L'Occitane Shea Butter Extra Gentle Wash for Hands & Body

...A nice touch is that L'Occitane uses raised lettering on all of their products to assist the visually impaired. On my extra gentle wash, the front and back sides have L’Occitane in raised letters and the sides have ‘enriched with Shea butter’ and ‘Enrichi au karite’ (See, I told you it was French.)

~ The Product ~

The Extra gentle wash describes itself as containing both Shea milk and oat milk, and claims to ‘respect ...
...the label though, in very small print is listed all the ingredients, most of which are definitely chemically derived. That seems to be par for the course with most toiletries unfortunately with a few notable exceptions.

The container is made from clear plastic, with a circular label at the front. The pump dispenser on the top is in the signature dark blue of L’Occitane. Although, as I’ve said, I have the 500ml bottle, this comes in ... more

There are several things I consider indulgences, but which I enjoy lavishing money on, and this includes toiletries. Bubble baths and hand wash’s are a secret passion of mine! Odd you might think, but my reasoning is that these are invariably cheaper than handbags or clothes. Also, a little extravagance sometimes gives me a much needed boost if I’ve had an especially trying day.

With other items such as cosmetics or face creams I tend to stick with tried and tested items, believing that one’s skin is highly individual and everyone should look for skincare products which suit their individual skin.

L’Occitane is one of those brands I’ve been aware of for seemingly ages, without ever purchasing anything. This I put down to my perception of the products being so expensive.

Well that perception was quashed when I was looking for gifts for Christmas late last year (yes - 6 months ago!). In the entrance to a Debenhams store was a display of allsorts of L’Occitane goodies, and all of them at discounted prices. Fast forward an inordinate amount of time spent reading labels, and comparing products, and eventually I chose a L’Occitane gift set.

In the gift set were a 30 ml tube of dry skin foot cream; 30 ml tube of dry skin hand cream; 75 ml bottle of body lotion for dry skin; and 75 mls each of ultra rich shampoo and conditioner and this, a whopping 500 ml bottle of Extra Gentle wash for hands and body. The set was clearly intended as a seasonal gift, probably aimed at any boyfriends or husbands at a loss as to know what to get. My gift set though was bought for yours truly, and didn’t get further than my house!

Those penny pinchers among you (you know who you are!) gasp in horror when I tell you that I paid £15 for this collection but the rrp at the time was (gasp again) £30.

Fast forward six months and I had all but forgotten this hand wash, having tucked it away at the back of our ‘spare toiletries’ shelf. And there it sat until I came to the end of my latest bathroom hand wash recently.

~ L’Occitane ~

• A company founded in 1976 in the south of France by a Frenchman (surprisingly).
• The name is derived from Occitania (an ancient territory which now comprises much of modern France with a slither of Spain thrown in for good measure. Although their own website also included Italy in this area, I am reliably informed that this is inaccurate!).
• None of their products are tested on animals.
• A nice touch is that L'Occitane uses raised lettering on all of their products to assist the visually impaired. On my extra gentle wash, the front and back sides have L’Occitane in raised letters and the sides have ‘enriched with Shea butter’ and ‘Enrichi au karite’ (See, I told you it was French.)

~ The Product ~

The Extra gentle wash describes itself as containing both Shea milk and oat milk, and claims to ‘respect the natural balance of the epidermis’. Looking closer at the label though, in very small print is listed all the ingredients, most of which are definitely chemically derived. That seems to be par for the course with most toiletries unfortunately with a few notable exceptions.

The container is made from clear plastic, with a circular label at the front. The pump dispenser on the top is in the signature dark blue of L’Occitane. Although, as I’ve said, I have the 500ml bottle, this comes in 300 and 400ml too if you want to buy it separately.

~ On using it ~

The lotion is a slightly creamy colour and of a nice thick consistency. Once it’s on my hands it also has an attractive, luxurious scent, although which ingredients this is due to, I can’t be sure.

Having massaged it onto my hands the first time, I rinsed off not quite sure what to expect. Did it respect the natural balance of my skin as stated? Well I was sceptical, but after I've used it, I find that not only does it leave a lovely smell on my hands for some time to come but my hands do feel slightly softer too, almost like I‘ve rubbed in some hand cream. My hands dry out very easily and this finds me using less moisturiser on my hands, so at least it does help save me a little money there.

With experience, I find I only need to use the smallest amount, about the size of a 1 pence piece to thoroughly wash my hands.

~ Why is it so expensive ! ~

Money might not grow on trees but Shea nuts do. The trees primarily favour the semi-arid conditions found in Western Africa where they grow naturally. Burkina Faso, one of the world’s poorest countries, is said to have the most abundance of trees. Primarily farmed by women in rural areas, it’s nickname there is “woman’s gold”.

So, although there’s an abundance of the nuts waiting to be harvested in theory, the price is probably reflective of it’s popularity in developed countries. Shea butter, or milk, is widely used in moisturisers, mostly at the higher end of the market. It’s known to soften skin, and is also found in many hair conditioners besides this L’Occitane range.

It’s also recommended to help improve skin conditions such as eczema or rashes, although I don‘t have any moisturizers containing this.

~ And lastly (well almost) ~

On a serious note, many exports from developing countries the world over from Gold, to coffee and cotton involve shady middle men and appallingly corrupt governments who are only too happy to line their own pockets with the profits made from exports first. As the women in Burkina Faso harvest and turn the shea nuts into butter themselves, any earnings from exporting it can only help some of the poorest villagers in these desperately poor countries.

So should I feel embarrassed at brazenly talking of spending so much money on something quite inconsequential when the producers are struggling in desperate poverty? Maybe. My purchase alone isn‘t going to improve anyone‘s life, certainly, but it makes a nice change to think that other women might benefit from my purchase rather than bigger producers such as coffee plantation owners (who are surely all men).

~ Overall ~

Having used it for a few weeks now, I can say that I am very pleased that I saw the gift set. At £15 for the collection it is very good value for money taking into account all the products and their individual prices. The L‘Occitane website is selling the 75ml bottles of foot cream and hand cream for £7.50 each! That seems inflated, but presumably regular customers are happy to indulge.

I think if I see any more offers on L’Occitane products I would be more than happy to try them. This hand wash is especially good, although I wouldn’t be willing to pay the full price (around £15).

Despite it being described as a body wash as well, I have yet to use it on anything but my hands.

If you can’t find a local stockist, you can order all their products online.

http://uk.loccitane.com/FO/Home.aspx 

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