The Good: Decent lather, Easy to open bottle, Inexpensive.
The Bad: Not antibacterial, No scrubbing grit, Not a very strong scent
The Basics: St. Ives Clean & Simple Purifying Sea Salt Body Wash is a decent cleanser, but not much of a shower/bath experience.
Over the years, one of the things that I have become more of a fan of is body wash. I grew up using soap and when I first encountered body wash, it seemed to me like someone had just figured out that one could wash themselves off with diluted shampoo. But, since becoming a reviewer, I’ve tried a number of different body washes and found some merit in them. When I consider body washes, I like ones that actually make me feel clean as opposed to the ones that offer the illusion of cleaning but have little merit beyond the cleaning power of a washcloth or loufa and hot water. Scrubbing power means something to me. So, when a body wash trades on scrubbing power on its own, it usually garners an instantly higher rating from me. Sadly, though, when the body wash trades on the illusion of scrubbing power, I just get annoyed. That is where I find myself with the St. Ives Purifying Sea Salt body wash.
The St. Ives Purifying Sea Salt body wash is a mediocre body wash, which is a new body wash to the market and it was unfortunately unremarkable because while it supposedly contains the natural exfoliant of sea salt, but it is not at all abrasive enough to cleanse or exfoliate. It is ideal for those who want to clean their bodies and leave them with a mild, vaguely fruity/vaguely floral scent (the best comparison I have is cucumber). In fact, it is somewhat surprising that St. Ives makes the claim that this exfoliates because the sea salt in the body wash is so fine, it does not actually do anything for one’s skin.
St. Ives Purifying Sea Salt body wash is very subtle in its aroma and the scent is close to cucumber, but is very underwhelming. The 24 fl. oz. bottle usually sells for $3.99 and seems to be commonly available, at least in Michigan, but we were able to find it on clearance locally, which made it worth it even if it did not exfoliate our skin. The Purifying Sea Salt Body Wash is a mildly effective, easy-to-use product that leaves skin feeling clean . . . as long as it is used for general daily maintenance as opposed to deep cleaning. When one is especially dirty, the best this does is get one clean; it does not deodorize without one truly scrubbing the hell out of one’s body and the truth is, the St. Ives Purifying Sea Salt body wash is far less effective than a good, abrasive loofah. The result is a body wash that is impossible to recommend for those working tough, smelly, jobs as opposed to those who want a basic cleaning product for day to day body cleansing. As one who works at a job that gets me sweaty and dirt-covered at night, the fact that the Purifying Sea Salt body wash does not deodorize or exfoliate is unfortunate.
Body washes generally seem disproportionately expensive to me, though on clearance, the St. Ives Purifying Sea Salt Body Wash was one of the mid-range body washes by price. St. Ives's Purifying Sea Salt Body Wash initial price is reasonably priced, though it does offer less than other body washes that actually exfoliate in the same price range. The Purifying Sea Salt Body Wash does manage to lather up incredibly well, so for daily maintenance, it may satisfy a thrifty shopper.
The Purifying Sea Salt Body Wash is an opaque whitish/green cream about the consistency of most hair conditioners. This is a slightly gritty body wash, so there is a surprisingly fine grit in it to help (supposedly) exfoliate the skin. Using the Purifying Sea Salt Body Wash is simple. The bottle features a flip top that opens with the flick of the thumb. The bottle is easy enough to open and close one handed as to make it convenient in the tub or shower, especially if one is using a loofah or washcloth in the other hand. The bottle of Purifying Sea Salt Body Wash is fairly flat on the front and back and rounded on the sides. It is slippery when wet, so it is important to get a good grip on this body wash bottle!
Dispensing the Purifying Sea Salt Body Wash is very easy. Simply squeeze the bottle and apply the creamy body wash to your hand, loofah or cloth. In my experience, the body wash is more creamy than fluidic and, as a result, comes out of the bottle when one squeezes it. As a result, about a half dollar-sized dollop is all that is necessary to clean my whole body when it mixes with the water from my shower or bath. I've found it most effective to dole out the body wash in dime-sized dollops in order to get the most out of each application, but generally it takes very little of this body wash to go a long way.
Part of the reason the product washes off so well is that it lathers exceptionally well. Used sparingly, like in dime-sized portions, the Purifying Sea Salt Body Wash may be spread over an entire limb the way it lathers up. Simply agitating it on the skin yields a foamy, clean lather that both moisturizes and cleans skin. Without a loofah or other rough applicator, it does not remove dirt or grime beyond what one expects from water running. As the water flows over it, it washes off easily leaving behind no film or residue, only clean, soft skin.
The Purifying Sea Salt Body Wash lost me with its scent. This body wash has a lightly cucumberlike scent, a generally clean but indistinct aroma. This lacks a truly definitive scent. St. Ives's Purifying Sea Salt Body Wash is made primarily of water and given how weak the aroma to the product is, that is hardly a surprise.
St. Ives Purifying Sea Salt Body Wash is a mediocre cleaner and does not live up to its promise of being a remarkable cleaner and body wash, making it one of the tougher sells from St. Ives.
For other St. Ives products, please be sure to check out my reviews of:
St. Ives Energizing Citrus Body Wash
St. Ives Revitalizing Pear & Soy Body Wash
St. Ives Ultra Gentle Apricot Scrub
3.5/10
For other health and beauty product reviews, please visit my Health And Beauty Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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