little white truths

Verdict

This cleanser was love at first use for me. It's so divine that I can't bear to be without it in my collection these days, so I hope Maslow & Co continues to stock it because I never want to run out.

It's an odd product with quite a thick and chunky texture that's more like a solid gel than anything too fluid. What's good about this is that you can squeeze out tiny amounts each time, and believe me, you do only need a tiny amount because this stuff foams like crazy.

What I love about the product is that it feels so lightweight and airy on the skin, like it's barely touching your face. 'Angel Wash' is definitely a good name for the product because there's something ethereal and 'not quite there' about the sensation of using it. Is there anything on my face? I can see it, but whether I can feel it is another story.

The other thing I love about this is the scent: it smells like sweetened, soft white chocolate to me (and I don't even like white chocolate but I do love this), and somehow the scent fits in with the whole 'Angel Wash' thing. There's something whimsical about this product and I enjoy using it for that reason alone.

One thing I wanted to comment on is foaming cleansers. If like me you do a lot of research into skincare, you may know that foaming cleansers are apparently bad for the skin (Caroline Hirons hates them). Reason being, they're generally alkaline (which can irritate the skin, stripping it of its natural oils) and they also contain sodium laurel sulphate (SLS), which I understand is a big no-no.

Does this contain SLS? It's not listed in the ingredients on Maslow & Co's website, but that doesn't mean this list is complete. Do all products that foam necessarily contain SLS? I don't know this either - I've done some research but I haven't found answers yet. If you know anything about this, please leave a comment : )

So, while I can't comment on whether this cleanser is something containing ingredients that might irritate the skin, what I can say is that it hasn't yet irritated my dry, sensitive skin and it definitely doesn't leave behind that tight feeling I get when I use cleansers that are too astringent. 

For me, this is one of those cleansers that treads the right balance between being gentle while still being effective, but I'm not going to say 'use this' because I don't know enough about it - except that it does have an alkaline pH of 8.3.

On the claims: yes it's mild and creamy; yes it lathers beautifully; and yes it works as either (or both) a first or a second cleanse because it cleans so well. I don't however think that it offers a 'really deep clean' because for me it's more on the gentle side than the astringent one.

So in sum, I absolutely love this product and I've given it an HG tag. It's the nicest foaming cleanser I've ever used. If I do eventually find out whether it contains SLS or other ingredients that are potentially irritating, I'll let you know - but for now I'm happy to keep using it because my face loves it and I've noticed no adverse effects.

A beautiful product.