How Natural Is Emily Skin Soother?
Submitted by Beauty Brains Blog
Michael says: I liked very much your review of Ren products and thought to myself, “What would they say about my products?” Then answered myself, “Why not ask?” So, I am putting myself and my products up on the block. Would you be willing to tell me and your readers what you think of our ingredients, copy, etc?
The Right Brain responds:
Michael thanks so much for contacting us about your line of Emily Skin Soother products. Since you were brave enough to offer your products up for our review, the least we can do is give you our honest feedback. Below you’ll find a few statements taken from your website followed by our comments. So take a deep breath, here we go!
The Pros and Cons of Emily Skin Soothers
Emily: Our original creation, Baby and Adult Skin Soother was created because of our daughter’s baby eczema. It was born of a father’s love and concern.
Beauty Brains: Wow! You have to find that statement touching unless you’re a cold hearted bee-yatch like a certain lobe of the Beauty Brains. (Just kidding, LB!) Seriously though, we like they way Michael summarized his philosophy in an email to us:
“I am not trying to scare consumers, I am trying to reach out to people who have a similar mind set and concern. I do not think such statements will make someone who does not care suddenly worry about these ingredients. This type of statement is more a pledge to those people who are concerned that we will not use such ’suspected’ ingredients because we can easily make a quality product without them.”
This is a much better rationale than companies who say “don’t use this because it causes cancer.”
Emily: It was created to soothe and beautify any type of dry and itchy skin condition.
Beauty Brains: While olive oil and beeswax will soothe dry skin, “soothing itching” is technically a drug claim and shouldn’t be made by a cosmetic product.
Emily: It is made of the bare, essential ingredients of the highest quality. We use olive oil, beeswax, and three herbs.”
Beauty Brains: While we don’t question the quality of your ingredients, let’s not to confuse naturalness with efficacy. There’s a reason that skin moisturizers contain silicones and mineral derived oil – these ingredients are better moisture barriers. You may not like these “unnatural ingredients” but they DO perform!
Emily: Skin Soothers products are natural and effective…powered by Chinese Herbs.
Beauty Brains: While we accept that olive oil and beeswax are good for skin because they provide emolliency and moisture retention, we’d like to know how the herbal blend “powers” the product. Do the herbs have proven benefits or are they just known for their folkloric uses?
Emily: We do not add anything unnecessary, so our products do not have colorants, added fragrance, preservative or any unpronounceable nasties.
Beauty Brains: Ok, Michael, be careful with this one. First of all, you’re implying your herbs are “necessary” without any proof of efficacy (see above). Second, you’re promoting fear of chemicals with your remark about “unpronounceable nasties.” Not everything with a scientific name is bad for you. For example, the official names for the herbs in your product are “Potentillae Chinensis” and “Mentha Haplocalyx.” Those names don’t exactly roll off your tongue, but that doesn’t mean they’re harmful!
Emily: Our herbs …are from an American company that batch tests all of its herbs for contaminants, heavy-metals, and pesticides and does not use sulfur preservatives.
Beauty Brains: We’re not sure how much of a danger this represents, but we give them credit for at least trying to support their claims about having pure products. Not all companies are this thorough.
Emily: A 2 oz jar costs $14.00.
Beauty Brains: We’re used to expensive products, but $14 bucks for 2 ounces of olive oil and beeswax seems a bit high!
The Beauty Brains bottom line
Compared to other companies we’ve seen, Emily Skin Soothers has a refreshingly realistic approach to marketing an “all natural” product. While we nit-picked a few technical points above, overall we respect the honest way they offer as pure a product as possible without making exaggerated claims. And most importantly, they DON’T try to scare you into buying something you don’t need.
