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Alaffia Skin Recover Facial Cleanser (Neem & Shea)

Skin Recover Facial Cleanser (Neem & Shea)

Skin Recovery Facial Cleanser with African Black Soap removes excess oils, makeup, and other impurities without over-drying skin. Neem oil, neem leaf and tea tree prevent blemishes and dry patches from forming. Gentle enough for daily use. For problem or acne prone skin.
Uploaded by: mxunicorn on

Alaffia Skin Recover Facial Cleanser (Neem & Shea)
Ingredients explained

Also-called: Neem Leaf Extract;Azadirachta Indica Leaf Extract

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

A vegetable origin (coconut or palm kernel oil and glucose) cleansing agent with great foaming abilities. It's also mild to the skin and readily biodegradable.

Also-called: Neem Oil;Azadirachta Indica Seed Oil

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: emollient

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: perfuming

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Patchouli Essential Oil | What-it-does: perfuming

If you are into perfumes, you must know patchouli as an important essential oil in the perfume industry. It boasts a pleasant woody, earthy and camphoraceous scent and has fixative properties (makes the fragrance long-lasting).

Its composition is pretty unique: it does not contain any of the EU's 26 most common fragrance allergens, but its most important components are patchoulol (30%) and alpha-patchoulene (6%) which are responsible for its aroma and antifungal properties.

Among essential oils, the allergen profile of patchouli counts as pretty good (much better than ylang-ylang or lemongrass oils), but if your skin is sensitive, it's still best to avoid it.

Also-called: Tea Tree Oil, TTO;Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil | What-it-does: soothing, anti-acne, antioxidant, antimicrobial/antibacterial, perfuming

The famous tea tree oil. One of the best known essential oils which comes from Australia where it has been used for almost 100 years for its antiseptic and anti-inflammatory actions. Legend has it that the medicinal benefits of the oil were considered so important that Australian soldiers were supplied with some tea tree oil in their World War II military kit.

Similar to other essential oils, tea tree oil is a very complex chemical mixture consisting of about 100 components, the major ones being terpinen-4-ol (40%), γ-Terpinene (23%) and α-Terpinene (10%). Terpinen-4-ol is considered to be the main active component but as a great article in Clinical Microbiology Reviews states "while some TTO components may be considered less active, none can be considered inactive" and most components contribute to TTO's strong antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal effects

Regarding skincare and tea tree oil, its most well-known effect is probably being a well established anti-acne ingredient. Multiple studies confirm that TTO is effective against the evil acne-causing bacteria called P. acnes and the effectiveness of 5% TTO gel is comparable to the gold standard anti-acne treatment, 5% Benzoyl Peroxide lotion. You need to be a bit more patient with TTO, though, as its effects come slower but also with fewer side effects.

Regarding TTO and sensitive skin, we say that you should be careful. Even if your skin is not sensitive you should never put undiluted TTO on your skin. Luckily, it contains only very small amounts of the common allergens (such as limonene), but irritant and allergic reactions still happen, especially by oxidation products that occur in older or not properly stored oil.  So if you have some pure TTO at home, know that storage matters, keep it in a cool, dry, dark place and use it up in a reasonable amount of time.

Overall, we do not often give a goodie status to essential oils, but we feel that TTO's unique antibacterial and anti-acne properties with its minimal allergen content warrant an exception. If your skin is acne-prone, TTO is something to experiment with.

You may also want to take a look at...

what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing
what‑it‑does emulsifying | surfactant/cleansing | viscosity controlling
what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing
A vegetable origin (coconut or palm kernel oil and glucose) cleansing agent with great foaming abilities. It's also mild to the skin and readily biodegradable.
what‑it‑does emollient
what‑it‑does perfuming
what‑it‑does perfuming
Patchouli essential oil that has a woody, earthy and camphoraceous scent and also has fixative properties. Also has fixative and antifungal properties. [more]
what‑it‑does soothing | anti-acne | antioxidant | antimicrobial/antibacterial | perfuming
The famous tea tree oil. One of the best known essential oils which comes from Australia where it has been used for almost 100 years for its antiseptic and anti-inflammatory actions. [more]