A few months back, Loochino Natural (Singapore distributor of Indochine Natural) reached out to me to help them review their products. I love it when natural skincare/beauty brands reach out to me for such post because it goes to show that they are confident enough in their products for me to be honest with my experience.
To kick off the collaboration, I was to review their body and hair care products. They have been very understanding to the fact that I would require time to review their products properly so I'm very grateful to the patience that they have bestowed upon me.
So without further ado, here's my experience and verdict of their body wash and shampoo first!
I'll be reviewing their soap bar soon after so keep an eye out for that!
Geranium Body Wash
To kick off the collaboration, I was to review their body and hair care products. They have been very understanding to the fact that I would require time to review their products properly so I'm very grateful to the patience that they have bestowed upon me.
So without further ado, here's my experience and verdict of their body wash and shampoo first!
I'll be reviewing their soap bar soon after so keep an eye out for that!
Geranium Body Wash
Restore your mind and body with the heady aroma of Geranium, renowned for its bactericidal and antiviral properties and used in aromatherapy to balance the mind and emotions. This mild body wash is formulated with skin-softening oils, offering relief from congested, oily and dry skin and promoting a sense of deep relaxation and well-being.
To Use:
Apply to palm, lather and massage over body. Rinse well. To indulge in a therapeutic soak, simply add liberally to warm running bath water and relax.
Texture: Liquid
Smell: The lovely scent of geranium
Ingredients:
Water (Aqua) Potassium Soyate (soybean oil), Potassium Cocoate (coconut oil), Potassium Palmate (palm oil), Pelargonium graveolens (Geranium Bourbon) oil
Cost: $27.90
Water (Aqua) Potassium Soyate (soybean oil), Potassium Cocoate (coconut oil), Potassium Palmate (palm oil), Pelargonium graveolens (Geranium Bourbon) oil
Cost: $27.90
Product Rating: 9/10
I really love this body wash, I love how it feels like a mini spa session for me each time I use it. The scent of it lingers in the toilet long after I'm done and there has been more than one occasion when my mum and even my boyfriend commented on the scent of it and ended up using the body wash too!
It is always a hands-down win for me each time I come across a product with a very short ingredient list, full of natural ingredients. I really like that it leaves my skin feeling cleansed but never dehydrated after use.
However, I do have to state that about 3 weeks into using this product, it started to clump up inside the bottle for me and I've spoken to the brand about it. I've been informed that this is an isolated case (2-3 cases only since 2009) and all I needed to do was to add distilled water into the mix to de-clump it. I'm glad to report that it really did as told, but I find that it now leaves an obvious squeaky sensation on my skin after use which I didn't notice before.
To which, I got a very detailed explanation from Dr Mike who is the man behind Indochine Natural:
Overall, I did find it a little pitiful that the clumping occurred during my test run with the product, if not, I would have given it a full10. However, that being said, I would definitely be making a repurchase of it once I'm done with mine.
Texture: Liquid
Smell: Spicy floral scent
Ingredients:
Water (Aqua), Potassium Cocoate (coconut oil), Potassium Canolate (canola oil), Potassium Ricate (rice bran oil), Mel (organic honey), Piper nigrum (Black Pepper) oil, Salvia sclarea (Clary Sage) oil, Eugenian caryophyllata (Clove) bud oil, Cananga odorata (Ylang Ylang) flower oil
Cost: $29.90
Product Rating: 7.5/10
When it comes to their shampoo, I really like the spicy scent of it. I find that after a hot humid day, this shampoo helps to destress and I like that it is free from all the harmful ingredients found in commercial shampoos!
The downside of this is that I find that when used it alone (because they haven't released a conditioner yet), it tends to leave my hair with this thickening sensation that can result in making it hard to manage my flyaways and frizziness. It does, however, helps to create volume. I did notice that while due to this sensation I end up washing my hair more frequently, but my scalp did seem to be less oily over the period of use.
This shampoo does lather up well, better than some other natural shampoos I've used but do note that the lather doesn't less as long as a commercial shampoo because it's free of SLSs. To counter this, I ensure that my hair is really wet and add more water to my hair if I need more lather.
As for treating my dry ends, I would use another brand of natural hair conditioner or hair treatment mask to help add moisture back to the hair. I also found that it helps to take away the thickening sensation that this shampoo leaves in the hair.
