Month: December 2019

Bushbalm Body Polish and Nude Oil Review

~ Michele Raiyne ~ Leave a comment

Bushbalm is a Canadian company, based in Ottawa, Ontario, that makes body scrubs and oils for the bikini area (but can be used anywhere on the body and the oils can be used on the eyebrows, lips and scalp hair as well). These products are said to soothe irritation and redness, prevent ingrown hairs and clear pores while shaving or waxing.

I generally shave most/all the pubic hair, so I get irritation, red bumps and razor burn. I use the Sweet Escape scented oil and scrub. I’ve never noticed ingrown hairs, so can’t comment on the effectiveness of the oil and scrub on treating/preventing these.

Exfoliating Scrub:

The body polish claims to exfoliate, remove dead skin cells, soften skin and help prevent ingrown hairs. As a note, it looks like the packaging for the scrub has been changed since my purchase (probably a good change, as I can never get the jar threads to fully seal).

Ingredients (Sweet Escape): Sugar, Jojoba Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Vanilla Extract, Tangerine & Tea Tree essential oils 

Jojoba oil is an emollient oil, similar to the sebum on the skin. Grapeseed oil is a light moisturizing oil. Tea tree oil has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, said to calm redness, inflammation and swelling.

Directions state to rub a handful of the scrub in small circular motions on wet skin anywhere on the body.

The scrub smells very good; like a creamsicle. The scent is light. I use this on the bikini area and my underarms before and/or after shaving, about every 4 days. It is not too harsh on the skin. It exfoliates well and my skin feels smooth and moisturized after using.

The scrub isn’t particularly different or better than other sugar scrubs I’ve used, but I like that the scent matches the oil and it is nicer than my DIY sugar scrub.

Nude Treatment Oil:

The oil claims to soften skin and hair, prevent and soothe ingrown hair and help redness and irritation along the bikini line.

Ingredients (Sweet Escape): Jojoba Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Tea Tree Oil, Copaiba Balsam Oil, Vanilla Fragrance Oil, Tangerine Oil.

Copaiba balsam oil is used for healing the skin, reducing inflammation and soothing irritation. The oil is said to smell woody, earthy and resinous (like tree sap).

Directions state to apply 3 to 4 drops to the bikini area after showering and/or shaving, trimming or waxing.

On opening the Sweet Escape bottle, it smells a bit like cinnamon to me, and applied to the skin, like a creamsicle with a hint of resin. The scent is light, and does not last long on the skin. The oil absorbs quickly with no heavy, oily or sticky residue.

The bottle the oil comes in has a dropper that is pushed down rather than squeezed to get the product out. While it looks nice and different from most other droppers, I find the squeeze dropper easier to use especially when handling with wet/oily fingers.

I’ve used the oil every day after showering for about a month on the bikini area and the underarms. The skin is moisturized, soft and smooth and this feeling lasts all day. Shaving with the direction of hair growth, razor bumps and irritation are reduced by 75% when using the oil. I get a bit of itchiness/irritation on regrowth of the hair around the third day, and this was reduced as well. Shaving against the direction of hair growth causes a lot of irritation and many razor bumps, and I wanted to see how the oil performed in this scenario, and there was about a 25% reduction in this case. On third day hair regrowth, there is a lot of itchiness/irritation and the oil helped this for about 10 minutes. So, this product performs better on milder irritation.

I’ve tried the Bushbalm oil on my hair, rubbing 3 drops on the hands and running through the hair to smooth fly-aways and leave behind a light tangerine scent. The oil softens and moisturizes the cuticles on fingers and toes. I tried a drop on my lips as well; it felt a bit heavier and not as moisturizing as the squalane oil I usually use and I’ll stick with the squalane oil for my lips.

A long while ago, I used a bikini area spray called U-Fresh by Prairie Bliss Botanicals, claiming to reduce irritation and ingrown hair, and Bushbalm works better than U-Fresh.

I would repurchase the Bushbalm oil and exfoliating scrub.

Thank you for reading.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Review

~ Michele Raiyne ~ 1 Comment

The Ultra Repair Cream, Intense Hydration, by First Aid Beauty (FAB) is a moisturizing lotion for all skin types to be used head to toe and claims to provide immediate and long term hydration for dry, itchy, eczematous skin. It can even be used on baby’s skin.

Ingredients: Colloidal Oatmeal 0.50%,Water, Stearic Acid, Glycerin, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Squalane, Allantoin, Sodium Hydroxide, Dimethicone, Xanthan Gum, Disodium EDTA, Chrysanthemum Parthenium (Feverfew) Extract, Camellia Sinensis (White Tea) Leaf Extract, Butylene Glycol, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Eucalyptus Globulus, Ceramide 3

Colloidal oatmeal has anti-inflammatory properties, reducing redness and itchiness while locking in moisture and protecting the skin barrier. Glycerin is a humectant. Glyceryl stearate and stearic acid are emollients. Shea butter and dimethicone are occlusives, sealing in moisture. Feverfew extract can reduce the appearance of redness and irritation to the skin. Ceramide 3 is the last ingredient, a lipid naturally occurring in skin. Squalane is moisturizing, also naturally occurring in the skin.

For a moisturizer to be complete, it needs a humectant (draws water to the skin), emollient (moisturizer) and occlusive (sealing in moisture). This FAB cream contains all three.

Directions state to apply from head to toe once or twice daily or as needed.

This has a light whipped texture, but I don’t find it a particularly rich or heavy cream. It has a light eucalyptus scent.

My hands get very dry every couple months, no matter the season. This dryness lasts a few weeks, progressing to redness and peeling. I also used the FAB cream on my hands, as well as heels which are dry and cracked, and all over the body after showering. I didn’t intend to use the lotion on my face, but tried it once.

The lotion spreads easily and absorbs immediately with no greasy feel.

Above, the hands immediately felt soothed and smoother, but 5 minutes later felt dry, not to the touch, but on opening and closing my hands. I was surprised by how dry my hands looked after 30 minutes, but they were quite dry before.

I used this on my hands twice a day for 3 weeks. While they look better after 3 weeks, it looks like the lotion improved surface hydration, but there are still dry patches in the creases and my hands still feel dry on opening and closing.

I used this on my heels for 4 weeks and, like on my hands, improved some surface hydration, but the heels are still very dry and do not feel much more moisturized.

On application to the body, the lotion absorbs immediately. It is not greasy, heavy or oily feeling. There is no residue left on the skin, but unlike most lotions I’ve used, there is no nice butter-like or silky feeling on the skin, but almost a friction-like feeling. The skin felt no softer or hydrated after 4 weeks’ use. I have mildly dry skin on my legs and felt like I had to use quite a bit for the skin to feel any sort of hydration. For this reason, I’ve been going through the 8 ounce tube quite quickly.

I didn’t buy the FAB Repair Cream for use on the face as I am using another cream at this time (and the Repair Cream doesn’t smell or feel like something I’d want to use on the face), but tried it once after my skin felt quite dry after a shower. This felt completely different on the face than on the hands and body. My skin felt moisturized and soothed and while the lotion absorbed fully, it left a light, smooth, protective layer over the face.

I would expect better results after a few weeks’ use on the hands, feet and body, and I did not like how the FAB Repair Cream felt, so would not repurchase for that use; however, it performed quite differently on the face and I would consider longer term use for this purpose. Next I’ll be using the hand and foot lotions from Deciem’s The Chemistry Brand and the body lotion from Drunk Elephant; stayed tuned for those reviews.

Thank you for reading.