for lavender version): Water, Saponified Organic Coconut Oil*, Saponified Organic Olive Oil*, Organic Glycerin, Organic Cannabis Sativa (Hemp) Seed Oil, Organic Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Organic Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Lavandula Hybrida (Lavandin) Extract, Citric Acid, Tocopherol, (* Certified Fair Trade by IMO)

by

10-in-10: A’kin Sandalwood Body wash

Sandalwood is a fabulous oil for an aromatherapist. It’s really high in sesquiterpene alcohols (or sesquiterpenols), which make it sedative and calming, as well as anti-spasmodic and anti-inflammatory. All good stuff for relaxing a client and/their skin and muscles. Because of its sedative properties, it’s also a really nice ‘mind expander’, helping to calm over-active thoughts and enhance positivity.

During my revision, I definitely had an over-active mind on occasion. Trying to get to sleep the night before the exam was hilariously difficult (and I say hilarious in the slightly hysterical sense of the word). Vaporising the oil can help to bring on restful sleep but I also used A’kin’s Sandalwood Body Wash for a quick evening shower on my revision days. It’s a lovely woody smell, combining Australian sandalwood with Patchouli, Clove and Ylang ylang for a deeper, muskier edge. The body wash doesn’t have a particularly powerful smell so don’t expect to be knocked over backwards. But it was slightly lingering on the skin and a few deep breaths, combined with the ritual of having a shower, did help me to switch off a bit at the end of the day. Plus A’kin use far less harsh foaming agents in their products – lauryl glucoside as opposed to SLS.

A quick note about Sandalwood. The most famous oil therapeutically is Indian Sandalwood – or Santalum album. However, the Indian Sandalwood tree is now endangered and the Indian Government are working hard to regulate the production of the oil. Unfortunately, to produce the oil, you need to destroy the tree, making it harder to harvest them sustainably, and there are also ongoing problems with poachers on Indian plantations. If you’re buying Sandalwood, it’s important to check your supplier and question them. Check where their sandalwood comes from. Is it from a sustainably-managed site? Can they even answer your question? If not, don’t buy. The alternative is Australian Sandalwood or Santalum spicatum – as in A’kin’s body wash. Santalum spicatum is more likely to be sustainably produced and, while therapists are split on whether it is as powerful a tool as Santalum album, I do think we should be putting the planet first.

A’kin Sandalwood Body Wash, available from MyPure for £9.49 and Naturisimo for £8.08.

Ingredients: aqua (purified Australian water*) *BP 2007 standard, citric acid (botanical source), cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine (from coconut), disodium cocoamphodiacetate (from coconut), glycerin (botanical source), glyceryl laurate (botanical source), lauryl glucoside (from coconut, palm & glucose), sodium citrate (botanical source), sodium gluconate (from GMO free corn), sodium hydroxymethylglycinate, sodium lauroyl sarcosinate (from palm), sodium lauryl sulfoacetate (from palm), sorbitol (from GMO free maize), pogostemon cablin (patchouli) oil, syzygium aromaticum (clove) flower oil, cananga odorata (ylang ylang) flower oil, fusanus spicatus wood (West Australian sandalwood) oil

by

Waking up with orange blossom: Balance Me and Naked body washes

If you’ve read recent posts (see here and here) you’ll know I had a break from my usual routine to waft around in an Ibizan orange grove for a while. Apart from being left feeling totally and utterly spoilt, I was left craving the smell of orange blossom.

Aside from vaporising both petitgrain and sweet orange oils around the house (sadly my essential oil budget hasn’t quite stretched to neroli – orange blossom – just yet), I’ve been starting the day with a citrus hit in the shower too.

So I thought I’d share my two current favourites for bringing the orange grove to the bathroom.

First up, budget option Naked’s Orange Blossom body wash. Sulfate and parfum-free, this has a really soft, gentle fragrance and smells just like the grounds at the Atzaro. It’s available from the Naked website, or from Boots stores and many supermarkets nationwide for £3.99.

Ingredients: Aqua, Cocamidopropyl betaine, Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate, Sodium cocoamphoacetate, Coco glucoside, Glyceryl oleate, Chamomilla recutita extract, Citrus aurantium amara (Neroli) oil, Aloe barbadensis extract, Sodium hydroxymethylglycinate, Citric acid, Glycerin, Potassium sorbate, Sodium benzoate

And secondly, Balance Me’s Seven Day Petitgrain & Green Myrtle body wash. Which, after a bit of poking around online, has possibly been DISCONTINUED. Which makes me mad. There’s a new ‘Citrus and Spice’ fragrance range on their website which I suspect is its new incarnation but it won’t be the same *stamps feet in toddler-like fashion*. I do highly rate Balance Me and it’s probably worth checking out Citrus & Spice, but if you wanted to try the original it’s still available, for now, on Look Fantastic, priced £10.25.

