Alaffia • Rooibos & Shea Butter Antioxidant Facial Cleanser • Cleansers

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*TOP REVIEWER* mulletoftruth on 5/7/2012 6:04:00 PM more reviews by mulletoftruth

Age: 36-43   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Curly, Fine   Eyes: Other    

This is really ineffective as a cleanser or as a makeup remover. What's more is that it's really drying.


Conceptually, I like cream cleansers but too often they leave a greasy residue. This is exactly the opposite. I kept trying it thinking it was another product drying me out, but it wasn't. How a shea-based cream cleanser can leave your skin a dry, tight, mess is beyond me, but that's exactly what it does.

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*TOP REVIEWER* clearady on 5/31/2010 3:09:00 PM more reviews by clearady

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

Oh how I wanted to love this? I have tried so many organic cleansers, and continue to try more so as to make sure I don't miss out on anything extra good. Despite my skin being oily, I have found the majority of the cleansers that I enjoy and keep are geared at older skin or drier skin, as those are the ones that are the most luxurious, effective, and comfortable to use (no drying!).

Ok, here we go. The cleanser itself is rather thick, a creamy light brown type of substance (probably due to the shea butter).



Pros:

1. Darling packaging, glass bottle with a pump. Sanitary and classy!

2. Price. On sale at Whole Foods, for only $11. Excellent!

3. Left my face softer than any cleanser I've ever tried. Wow.

4. Helps support Africa in their working market. Cool.
5. It glided on and felt refreshing on my face.




Cons:

1. I'm no fan of the scent. While not completely overpowering and definitely something I would have gotten used to had it not been for con #2, it wouldn't have made cleansing luxurious, and I probably wouldn't have bought it again because if I don't look forward to it, there's no point in paying for it since I have so many other organic cleansers that are a pure joy to take off the shelf.

2. It was too gentle.

If you know anything about me, cleansers being gentle is a godsend. That is the number one pro for me almost always, and is the reason why I never buy drugstore cleansers (because they're too drying). But this one was exceedingly gentle, and although my face felt relatively clean, I was definitely compelled to use a toner. You should have seen the dirt that cotton ball picked up! I think the warm water it commands you to use to rinse it off does more than the cleanser itself for the actual cleansing! It does soften your skin but it's not a moisturizer?
(i read on another site another person having the same problem, but this site gave it decent reviews) It mildly irritated my face afterward (as in, under my nose, I was getting itchy), but not so much so that I would take it back.


Hence, I was so tired last night, I didn't put on a moisturizer, but woke up with a giant pimple on the right side of my face (which never happens anymore unless I'm going through that time of month, which i was not). And it is significant enough to note that I didn't wear makeup the previous day, so it was just taking off sunscreen, oil, and a little grime. I have a slight feeling that it may have been caused by the COCONUT OIL in it, which makes no sense in a cleanser? in a hair product, yes. but a cleanser geared toward acne-prone subjects would definitely stand a hazard in clogged pores. (did, however, love that it had shea butter and aloe vera---that is what I believe made my skin feel cooled and softened).


Anyways, sadly this has to go back, but really liked the cause and the soft feel. Yet another organic cleanser that is cheap that hasn't worked for me, maybe I should get the hint and stick with the pricier ones lol (john masters is the one medium range exception)


Really liked the pros of this, and wanted to love it as it would have been a great addition to my growing arsenal of legit organic facial cleansers, but this just can't work out. If you have no oily skin in any way, I would give it a try, but definitely stock up on some of Merlot's toner. You will need it.

UPDATE: so disappointed with this, as it wreaked havoc on my skin for three days, and cannot wait to send it back to Whole Foods. Honestly, if you have oily skin, stay far away. it gave me one large cystic pimple, clogged my pores, and made me breakout all over. COCONUT oil should NOT be in any cleanser, and i am so irritated at this as this is the only organic cleanser that i have had such horrible results with. even Avalon's Vitamin C cleanser that i gave a terrible review to was better than this. with such results, all i can say is Nice packaging! forget everything else.

