Volcanic Cooling Body Scrub from Human Nature (Review)

The color purple grabbed my eye when I went to the Human Nature website. There were three new rosemary-themed products on the front page, so I decided to give them a go. I ordered the Rosemary Strengthening Plus Shampoo (Php 159.75) and Conditioner (Php 159.75) and the Volcanic Cooling Scrub (Php 495).

Purple!

For this review, I'm only going to do the review on the Volcanic Cooling Scrub.

I've only used the Rosemary Strengthening Plus Shampoo and Conditioner once so I don't see any immediate effects yet. All I can say is that it smells like rosemary but in a "relaxing-spa-way" rather than the "roasted-rosemary-chicken-way". I can't tell at one use if it gave me stronger and fuller hair, but studies show that rosemary helps with hair growth (see rosemary benefits).

Going back to the Volcanic Cooling Scrub, it contains rosemary oil, eucalyptus oil, peppermint oil, bamboo charcoal, and volcanic sand. The essential oils mixture cools the body and smells great. The bamboo charcoal (read benefits) and volcanic sand (read benefits) helps with drawing out toxins from the skin. Overall, it's designed to give you that home spa experience.

When it comes at the price, Php 495 for a 200ml bottle seems a little steep. It's nearly double the price of Human Nature's Natural Body Scrub (Php 275) and the St. Ives scrubs you find in the supermarket. Spas also have minty foot scrubs but I'm not sure how much they are and if they're even for sale. However, the incremental premium you're paying for is the bamboo charcoal (also known as activated charcoal) -- it's a trendy ingredient in today's beauty products.

Back-label of the Volcanic Cooling Scrub. Now, I'm curious, where did they get the volcanic sand from?

Upon squeezing out a bit at first, the product is dark grey. I'm guessing the bamboo charcoal is uniformly mixed into the liquid portion while the black scrubby beads are the volcanic sand. I'm happy they didn't skimp on the volcanic sand so the exfoliation part was quite effective.

What the Volcanic Cooling Scrub looks like

After lathering and scrubbing, I left it on for about 3 minutes. It doesn't say in the instruction to leave it on, but I just thought I ought to give the bamboo charcoal some time to absorb the toxins and for the rosemary, eucalyptus, and peppermint oils to sink in. It would be such a waste to rinse it off so quickly!

While rinsing it off, the minty-ness stuck around. I felt the coolness even more when contrasted with hot shower water. I could still feel the coolness while towel-drying. It was super relaxing. My skin felt so soft. The entire bathroom smelled like mint. *Heaven*

Final thoughts: At first use, I loved it. I thought at first it was expensive, but then this product is unique (for now) and the incremental benefits were worth it. When this bottle is finished, I'm definitely going to reorder.

Pore Cleansing Brush from Human Nature (Review)

Last December, I bought the Pore Cleansing Brush from Human Nature (as of now at Php 550) from the website. I've been using twice a week for about 2 months now.

The product claims that because of the small bristles, it's more effective in cleaning out dirt from your pores (vs just using your plain old hands). Because of the mild exfoliation, your skin will absorb the vitamins from your face creams better.

See photo below from Human Nature's Instagram post, comparing lemon peels when cleaned with hands vs. pore cleansing brush.

How exactly does the Pore Cleansing Brush work? We're testing it out on a lemon which has pores similar to those on our face. We put makeup on two areas of the lemon - one will be handwashed with facial wash and the other with Pore Cleansing Brush. Results: the one on the left is washed by hand and the one on the right is cleansed with the Pore Cleansing Brush! #magalogueturnover

A photo posted by Human Nature Philippines (@humanheartnature) on Nov 11, 2016 at 11:34pm PST

Immediate Benefits

Upon using for the first time early December 2016, the mild exfoliation made my face glow a bit. I don't think I'll ever need a facial scrub anymore.  It's indeed "feathery soft" as claimed so it did not irritate my face when I pressed too hard. The facial cleanser I use was Celeteque Hydration Facial Wash (75php for the 60ml tube).

As for the boyfriend (I gave him his own too)... After his first use, his mother noticed a huge difference and asked him "What did you do to your face? Your skin looks so much brighter and smoother!".

Long Term

Thankfully, I don't normally break out. However, my usual skin issue is dryness and dullness. After using the brush twice a week for a month, I'm happy to say that it helped with the dryness and dullness because of the consistent exfoliation.

I'm also happy to say that it did not cause any breakouts because I've been careful with properly cleaning and drying the brush after each use. Watch out: The brush needs to be thoroughly cleaned and dried. Since the bristles are so dense, it's tough to dry out (It will smell like wet dog). If not dried well, it will be a breeding ground for bacteria... that will surely give you zits.

Caution when using Cleansing Brushes

• Don't get overzealous when brushing your face. According to some bloggers (sharing stories of using cleansing brushes in general), brushing too hard and too often will trigger breakouts and will make your face red and irritated. Two times a week during night time is recommended.
• Wash and dry the cleansing brush well, preferably somewhere with proper air circulation. I rinse and squeeze the bristles until there's no bubbly residue left. I hang it to dry in the bathroom with the windows open with a bit of sunlight coming in, so bacteria doesn't fester (yuck). Don't leave your brush in the bathroom if it's constantly steamy to prevent mold formation. Some suggest disinfecting the brush with alcohol.
• Do not share brushes! Not even with your own sister.

Here are some more tips from Cosmo UK on using cleansing brushes

I just wished that it wasn't pink. I think if it came in white or beige, more guys will buy it.

What do you think?

Human Nature 100% Natural Clarifying Shampoo (Review)

I have sensitive scalp. The sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) or sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) in regular shampoo brands make my scalp red, flaky, and itchy.

