The Body Shop Seaweed Clarifying Toner review

 

There are a few things I like about the Body shop, one, they don't test on animals, two, they are vegan and three, they try to be environmentally friendly. 

I bought this product (as recommended by my SA at The Body Shop). This product claims to rebalance and revives your skin 

Further product features:

Rebalance and revive your skin with this harmonizing, alcohol-free toner. This will gently cleanse impurities while targeting combination skin, to purify and refresh. Suitable for combination/ oily skin Mineral rich seaweed from Roaring Water Bay, Ireland Alcohol-free Algae and cucumber extract Clarifying and purifying

Red Algae Extract We use this in skin-protecting products for its vitamin C content. It helps our products make your skin look brighter. Seaweed (Irish moss, to be precise) is an algae we add to our Seaweed skincare.

Here are the ingredients:

SEAWEED OIL BALANCING TONER Aqua, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Trideceth-9, Phenoxyethanol, Glycerin, Methylparaben, Parfum, Propylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Menthol, Propylparaben, Fucus Vesiculosus Extract, Linalool, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Benzyl Salicylate, Benzyl Alcohol, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate.

it claims it is alcohol-free, but it contains Benzyl alcohol. 🤔 

Benzyl Alcohol is an aromatic alcohol used in a wide variety of cosmetic formulations as a fragrance component, preservative, solvent, and viscosity-decreasing agent. Benzoic Acid is an aromatic acid used in a wide variety of cosmetics as a pH adjuster and preservative.

pros:

• moisturizes and prevents oil from forming
• and has a nice ocean aroma (salt and seaweed)

cons:

• this toner stings!
• why did they add mint?
• made my skin breakout 😡 

The minty feeling wasn't a refreshing sensation, but a horrible sting. I could not emphasize how much hate I have towards this product... it irritates me skin AND stings. After using it at home, I couldn't get it off my face fast enough DX... 

None of the "benefits" could justify the cons... I. DO. NOT. RECOMMEND.THIS.PRODUCT.

It is possibly one of the worst products I have ever used from The Body Shop >___<

score: 1/10
website: https://www.thebodyshop.com/en-ca/face/cleansers-toners/seaweed-oil-balancing-toner/p/p000072?gclid=CjwKCAiAlrSPBhBaEiwAuLSDUDv1OIihtp0u38EO8OXFjUvT1NcL5nWJErssZlROCJpB_XftC0T-IhoC8WoQAvD_BwE

HadaLabo Gokujyun alpha Rohto Super Hyaluronic 3D Acid Moisturizing Lotion review

3D HadaLabo Gokujyun

This is the enhanced version of the normal Hada Labo Moisturizing Lotion. On top of their famous Hyaluronic Acid, it also contains Collagen and Retinol. It is categorized as their Anti Aging product.

Description:

amount: 170ml

HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha skin care products with Super Hyaluronic Acid provide deep moisturization, while Collagen and vitamin A and an exclusive peptide help smooth fine lines and wrinkles and improve skin’s elasticity, giving skin a firmer look.

HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha Lotion

Firm and smooth the look of your skin as you moisturize. HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha Lotion should be used after washing and serves as the foundation to your skin care routine. It helps prepare your skin for better absorption of other HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha products. The HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha Lotion can be used as a standalone moisturizer. Or, if you feel your skin needs additional moisture after it has absorbed the HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha Lotion, follow it with the HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha Serum, HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha Milk, or HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha Cream—or a combination of all three, depending on the level of your moisturizing needs.

• New 3D retinol technology lifts and firms skin.
• Contains Hyaluronic Acid to hydrate intensely, keeping skin soft & supple.
• It is free of fragrances mineral oil, alcohol & colorant.
• Skin pH balanced.
• Low irritation.
• It keeps on moisturising and softening skin, meanwhile enhancing skin's water-binding ability, leaving skin supple, smooth and radiant.- Hadalabo

Hyaluronic Acid Benefits:

• provides moisture, plumpness, firmness and suppleness to the skin

Collagen Benefits:

• Strengthens our skin and provides elasticity
• provides our skin with firmness and "bounce"
• prevents wrinkles (due to aging of skin)

Retinol Benefits:

Retinol is another name for Vitamin A

• "tells" skin cells to behave 
• an antixoidant (prevent skin from acting and looking older)
• effective fixing acne
• improve discoloration

*keep in mind that you cannot continuously use Retinol for more than 2 months!!

back of container

Directions 

(To be use after cleansing)

1. Put some in palm or use cotton pad and saturate it with the product. 
2. Gently pat on the skin until it is absorbed. 
3. Use moisturizer afterwards for a complete protection. 

Instructions (modified on Hada Labo website)

After removing your makeup and cleansing with HADA LABO Goku-jyun Face Wash, pour a nickel-size amount of the lotion into your palm and rub between your hands to warm. Using the HADA LABO patting technique, gently pat onto your face and neck until it is thoroughly absorbed. Wait until the product is fully absorbed to apply any additional moisturizers or to apply makeup. Use twice daily after washing face.

how product looks

Impressions:

• Very sticky
• Takes more time to dry
• A little goes a long way
• Noticed skin's enhanced texture
• do not use for more than 2 months (switch to the regular)

I like this product, but I prefer their original version more... while I notice it's additional benefits, I found it extremely frustrating waiting for my skin to absorb all of the product up... I think this is more suitable during the cold/dry winter months as the additional ingredients really help enhance the condition of your skin.

Score: 8/10
Website: http://hadalabousa.com/products/anti-aging/


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Question: Do I need Toner?

photo source: thebodyshop.ca

To answer the question, YES! But you really need the right product.

We have all heard it, cleanser, toner, serum, moisturizer and gel... all the other steps seem to make sense like cleansers... clean; serums provide your skin with extra nutrients and moisturizers help maintain moisture and hydrate your skin; gels protect your skin from environmental factors that can harm your skin. But what exactly does toner do for your skin? We hear about it "toning" our skin, cleansing our skin and shrink the appearance of pores.

I have been confused with toners... in fact, I recall the first time I bought some toner, when I put it on my face, I started getting weird red bumps and discovered (after using the toner for 3-4 days) that the condition of my skin had gotten a lot worse... my skin started getting really sensitive, red, itchy, etc. It just wasn't doing my skin any good.

I stopped using toner for a few years after that horrible experience. Lately, I started to use toners again. After doing research, I discovered that the "type" of toner you use is very crucial as to what type of toner you use.

*Please keep in mind that Japanese products refer to "Toners" as Lotion

photo credits: Sasa.com

Importance of Toner:

The Number 1 thing that toners should be doing is to help balance your skin. This is really important (more important than it sounds) when we wash our face, the pH balance will shift, this can cause our face to break out or be too dry.

and depending on WHICH toner you get, there will be a different combination of benefits:

• moisturize
• prepare your skin to absorb serums
• clean off make up

example of acidic base emulsion set: photo credits: TheFaceShop

Another type of Toner:

Keep in mind that there are some Toner and Moisturizer/serum packs which let's the toner shift your pH to be more acidic so that you can absorb the more alkalized moisturizer/serum easily because you skin is acidic it will absorb to alkaline product easier. (acidic and alkaline are opposites)

If you choose these, make sure you buy them both or your skin's pH levels will not be balanced properly.

Ways to apply toner:
depending of the types of toner there are different ways you can apply it on your face.
1. drenching a piece of cotton and apply it all over face till there is none left
2. spray it on your face- these are very convenient
3. drenching a clean piece of facial paper mask with toner and put on your face for a few minutes
4. Just put a few drops on the palms of your hands and pat on your face till all has been absorbs