Avalon Organics Essential lift Smoothing Cleanser

Anti-aging cleanser?............ No.

Cleanser cannot do anything, except cleanse your skin or remove make-up. Do not believe any "firming, lifting, repairing" claims any company issues with their cleansing products. It is just a sad example of feeding on women's fears......

 

Packaging/Pricing:

 

177ml (6fl.oz). Retails for ~10$ US. Sturdy plastic pump bottle. Even when being kept in the shower, label does not come off. Unfortunately this pump mechanism is not working that great. Each pump gives you only a pea size amount of product, so I need to pump 5-6 times to get enough to wash my face and neck.

Ingredients:

Sea Silt Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Sunflower Seed Oil, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Decyl Glucoside, Sea Silt, Polysorbate 60, Glycol Stearate, Sodium Magnesium Silicate, Stearic Acid, Cedrus Atlantica Bark Oil, Lemon Peel Oil, Balsam Copaiba Resin, Lavender Oil, Rosemary Leaf Oil, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Carrageenan, Soybean Seed Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Citric Acid, Dehydroxanthan Gum, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Sorbic Acid, Limonene, Linalool.

Excellent (only beneficial ingredients, proven research)

Good (mostly beneficial, not extensive research or just not quite outstanding properties)

OK (mostly thickeners, emulsifiers, mild preservatives, pH adjusters, all that is necessary, but not a skincare per se) 

Bad (irritants and anything bad that shouldn't be in skincare, usually fragrance)

Ingredients Discussion:

 

Cleansers do not stay on the face for more than 1 min, so only surfactants can work in that period of time. Usually I am not really going into details about ingredients in face washes. Still it is worth to note, that in this product there are few irritating essential oils and fragrance added (lemon, ceder bark, rosemary, lavender, balsam resin, limonene, linalool). Too much in my opinion to overlook it even in a cleanser. No SLS though, so it shouldn't be too stripping on the skin. The minerals, that company claims should "lift" your skin, come from sea mud (they list it as "sea silt"). Mud may have some anti-inflammatory properties, but research is not extensive or conclusive. And it definitely wouldn't do anything for the skin in a cleanser.

Consumer Thoughts:

 

This is a non-foaming cleanser. It doesn't feel too oily and doesn't leave any creamy residue behind. It leaves skin clean, but not dry. I do enjoy using it after cleansing oil to remove last bits of make-up or on no make-up days to remove my sunscreen. It wouldn't work as make-up remover though. I haven't experienced any irritation, but people with very sensitive skin should probably pass on it. The scent is so so. Fragrance is herbally, not very strong (but definitely noticeable), easy to tolerate in my opinion (but nothing as delicious as fragrance in Naruko products). Nothing really to be too crazy about.

Verdict:

 

OK product in my opinion. It works. It is gentle. A bit too much of irritants. Pump is a bit annoying. Can not really recommend, but wouldn't discourage from trying it either.

3,5 out of 5.