Softening up sensitive types. (The Body Shop Aloe Soothing Day Cream)

Member Name: nursie_nursie

Product:	The Body Shop Aloe Soothing Day Cream
Date:	07/04/08 (252 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Moisturises well, for sensitive skin, no perfumes or colours .

Disadvantages: The scent isn't that nice, slightly sticky .

A friend of mine at Christmas thought she would buy me some moisturiser, this was to do with a joke we have about me not using moisturiser all the time. Anyway I wont bore you with all that but she decided to get a pot of moisturiser from The Body Shop for me.

When she went along to our local store and looked for one she wasn't sure which to go for. She knows how I love their products and as she uses them if she stays on the couch she remembered a few I have had over the last few years and remembered me using a few of the Vitamin E products, how I loved the Seaweed toner I had and that I have a small patch of eczema on my face near my eye which can flare up if I use products that are too harsh so she thought the aloe range was also an option.

She told me how she stood their agonising for ages, one of the assistants offered to help her but their conversation made her even more unsure of which way to turn. The assistant joked about buying all three, she thought that was a great idea and did!

When I opened them on Christmas day and called her to say thank you and ask her why there were three she gladly explained and laughed saying that now I have no excuse not to use moisturiser and that she knew I was always using several different body creams at a time so this way I cant get bored when it comes to face cream either.

She only got day cream for me because night creams tend to be way to rich for my skin and bring me out in spots. She knows me so well, I am lucky to have a friend that puts so much thought into my gifts!

The cream I am reviewing today is the Aloe version the full name that The Body Shop has given it is Aloe Soothing Day Cream. It is specifically formulated for sensitive skin for "ultra-gentle smoothing, calming moisturisation". My skin can be a little sensitive but I don't tend to have any reaction to products that I have used from The Body Shop.

This pot contains 50ml, it has a screw top lid and a small interior lid also, which stops the large lid getting covered in cream, The Body Shop use the inner lid on a lot of their products and I really don't understand why, to me it is a waste of time and just extra packaging to make, pay for and dispose of but what do I know!

The cream itself is rather thin and watery, you can tell just by looking at it that a little will go a long way and that it will sink in easily. As this is not coloured or perfumed there isn't much to tell, it is plain white and has only a very slight scent from the aloe Vera and the sesame oil it contains.

They use the Aloe Vera because it "is renowned for it's incredible soothing, hydrating and moisturising properties - perfect for sensitive skin." They even buy this through their version of fair trade which they call Community trade. The farmers in Guatemala usually earn less than $1 a day, which is in fact below the UN poverty level.

Sesame oil because it "Is an effective moisturiser that helps to soften sensitive skin. Natural lipids work in conjunction with essential fatty acids to maintain and rebuild the skin's barrier function, creating a protective shield that prevents water loss and restores suppleness. Also helps to build and strengthen the skin's natural defence system, so irritants and environmental stress cannot penetrate easily."

Also used is Oat extract because it "Gently and very effectively soothes and calms, helping to minimise signs of sensitive skin. Also contains effective antioxidant protection against skin aggressors and environmental stress."

Just a tiny amount of this cream slides over my skin covering it all, after just a few minutes a thin layer will have completely disappeared. If my skin is dry then I like using this at night and applying a slightly thicker layer in order to get a better result from it. Even if I put a lot of it on it is soon all gone and my skin does indeed feel soothed and well moisturised.

The consistency being so watery makes this more of a lotion than a cream, it could very easily have been put in a pump dispenser. Maybe where it is so thin it is has a more effective moisturising effect.

My skin if it feels a little tight doesn't after I use this moisturiser and I certainly see visible results from it. It does however leave my skin a little too sticky for my liking so I don't tend to wear it under make up, the few occasions where I did my make up over it, it did not go on as well or stay put as long. I keep this as my night cream more than day cream now.

If you are reading this and think to yourself that it will be no good for you during the day, don't, if you have dry skin then this is less likely to happen to you. I just get patches of dry skin.

There is one thing I have to say about this, the scent isn't something I like. Although it is only very faint I do not like it and it does put me off of buying this again. Where you smother it on your skin you have to put up with it for quite a while, maybe that is me being overly fussy, I don't know. That said if I had sensitive skin and couldn't use anything else I would very happily put up with the smell!

At £8.00 for 50ml I don't think the value is too bad, it could be cheaper yes, but couldn't everything! It will last for absolutely ages because you need so little. I would guess that on average it would last someone using it daily about three months. It all depends on how much you use. I think my friend bought me a years supply!

Over all this is a good product and especially good for those with really sensitive skin that have trouble finding products that wont cause them to have a reaction. My small patch of eczema was not in the slightest bit effected by this and if anything has been better behaved while I have used this.

I do recommend this cream, if like me some night creams are too rich for you this is also an option.

Being given this cream has taught me not to dismiss a product because it is for sensitive skin like I did before. I am very grateful to my great friend for buying me this pot of skin soothing greatness.

I can't give this five stars, it could be better but I am going to give it four, if there were half options I might even go to four and a half!



The Body Shop has a great website where you can get more information on their products, company, community trade programme, find your local store and buy online www.thebodyshop.co.uk I have always found their delivery to be fairly priced and pretty quick.

For those who may be interested here is a full ingredients list.
Aloe barbadensis (Aloe Vera Gel) (Skin Soothing Agent), Isononyl Isononanoate (Emollient/Skin Conditioner), Glycerin (Humectant), Aqua (Water) (Solvent/Diluent), Cyclomethicone (Emollient), Pentylene Glycol (Solvent), Butylene Glycol (Humectant), Cetearyl Glucoside (Surfactant), Myristyl Myristate (Emollient), Sesamum indicum (Sesame Oil) (Emollient), Cetyl Alcohol (Emulsifier), Myristyl Alcohol (Emulsifier/Emollient), Palmitic Acid (Surfactant), Stearic Acid (Emulsifier), Cetearyl Alcohol (Emulsifier), Myristyl Glucoside (Surfactant/Cleansing Agent), Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer (Stabiliser/Viscosity Modifier), Bisabolol (Skin Soothing Agent), Xanthan Gum (Viscosity Modifier), Avena sativa (Absorbent).

Summary: A good moisturiser, fantastic option for those with sensitive skin.