Thursday, July 15, 2010

Review: St. Ives Naturally Clear Green Tea Cleanser


Price: I got mine for around I think $5.54 from Walmart.
Online you can find it for $3.99.

What they say:


What's in it:
(click to view larger)


The good stuff:

  • Inexpensive
  • A lot of product
  • Pump bottle
  • Smells good
  • Leaves skin feeling clean & smooth
  • Did seem to help reduce redness
  • Refreshing
  • Contains Salicylic acid for acne

The low-down:

  • My pump might be defective? :/
  • Contains Menthyl Lactate; a derivative of Menthol
  • Slightly dried out my skin and....
  • Gave me an allergiac reaction rash along my hairline.

My take: Okay, I know the last point I just listed may instantly be a red flag to some people. BUT! Let me explain. Let's start with the good points! I like that this cleanser is inexpensive, smells great, comes in a pump bottle (for some reason, my pump only works well if I twist it around... it has to be facing a certain direction for it to pump :/... I think I got a bad bottle?), lathers well, and leaves skin feeling clean. I used it for about a week and it did indeed seem to help reduce the redness around my nose, cheeks, and chin.

At first, I was a little worried to try out this cleanser because it contains menthyl lactate, which is a derivative of menthol. And I've mentioned a few times that menthol is WAYYY too strong for my skin and dries it out, causes redness, peeling, and itching. However, it is supposed to be not as strong as actual menthol; so I was hoping it would be alright for my skin. It is very lightly tingly and cooling, which is really refreshing and nice. So I had no problems there. It also contains salicylic acid for acne; but I didn't have pimples at the time I was using this, so I can't really say how well it works at treating acne (which is supposedly this cleanser's main purpose). It did not break me out though.

However, after the one week of use, things changed. I noticed that I was getting red and itchy around my hairline. Within a few days, I had a full-blown allergic reaction rash along my entire hairline. Gross, I know. And itchy. And peeling. And red. And puffy. UH OH :( I wasn't sure if the cleanser was REALLY what caused this problem, but I couldn't think of anything else that I had eaten or put on my face that would cause me to get an allergic reaction to it. So I immediately stopped using the cleanser. The rash went away within a couple days. To make sure, once the rash was completely gone, I tried the cleanser once more. And by the next day; I was starting to get the same itchy redness along my hairline as before; except not as severe. Case closed.

My reasoning for this allergic reaction was that even though this cleanser contains only a derivative of menthol, it was still too strong for me and did end up drying out my skin slighty. Since I was using this cleanser in the morning and night when I wash my face at the sink, I guess when I was rinsing it off, I was pushing the water and cleanser upwards; towards my hairline. Since I didn't concentrate on thoroughly rinsing the area around my hairline, the cleanser residue had built up over the week and continued to dry out my skin and proceeded to cause the rash :(

Now, I don't want my results to deter anyone from trying this cleanser!!! I really do think it is a great cleanser and lived up to its claims; however, it was just still too strong for my skin. I wish they would remove the menthyl lactate -- it's unnecessary!

Would I repurchase/recommend?: Unfortunately no, I don't think I would repurchase this cleanser because of the menthyl lactate. Sad, because I really liked how it was helping my redness for awhile :( I would recommend this to those who don't have sensitive skin and who aren't sensitive to menthol and want something to help reduce redness!

The Rundown:

Packaging:
4/5
A pump bottle is always nice. However, mine only works if the pump is twisted in a certain direction :/

Product: 4/5
Did seem to reduce redness, left skin feeling clean. But might be too strong for those w/ sensitive skin or those who are sensitive to menthol.

Price: 5/5
Good value for the price.

Overall:

[ click here to read about my Review & Rating System ]


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