I didn't go into the Body Shop with the intention of buying hand wash. Hand wash is one of those things that I've never really thought too much about, I just tend to buy whatever smells nice and is reasonably priced. But I do tend to get dry hands on occasion so when I saw this hand wash I thought that it would be worth trying.

==What it is and what it claims to do==
The Almond Oil Conditioning Hand Wash is a hand wash that claims to both clean and moisturise hands. The Body Shop state that the almond oil used to make this product repairs the moisture barriers of the skin which helps hands to be moisturised, smooth and supple. They claim that cocoa butter gently cleanses, leaving the skin feeling clean soft and smooth.

They Body Shop instruct users to squeeze a small amount onto wet hands, distribute it evenly and then wash off. I don't mean to patronise by telling you how to use hand wash but I think that the fact that they say that you only need to use a small amount is significant!

==Community Trade==
The reason why I shop in the Body Shop is that they have a community trade programme where they support community's. Human rights are always one of my main considerations when buying products and like all Body Shop products the Almond Hand Wash contains community trade ingredients.

The cocoa butter used in this product is sourced from women in Ghana, who are part of the Kuapa Kokoo co-operative. The money that the co-operative earn from selling the cocoa butter is used to fund clean water, medical facilities and educational facilities. This product also contains community fair trade honey which comes from Ethiopia. In addition to what they pay for the honey The Body Shop has a fund for a local organisation that works with the local community to help people develop skills and learn about sustainable forest management.

For more details on the Community Trade programme and individual ingredients you can go to www.thebodyshop.co.uk

==My Experience==
The first thing that I noticed about this product is that you need to use more than just a small amount. This hand wash does not lather up very well at all and I found that I had to use quite large quantities just to get it to spread to my whole hand. Even when using larger amounts it doesn't really lather up as such. I tried using more and less water but it didn't seem to make much difference. Due to the amount of this product that you have to use each time you wash your hands it doesn't last particularly well.

I used this product every day, several times a day (basically every time I had to wash my hands when I was at home) and found that it didn't make any difference at all to the dryness of my hands. I do tend to get very dry hands and hoped that by using this hand wash I would find them softer but sadly that's not what happened. It didn't make my hands any drier but this product is too expensive to only clean hands. At £6.50 for a 250ml bottle I expect it to do something more than the average hand wash and I expect it to do exactly what it claims to do. This didn't leave my hands feeling moisturised, softer or more supple.

Perhaps the only thing that this product has to offer is a pleasant scent but even that didn't seem to last very long. The scent is almost identical to the almond scent of the hand cream that's in this range and it's a scent that I really like.

In terms of cleaning hands it seems to work fine. It certainly did leave my hands feeling clean but not any more so than any other hand wash.

==Recommended?==
I'm giving this product 1 star out of 5. It didn't leave my hands feeling soft and supple and it is an expensive product. If this product delivered what it promises then I would be more than happy to pay so much for it but it doesn't and £6.50 is a lot to pay for a hand wash that doesn't do anything more than clean your hands. I do not recommend this product.

Price: £6.50 for 250ml.