It combines antibacterial green myrtle with essential oils of petitgrain, bitter orange and neroli (the bitter orange tree treble whammy) for a really gorgeous green citrus that is one of my all time happy smells.

Ingredients: Aqua, cocoamidopropyl betaine, lauryl glucoside, disodium lauryl sulfosuccinate, sodium cocoamphoacetate, glyceryl oleate, coco glucoside, aloe barbadensis (aloe vera), cirtus aurantium amara (petitgrain) leaf oil, citrus aurantium dulcis (sweet orange) peel oil, myrtus communis (myrtle) oil,  citrus aurantium amara (neroli) flower oil, dehydroacetic acid, benzyl alcohol, citric acid, geraniol, linalool, limonene

by

Miessence Rose Geranium Exfoliating Cleansing bar

I’ve used products from Miessence before (you can find out more about their skincare range here). Today I’m looking at a slightly more purse-friendly option from their range – the exfoliating cleansing bar designed for use in the shower.

I’m not a big fan of soap. Most soaps out there are made up almost entirely of chemical detergents and artificial fragrance. One of my least favourite substances ON EARTH is that pink (why is it always pink??), antiseptic-smelling goop that you can dispense from boxes on the wall in public toilets. It smells like hospitals and it leaves your skin feeling like old leather that’s been left out to shrink-dry in the midday sun.

You can see I’m picky about soap.

Now, the Miessence exfoliating cleansing bar is essentially a soap in a bag but it’s also a lot more.

For starters, it has just two ingredients. Saponifed coconut oil (saponified means to turn a fat or oil into a soap by reacting it with an alkali). And essential oil. I’m using the Rose geranium exfoliating cleansing bar because my skin is quite dry, but if you had oily skin that is occasionally prone to breakouts, you could opt for the Tea tree ECB instead.

Secondly, the ‘bag’ is a natural sisal drawstring bag and it’s not packaging. You use the soap while it’s IN the bag so that the natural fibres act as a gentle exfoliant. It also means you can hang up the soap between uses to avoid it dissolving over time in the scummy puddle that always forms in a soap dish.

I’ve really liked using the Exfoliating cleansing bar. It’s incredibly convenient, especially for the time-poor. It’s gentle on my sensitive skin: I didn’t notice any of the ‘tightness’ or dryness often associated with using soap. Plus the rose geranium smell is pleasant and light.

One thing I should point out is that the ECBs aren’t designed for use on the face – they’re for below the neck only! While they work brilliantly as a gentle body cleanser/exfoliator they would be too abrasive and, as a result of their alkaline pH, a little too drying for the face.

Both the Rose geranium exfoliating cleansing bar and the Tea tree version cost £6.65 (for 100g) and are available from the Miessence website.

Disclosure: Rob at Miessence was kind enough to send me the product trialled for this review. However, in keeping with my own policy, I’m writing about it here because I like it and would happily recommend it to others. If I hadn’t liked it, you wouldn’t be reading about it.

by

It’s not too cold to go Barefoot – A review and a Christmas Giveaway

Correction. It IS too cold to go barefoot. Don’t try it. There’s a reason fluffy slippers were invented and it’s now.

But if you’re looking for something to beat winter skin, then Barefoot Botanicals is the way to go.

I was sent the Barefoot SOS Soothing Face and Body Wash and the Daily Rich Body Lotion. And to say I’m impressed is a bit of an understatement.

Until a few days ago, the skin on my lower legs was more like crocodile hide than human skin. The skin there is usually less rich in natural oils anyway; combine that with winter weather and drier, eczema-prone skin and it was just unsightly. You know those swirly cracks you get when the skin is really lizard-like? I’ve seen it referred to as ‘crazy paving skin’ which is funny, true and a bit sad. That’s exactly what they looked like.

I’d been layering up my usual body oils with creams over the top and I was still more lizard than girl. But 4 or 5 days into my Barefoot regime and there is a really marked improvement. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have legs like babies’ bottoms just yet… But they are so much better. Smoother, softer, only the merest hint of flakiness and, crucially, the sore itchyness associated with the cracking has all but gone.

The body wash is really creamy and feels very nourishing. It doesn’t really lather up – no drying, artificial foaming agents in there, you see – so you’ll need to resist the temptation to use too much, but just a little bit left my skin feeling clean without feeling dry. [I didn't use it on my face, given that I swore long ago never to use face washes. But also because I'm currently testing out some gorgeous new cleansing/moisturising balms which you'll hear more about in January.]