I really love this body wash, I love how it feels like a mini spa session for me each time I use it. The scent of it lingers in the toilet long after I'm done and there has been more than one occasion when my mum and even my boyfriend commented on the scent of it and ended up using the body wash too!
It is always a hands-down win for me each time I come across a product with a very short ingredient list, full of natural ingredients. I really like that it leaves my skin feeling cleansed but never dehydrated after use.
To which, I got a very detailed explanation from Dr Mike who is the man behind Indochine Natural:
"When something is perfectly clean there is not much friction due to the reduced amount of oils and other contaminants. This reduced friction can produce a "squeaky" sound/sensation.... A characteristic of saponified oil products (liquid and solid soap bars as we produce at Indochine natural) is that they have a high pH (around 9.5 - 10), and if you understand the chemistry of cleaning and removing dirt from the body, this high pH makes cleaning a lot more effective. Consumers have been led to believe through various marketing campaigns that body washes should be "pH balanced," and pH 5.5 is often quoted. The fact is that at this lower pH the chemistry of cleaning is actually a lot less effective, and to compensate a lot of synthetic ingredients need to be added to these products low pH products, and it is these that can cause skin irritation and strip away natural oils. With our body wash, the higher pH will clean more effectively, and we super-fat the body wash to leave behind some glycerin that will help to hydrate and moisturise the skin."
That being said, you can easily prevent clumping from happening by shaking the bottle before use properly. He also went on to touch on the use of essential oil in the product and how and why it creates such a genuinely relaxing experience for users:
"Most products these days contain synthetic fragrances and/or blends of synthetic/genuine all-natural essential oils. Again, old knowledge, pure essential oils can actually mimic the actions of hormones in the body, and thus affect emotions (calming, relaxing, brighten mood etc.), and the best route into the body is via the nose where the essential oil immediately enters the bloodstream via the lungs when using our products. This is why customers have very positive emotions when using our products. The effects of pure essential oils have been known for centuries. Synthetic fragrance cannot have the same effects."
Overall, I did find it a little pitiful that the clumping occurred during my test run with the product, if not, I would have given it a full10. However, that being said, I would definitely be making a repurchase of it once I'm done with mine.
Tropical Flower Shampoo
This product transforms your bathing ritual into an exotic sensory experience with a blissful blend of calming ylang ylang and warming clove flower with an added touch of rousing black pepper and relaxing floral clary sage essential oils. This all natural plant-based shampoo creates a richly foaming shampoo that leaves your hair clean, soft, shiny, and healthy. Infused with organic New Zealand honey, it assists in reducing hair loss.
To Use:
Apply onto thoroughly wet hair and work into a lather. Rinse well.
Smell: Spicy floral scent
Ingredients:
Water (Aqua), Potassium Cocoate (coconut oil), Potassium Canolate (canola oil), Potassium Ricate (rice bran oil), Mel (organic honey), Piper nigrum (Black Pepper) oil, Salvia sclarea (Clary Sage) oil, Eugenian caryophyllata (Clove) bud oil, Cananga odorata (Ylang Ylang) flower oil
Cost: $29.90
Product Rating: 7.5/10
When it comes to their shampoo, I really like the spicy scent of it. I find that after a hot humid day, this shampoo helps to destress and I like that it is free from all the harmful ingredients found in commercial shampoos!
The downside of this is that I find that when used it alone (because they haven't released a conditioner yet), it tends to leave my hair with this thickening sensation that can result in making it hard to manage my flyaways and frizziness. It does, however, helps to create volume. I did notice that while due to this sensation I end up washing my hair more frequently, but my scalp did seem to be less oily over the period of use.
This shampoo does lather up well, better than some other natural shampoos I've used but do note that the lather doesn't less as long as a commercial shampoo because it's free of SLSs. To counter this, I ensure that my hair is really wet and add more water to my hair if I need more lather.
As for treating my dry ends, I would use another brand of natural hair conditioner or hair treatment mask to help add moisture back to the hair. I also found that it helps to take away the thickening sensation that this shampoo leaves in the hair.
That concludes the end of my review, and as mentioned above, do keep an eye out for my review on their Basil & Lemongrass Bar soap!
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