I am not, and never was, a fan of the Body Shop. But the adventurous me am willing to try everything on earth that’s natural. So when I saw that they do have a natural line called Nutriganics, I dived right in.
The product I bought was Nutriganics Softening Cleansing Gel. It is certified by ECO-CERT. The Body Shop claims that 99% of the ingredients are from natural sources, and 45% are from organic farming. It says it can “lift away” make-up and impurities.
Hidden Ingredient List
The first thing of this product that catches my eye is: a hidden ingredient list. Call me conventional, but I still think if you have good things, you should show them under the spotlight. If you hide them, it means (at least to me) something must be wrong. With some doubt and some curiosity, I peeled open its back label (which is where the ingredients lie). I found I had to strain my eyes to read the small wordings (what you see above is a result of heavy editing). And those words are not even printed clearly. If aesthetic is the reason to print small gray words on a white background, I think I’m an idiot to aesthetic. The Body Shop has handled it poorly. And I don’t like it.
Gel-to-oil formula, but can’t quite remove make-up
This is a gel cleanser. You should apply it on a dry face. Massage in circular motion, and the white gel will dissolve and turn to transparent oil. Then, you can cleanse the residue with water. Upon contacting with water, the oil will emulsify and turn white. As with most non-foaming cleanser I tried, this cleansing gel doesn’t leave my skin dry. My face still feels soft and moisturized. However, I also notice that I have to slather quite a bit of the gel on my face to remove all traces of make-up. But even then, I still feel my face isn’t duly cleansed (you do know that uncomfortable feeling when you think a cleanser isn’t performing well, huh?). As for eye make-up, I can’t say anything about it, because the salesgirl suggested I not use it on the eye area, so it never gets the opportunity to come in contact with my delicate eye skin.
Minor Issue of Irritation
A couple of days after using this gel, I noticed some itchiness on the apple of my cheeks. The itchy feeling comes on and off, so I can’t really tell if it’s a result of this gel. In order to find a clue about the reason for my irritation, I had a check of its ingredients. My research generates a not-too-satisfactory result. Some of its major ingredients look good.
- Pelargonium graveolens (geranium) flower oil: is anti-inflammatory and astringent. It can balance sebum secretion.
- Buddleja davidii extract: has potent antioxidant properties and can reduce inflammation.
- Mallow flower extract: is anti-inflammatory and soothing to the skin.
But some aren’t: thyme extract and citronellol. Although thyme extract has antioxidant benefit, and is antiseptic and antibacterial, many sources I find also says its fragrance component can cause irritation to the skin.
As for citronellol, it’s a naturally occurring scent ingredient derived from plants such as rose, geranium and lemongrass. So geranium flower oil may account for its presence. It has safety rating of 4 on Skin Deep, which means it has moderate safety issue. In fact, International Fragrance Association recommends restriction of citronellol in cosmetics. Consider it’s the second most used ingredient in this Nutriganics Softening Cleansing Gel, it’s very likely that citronellol is the culprit for my itchiness. The uncomfortable feeling isn’t persistent, but I feel like wanting to scratch my cheeks once in a while after washing my face with this cleanser.
Price
I purchased it at HK$199, but for a generous user like me, it only lasts for less than one and a half months.
My Take
In a word, the Body Shop’s Nutriganics Softening Cleansing Gel doesn’t cleanse my make-up well and causes milder issue of itchiness. It’s something that I won’t repurchase. In my opinion, you can use it for daily use but don’t rely it on removing your make-up.