What’s even more remarkable is that the body lotion is light, liquidy and easily absorbed. I almost dismissed it before I’d started because it didn’t seem like it could possibly stand up to winter weather, never mind the croc-effect.

Both products smell beautiful – quite zesty, with essential oils of lemon tea tree, bitter orange, grapefruit and rose geranium coming through in the fragrance.

In addition to the essential oils, they’re packed with naturally active ingredients. The body wash contains evening primrose and jojoba oil for skin conditioning, as well as chickweed and burdock to cool and soothe the skin. The body lotion also uses chickweed, as well as mallow (also known for its skin-soothing properties). Plus it contains a combination of shea butter, jojoba, argan and macadamia oils, which is presumably what makes it such a power-house for dry skin.

I’m so impressed with the performance so far and will definitely be buying these for myself when I run out, despite their slightly higher than average price point.

And here’s the Christmas Giveaway bit. The lovely PR people who sent me my products are going to send a full size (200ml) Soothing Face and Body Wash (worth £16) to one of my lucky readers. All you have to do to enter is:

  1. Be a UK resident (sorry international readers – I’ll try and do something for you in the New Year!)
  2. Follow me on Twitter (@Natbeautcabinet) or by email subscription (click on the button top right).
  3. Leave a comment below stating how you follow me and anything else you’d like to say. No pressure though…, I’ll be more than happy with ‘hello’!
  4. Don’t forget to enter your email address in the right spot.
  5. Wait patiently until 18th January when I’ll be announcing the randomly selected winner and sending out the Face and Body Wash.

And if you can’t wait until the 18th, or you don’t want to leave things up to chance, you can buy Barefoot Botanicals direct from their website. Or you can currently get 20% off their full range at Naturissimo (I’m not sure when this ends though). The Soothing Face and Body Wash retails at £16 (currently £13 on Naturissimo) and the Daily Rich Body Lotion at £22 (currently £19 on Naturissimo). Naturissimo also offers free delivery, 5 free samples with each order and is currently promising a free Barefoot Botanicals SOS Face & Body Cream (25ml) with each purchase over £30.

Soothing Face & Body Wash ingredients: Aqua, Cetearyl Alcohol (vegetable wax), Glycerin (vegetable moisturiser), Glyceryl Stearate, Ceteary Glucoside, Sodium C14-16 Olefine Sulfonate, Borago Officinalis Seed Oil (Starflower), Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose), Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba), Sodium Cocoamphoacetate (Coconut surfactant), Squalane (Olive extract), Glyceryl Stearate (vegetable emulsifier), Lauryl Glucoside (Coconut surfactant) (Coconut surfactant), Cetearyl Glucoside (vegetable emulsifier), Panthenol (vitamin B5), Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle), Xanthan Gum (vegetable thickener), Allantoin (Comfrey extract), Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate (vegetable surfactant), Sodium Lauryl Glucose Carboxylate (vegetable surfactant), Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle), Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera), Ascorbyl Palmitate (vitamin C), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea butter), Limonene*, Leptospermum Petersoni (Lemon Tea Tree), Tocopheryl Acetate (vitamin E), Tocopherol (vitamin E), Alcohol (from Sugar Cane), Glyceryl Caprylate (Palm/Coconut emollient), Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower), Linalool*, Citrus Nobilis (Mandarin), Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender), Citronellol*, Anthemis Nobilis (Chamomile), Pelargonium Capitatum (Geranium), Arctium Lappa (Burdock), Calendula Officinalis, Malva Sylvestris (Mallow) , Citrus Amara (Neroli), Geraniol*, Farnesol*, Citral*. *Aromatic components of essential oils and certified Organic ingredients used wherever possible.

Daily Rich Body Lotion ingredients: Aqua, Cetearyl Alcohol (vegetable wax), Macadamia Ternifolia, Argania Spinosa (Argan), Glycerin (vegetable moisturiser), Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba), Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower), Ethylhexyl glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea butter), Cetearyl Glucoside (vegetable emulsifier), Panthenol (vitamin B5), Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle), Squalane (olive extract), Xanthan Gum (vegetable thickener), Tocopheryl Acetate (vitamin E), Alcohol (from Sugar Cane), Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle), Allantoin (Comfrey extract), Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera), Ascorbyl Palmitate (vitamin C), Berberis Aquifolium (Mahonia), Calendula Officinalis, Glyceryl Caprylate (Palm/Coconut emollient), Tocopherol (vitamin E), Linalool*, Citrus Amara (Neroli), Limonene*, Styrax Benzoin, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender), Malva Sylvestris (Mallow) , Anthemis Nobilis (Chamomile), Farnesol*, Geraniol*, Citral*, Citronellol*. *Aromatic components of essential oils *Certified Organic ingredients used wherever possible

And another reason to love Barefoot Botanicals: if you visit their website and view the ingredients list, you can hover over every single ingredient in turn to read more about it. Great idea.

