The man of the house was in the market for a new body wash. This statement is somewhat amusing, given how our bathroom looks like a mini Sephora, only with cats instead of sale assistants. But he just finished a bottle of something or another and the existing inventory looked to him suspiciously girly, so I got him a bottle of Burt's Bees Natural Body Wash For Men.
He hated it.
While my main expectation from a body wash is that it doesn't turn my skin into a crispy dry mess, he actually wants the stuff to get him clean. I suspect that the lack of foaming (it's an SLS-free product) plays a part here, but he also feels the body wash doesn't get rid of antiperspirant debris, which is a legitimate complain. Seriously, eww.
Since I absolutely loved the scent (lemon herbal honey with more than a touch of patchouli), I tried to adopt the bottle. Funny enough, I found it too detergent-like. It's supposed to be very mild (I googled each and every ingredient and there's nothing alarming there. It's all coconut-derived and sensitive skin-friendly), but I found it too drying, especially for winter.
A few words regarding the ingredients: I was half ready to poke some fun at the brand and its fans, considering Burt's Bees is now part of the decidedly non-crunchy Clorox company. But a little research shows all the ingredients, including the ones with the alarming chemical names are natural (at least in the sense that they are produced from natural materials and not synthetic). It doesn't say much, of course, but at least there's nothing scary in there. There are no parabens in the formula. The preservative is Glucose Oxidase is found in honey and there's also Lactoperoxidase, an enzyme that comes from cow's milk and acts as an antimicrobial and antioxidant. The latter makes it non-vegan, but at least, like all Burt's Bees products, it was not animal tested.
Bottom line: Great smell, questionable performance. I use it from time to time, just because, and make sure to marinate myself in jojoba oil afterwards.
Burt's Bees Natural Body Wash For Men ( $8 for 12 oz) is available just about everywhere, from Macy's and Whole Foods market to drugstores. I bought it at my local Target.
I've tried numerous body washes over the years but finally settled on Tom's of Maine Natural Care Body Wash in their Unscented version, and I've been using it for several years now.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't smell at all girly (in fact, it barely smells at all), it's on the gentle side for a mass market soap, and yet it gets me squeaky clean (antiperspirant residue and all).
You can find it on Amazon. They sell it in packs of 4 for just under $20.00.