Until about a year and a half ago, I was one of those girls who NEVER exfoliated. I mean never. I didn't exfoliate, wear masks, moisturize, deep clean my brushes.. the list can go on! I thought I didn't need it. I have grown a lot in the past few years and have learnt that exfoliating and reviving your skin with masks are essential to a skin care routine. I probably would not have realized this if I didn't start to see so much flaking on my face from my lack of exfoliation heh.
I was introduced to this small company called Sweet Leaf Bath Co. (Canadian, btw, for all you proud Canadians out here!) at the Blush Pretty Beauty Board Event I attended in May. Their lip balm packaging fascinated me, and when contacted to try their Adzuki Bean & Rice Bran Face Polish I was ecstatic! I am all for trying natural products.
Sweet Leaf Bath Co. handcrafts their products using 'pure, organic, and fair trade certified ingredients'. Their aim is to create 'something not only good for your skin, but for the planet as well'.
The Adzuki Bean & Rice Bran Face Polish is a fine powder with exfoliating grains which comes in a generously sized tub. It is a gentle exfoliator for polishing off dead skin cells and contains very minimal (5 to be exact), and natural ingredients.
While trying to find out more about their ingredients, I came across Sweet Leaf's justification as to why they had only included these 5 ingredients in their face polish:
Oryza Sativa (Organic Rice) Bran: Prevents wrinkles, heals blemishes, attracts oil and dirt leaving a healthier, balanced tone.
Cucumber Sativa (Cucumber Seed Extract): Hydrating, nourishing, rich in vitamins and anti-oxidants, aids in skin regeneration.
Pumila Mill (Apple) Fruit Extract: Helps the skin maintain elasticity, anti-aging properties, moisturizing.
Ginkgo Biloba: Anti-aging and skin firming properties, revitalizing.
(Taken from here)
Instructions: Splash face with water and rub 1/4 tsp of powder in your hands. Apply in gentle circular motion avoiding eyes. Rinse with warm water. Repeat 3-4 times a week.
The powder is super fine and feels like sand. Some people seem to be bothered by the scent but to me it just smells like herbs or chinese herbal medicine, and it doesn't bother me at all. I'd prefer it to have an odd or natural scent.. it assures me there are no fragrance/chemicals being used!
You need to use water with this product. It won't work using it dry, and if you don't add enough water it tends to ball up (like in the 2nd picture above) until you add the right amount of water (3rd picture). However, you can add more water to spread out the product, giving yourself a gentler exfoliation. I don't find this to be too messy...maybe just a little, it's quite runny if you add too much water! It does get little grains on the sink that look like sand which you just rinse off after exfoliating.
The thing I love most about this exfoliator is that you can control how much product you want to use. You are in control of how much product/water to add, how gentle or hard you want to scrub.. which makes it ideal for both sensitive and normal skin. I have been testing this exfoliator for quite a while, and although it did not break me out, I don't think it helped my breakouts (which I don't expect it to, because it is not a miracle acne curer!), but my skin feels smoother, clean, and less oily after using it.
What I love the least about this exfoliator is that it is not shower friendly!!! I really dislike the tub it's in, and even using it over the sink is a bit of a struggle. It's definitely not a good idea to stick your fingers in it and try to pinch out some powder to use... Instead use a spoon or a cap. I use a small cap (ex. body spray cap) to scoop it out and then sprinkle it in the palm of my hand. Keep a little extra in the cap, incase you need to add more product for a stronger exfoliation, or if you add too much water! Sometimes, immediately after using this my skin felt a little tight and looked a little dry on my forehead and temples, I don't know if it's because I rarely moisturize those places, or if I am sensitive to a particular ingredient (I am actually allergic to fresh apples, I hope that isn't why!) but otherwise, it doesn't bother or irritate my skin.
Overall, I do think this face polish is great. It would be ideal for those with skin sensitive to chemicals and harsh ingredients. Or someone who just wants something with minimal ingredients, and wants to be able to control the amount of exfoliation they want. I will definitely continue using it, and it will probably last me forever! I wish it came in a different kind of dispenser, but you can always use one of those thin mini travel containers from the dollar store to keep the product in. This stuff is so gentle and versatile, you can use it multiple times a week, add it to other scrubs to enhance the strength of exfoliation, or you can create a honey mask with it, as done by fellow blogger Trisha, here.
You can find this scrub on Sweet Leaf Bath Co's official website for $16.95 here, or you can find it for even less on Well.ca here! The list of their other Canadian retail locations can be found on their website here!
Disclaimer: I received this product for consideration. All opinions stated are my own and are not influenced by any affiliates.