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*TOP REVIEWER* lotusfairy on 5/29/2010 5:30:00 PM more reviews by lotusfairy

Age: 25-29   Skin: Oily, Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Curly, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

This doesn't remove makeup well for me so I will have to use it as one of my morning cleansers, but it is gentle and contains loads of great ingredients and fair-trade shea butter. It doesn't even agitate my skin or break it out. My skin looked pretty good as I noticed my pores were smaller and my skin was less red. The bottle says this is suitable for all skin types. Mine is oily and sensitive and didn't have problems with it. It will probably remove mineral makeup better, and not liquid foundations or primers.

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littlemissreddy on 11/29/2009 6:18:00 AM more reviews by littlemissreddy

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Medium   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

I've been using this cleanser for about three weeks and it takes off my mineral make-up and cleans well without drying out or irritating my acne-prone skin. It has a bit of a funky smell, which is probably down to the ylang ylang essential oil, but it's not too off-putting.

The packaging is a bit crap - it leaked through the screw-top during the first few uses and that subsided once the amount of product inside started reducing. Also, the bottle is a heavy glass, so it's not ideal for traveling.

In the UK, I had to pay £13 for this online, so it's the most expensive cleanser I've ever bought, hence the high score for price. I believe it's much cheaper Stateside, though. You get a huge bottle, though, so it will probably last about six months, and I love the fact that it's made of completely natural ingredients.

Recommended for oily/acne-prone skin :)

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thatgirlangie on 11/14/2009 1:12:00 PM more reviews by thatgirlangie

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Cool   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Green    

I love this cleanser! I have super sensitive, combination and acne-prone skin, and this cleanser is effective yet very gentle and healing. My skin never feels stripped after using this. Instead it feels soft and clean. I get a little nervous about the glass bottle (that it might break), but this cleanser's a keeper.

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bethwisdom on 9/6/2009 6:06:00 PM more reviews by bethwisdom

Age: 36-43   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium   Hair: Red   Eyes: Hazel    

I was a devoted Dr Hauschka user. Then I went on a trip and forgot to take my stuff with me. Unfortunately I used the skin soap the hotel used. Big mistake as I seemed to be allergic to some ingredient (or maybe there was too much bleach in the washrag). After putting antibiotic ointment all around my eyes I went to whole foods to get some Dr. Hauschka. Not wanting full size containers because I had them at home and they don't have preservatives in them I got the trial sample to make it through the rest of my trip. The SA suggested Alaffia. Had never heard of it. She gave me a sample in a little jar to take with me. I went back to the hotel, tried to wash my face. Even the Dr. Hauschka burned my eyes!! With much trepidation, I tried the Alaffia - no burn. I went back the next day and bought the entire skin routine. LOVE it!! No problems with my very sensitive skin.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Treasa on 12/6/2008 11:20:00 AM more reviews by Treasa

Age: 44-55   Skin: Very Dry, Fair, Cool   Hair: Brown, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

I started using this cleanser last week when my face became really dry because of the other cleanser i was using. I purchased at Whole foods for $14. It is a glass bottle with a pump containing 100ml of the Rooibos & Shea Butter Antioxidant Facial Cleanser which i thought was a tad expensive. It is recommended for oily, dry and combination skin. However i have dry skin and it cleans my face better than any cleanser i have ever used and does not dry out my face, my face does feel a little tight but i apply moisturizer . Initially my face was a little red but having used it for a week morning and night my skin is much happier. The pump dispenses a small amount of cleanser which is all i need. I would think it will last me about a month. i am surprised at how well it takes off my makeup. The ingredients are listed on their website but i woud recommend emailing the company for a complete list of ingredients before purchasing as i have discovered that the company only lists some of the ingredients on their web site..

Update:this is a good cleanser but I started using the CeraVe and like that much better.

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