Disclosure: I received samples of both products trialled for this review. However, in keeping with my own policy, I’m writing about it here because I like it and would happily recommend it to others. If I hadn’t liked it, you wouldn’t be reading about it.

by

Faith In Nature Chocolate Shower Gel

This was my first draft of this post:

“This is a shower gel. It contains organic chocolate.”

I felt that might be all I really needed to say.

Then I repented and thought I’d say just a little bit more. Like Faith In Nature produce a range of extremely good value products including hair care, shower gels, hand washes and home cleaners. This particular shower gel costs £5.25 for 400ml. That’s a lot of showers. The ingredients of the Chocolate shower gel include organic sea salt and theobroma cacao (that’s the chocolate btw). The primary foaming agent is the slightly more gentle ammonium laureth sulfate which I’m fine with for a shower product. However, Faith in Nature shower gels are also recommended as foaming baths and I wouldn’t recommend them for this. ALS can be an irritant and that’s much more likely to happen if you sit in it for 20 minutes and then don’t properly rinse it off.

Otherwise I love this shower gel. It smells of chocolate! But proper chocolate; not that fake, chemically-created, overly sweet chocolate ‘fragrance’ you get in some products.

And one more time for good measure.

Chocolate. Shower. Gel.

£5.25 for 400ml, available from Faith In Nature’s website, Victoria Health and selected stores nationwide.

Ingredients: Aqua (water from the Lake District), ammonium laureth sulphate*, sodium chloride** (sea salt), cocamidopropyl betaine*, theobroma cacao**, aroma*, melaleuca alternifolia*, polysorbate 20*, sodium citrate*

* vegetable origin ** certified organic

by

Not a morning person? Try mint.

This week I’ve really struggled to get up. Perhaps it’s a slightly premature descent into ‘holiday mode’ (I’m one of the gleeful people who will wake up on the 22nd April with 11 days of holiday ahead of them!). Perhaps it’s early onset hayfever, complete with gluey eyes and scratchy throat. Perhaps it’s just some inexplicable irritation caused by interplanetary gravitational fields. Whatever. It’s annoying.

I don’t really wake up in bed. The state I’m in as I shuffle downstairs and into the bathroom isn’t really consciousness. I couldn’t answer quick-fire questions about capital cities, for example. I’d probably not even object if you pushed me over; I’d just curl up happily and go back to sleep, grateful for the return to horizontal.

I wake up once I’m in the shower. So on mornings like these it’s really important that I pick the right smells. No relaxing, sleep-inducing lavender or soothing ylang-ylang. I’m using mint.

Studies indicate that peppermint can have all kinds of beneficial effects, just by breathing it in. It’s a stimulating oil, with an energising effect on the system. Smelling peppermint has been shown to improve mood, increase energy levels and even to assist weight loss by helping to remove the urge to snack.

You can get an instant hit by adding 3-5 drops of peppermint essential oil to a mug of hot water. DON’T drink it! Just let it sit close by; perhaps in the kitchen as you’re making breakfast or in the bedroom while you’re getting dressed. The heat from the water will help to disperse the aroma into the room. You can, of course, light an oil burner but I find I’m usually in a slightly flitty state first thing and would hate to forget a lit candle in my rush to get out on time.

Applied to your skin, mint has a refreshing, cooling effect thanks to the menthol it contains. While it’s not strictly an aromatherapy product, I’ve been using Naked’s Get Fresh Minty Menthol body wash and really loving it. It’s great value, contains both wild mint and spearmint oils and has a cooling effect on the skin that manifests as a zingy, tingling, goosebumps kind of feeling. I’m definitely awake when I get out of the shower. Which really helps with the drive to work. 

 

Get Fresh Minty Menthol body wash, £3.99.

Available from the Naked website or Boots.

Ingredients: Aqua, Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate, Cocamidopropyl betaine, Sodium cocoamphoacetate, Coco glucoside, Glyceryl oleate, Illicium verum (Aniseed) oil, Eucalyptus globulus (Eucalyptus) oil, Menthan viridis (Spearmint) oil, Citrus aurantium dulcis (Sweet orange) oil, Mentha arvensis (Wild mint) oil, Parfum, Menthol, Sodium hydroxymethylglycinate, Citric acid, Limonene, Linalool, Citral.