I started using non-SLS/SLES shampoos upon advice of the stylist who did my keratin treatment. She said SLS/SLES will dramatically shorten the life of the keratin treatment. If I wanted to keep my hair smooth and straight, I needed to switch to a sulfate-free shampoo.

I bought my first sulfate-free shampoo in Healthy Options, particularly the Nature's Gate shampoo (imported from US). While effective in prolonging the permanent blow-dry effect, it's not super foamy. Even though it didn't foam much, I eventually got used to it.

My friend recommended I check out Human Nature, since I'm aiming to buy more Filipino-made products. Human Nature was borne from Gawad Kalinga, with a vision of creating an enterprise that is inclusive towards local communities. If you want to go local as well, Human Nature is a great starting point!

All of their shampoos are advertised as sulfate-free and made with natural ingredients. I zeroed in on the Human Nature 100% Natural Clarifying Shampoo, which was advertised as their foamiest shampoo yet!

Product Features:

• Today, the 200ml is Php 149.75 while the 495ml is Php 319.75
• Fruit acids eliminate product build-up
• Betaine and aloe vera soothe and moisturize the scalp
• 100% no harmful chemicals

Back of the bottle

Here's a snippet of the product description from the Human Nature website on SLS/SLES:

Did You Know? The lather you get from most shampoos is very likely created by chemical surfactants like sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) – which have been found to irritate the skin and pollute the environment. We instead use coco fatty acid sulfates – natural sulfates that give you rich lather equal to the foaminess of SLS/SLES but are non-toxic, fully biodegradable and proudly manufactured in the Philippines!

Before we move on, I want to share more on coco fatty acid sulfates (CFAS), from other sources. The more you know, the better.

• Naturally Curly.com Forum - "Yes it's (CFAS) a sulfate. It's just a complete derived version as opposed to a chemically purified one. Like refined table sugar, versus raw sugar."
• Blessmybag.com Comments - "Coco Fatty Acid Sulfate or CFAS is similar to sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) ONLY in terms of its molecular structure. What differentiates CFAS from SLS and renders CFAS safe is its manufacturing process."
• Chemical of the Day - "So sodium coco sulfate actually is a blend of sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium caprylic sulfate, sodium capric sulfate, sodium oleic sulfate, sodium stearyl sulfate etc, and instead of naming them all out with all of the fatty acids from the coconut oil, they just call it sodium coco sulfate." It would carry the same risks of skin irritation, eye irritation, stripping hair of natural oils and forming nitrosamines in the presence of triethanolamine as SLS does."

So how does the price compare with other shampoos?

Compared to other supermarket brands, Human Nature 100% Natural Clarifying Shampoo is more expensive. For the 200ml bottle, it's .7488/ml while for the 495ml, it's .6460/ml. Upon checking Lazada.com.ph for other shampoos:

• Palmolive Naturals Anti-Dandruff 180ml (Php 96.50) - .5361/ml
• Pantene Total Damage Care Shampoo 340ml (Php 200)  - .5882/ml
• Sunsilk Damage Reconstruction 180ml (Php 94.50) - .5250/ml
• Tresemme Shampoo Split Repair 340ml (Php 230) - .6765/ml

Unfortunately, not all of these brands are made in the Philippines.

Compared to other products in the natural or sulfate-free category, it's very reasonable. I checked out a couple of options from Healthy Options the other day. The closest one in terms of price is Nature's Gate (made in US).

• Andalou Shampoo Sunflower 340ml/11.5oz (Php 395) - 1.1618/ml
• Avalon Shampoo Peppermint 325ml/11oz (Php 359) - 1.1046/ml
• Jason Moisturizing Aloe Vera 475ml/16oz (Php 395) - .8316/ml
• Nature's Gate Shampoo Jojoba + Lotus Sacre 530ml/18oz (Php 259) - .4887/ml
• Nature's Gate Shampoo Sulfate Free Color Protecting 354ml/12oz (Php 295) - .8333/ml

However, I can't tell if the more expensive imported shampoos are really better in terms of quality because I haven't tried them yet.

If you're looking into getting a discount on the Human Nature products, get a membership in the Human Nature website (click on the "Be A Social Entrepreneur" ). The discount is at least 15% if you plan to spend at least Php 800 per month.

Using the Shampoo

Human Nature 100% Natural Clarifying Shampoo on my palm

The liquid is clear with the usual shampoo consistency. It smells nice, like fruity zesty apples. When I lather it on my hair, it gets foamy but not as foamy as regular shampoo. It needs to be mixed with a bit of water to become really foamy.

Right after using at first wash, my hair feels squeaky-clean. Sometimes, too clean... which is why I only use it every 2 days.  I alternate it with the Human Nature Moisturizing Conditioner in Vanilla (Day 1 shampoo, day 2 conditioner, day 3 shampoo). When I feel like my hair and scalp has too much oil and product build-up (after skipping a day), that's when I use it again. My scalp doesn't dry up or turn red and itch after a few days of use.

However, whenever I get the Brazilian blow-dry or Keratin Treatment, the blow-dry effect slightly diminishes slightly every time I use this shampoo. It's most likely due to the coco fatty sulfate. If you've just gotten the keratin treatment, stick to sulfate-free shampoos. I can't help it though, I still use this shampoo even when I get the keratin treatment. I'm just glad the effect diminishes only slightly.

Final Words

I love this shampoo! I've been using this consistently for 2 years already. My scalp hasn't been red and itchy. I've recommended it to everyone who told me that their scalp turns red and itchy or that they've got dry hair. For those who've already tried it, they've only had good things to say.

If you've used Human Nature shampoos, let me know what you think!