Over the past few weeks, I had been having some allergic skin reaction for which I blamed the use of some products from the Body Shop. Well, to be fair, it did seem highly suggestive that the cause was the shear butter I bought from the Body Shop because my rashes were only appearing on my limbs - the only areas I had been applying the shear butter. The fact that the rest of my body was unscathed seemed only to confirm that observation.
Whenever sensitisation occurs, it can take up to a week after elimination of the causative agent before the rash symptoms completely disappear so I wasn’t particularly alarmed when I was still itching a few days later. And just to avoid aggravation, I had also stopped using body wash when I showered because soap dries the skin which further irritates it. By the end of the week, I was still getting hives and I was, at times, so itchy it was driving me insane.
I went to the doctor who prescribed me with anti-histamines and calamine lotion. They helped to soothe the itch but after I stopped using them, the rashes and hives returned in full force. It wasn’t until I switched to my son’s Johnson’s “top-to-toe” baby wash (I used it top-to-toe - for washing my hair as well as my body) before the problem seemed to alleviate itself.
I now suspect that the real cause of my allergy was because of the Dove body wash I had been using. Although I stopped using it for a period, I was still washing my hair with Dove shampoo and since the suds would wash down over my arms and legs, it was still sensitising my skin.
I mentioned my suspicions to the hubby who then replied that he thought Dove body wash was one of the worst body washes around because he felt it was rather harsh on the skin, despite it being 1/4 moisturising. Hubby has very sensitive skin and can’t use a lot of the body washes on the market because of it. According to him, after one wash with Dove body wash, he started itching all over.
But that’s the thing… Dove first entered the market with their bar of soap with the unique selling point of being “1/4 moisturiser” so it didn’t dry your skin. They did such a marvellous job marketing that tagline that soon everyone associated Dove with its moisturising properties. When Dove launch their body wash product line, they dropped the “1/4 moisturiser” advertising because the body wash didn’t have the same moisturising properties as their bar of soap. Because they had done such a thorough marketing job with the bar of soap, consumers just naturally assumed the 1/4 moisturiser applied to all their products.
Anyway, that’s the insider scoop I remember hearing from one of the competitor product managers… If you’ve heard differently or if you’re from Dove, feel free to enlighten us in the comments section below if this message was misrepresented.
As for the Body Shop shear butter, I might start using a bit of it on a small part of my skin to see if it’s safe to start using it again. I’ll let you know in a week’s time…
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July 23rd, 2008 at 5:49 am
[...] Dove Body Wash not so Gentle to the Skin… 23 07 [...]
July 23rd, 2008 at 5:49 am
[...] Dove Body Wash not so Gentle to the Skin… 23 07 [...]
October 9th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH TO WHOM EVER WROTE THE DOVE BODY WASH NOT SO GENTLE ARTICLE. IVE BEEN GETTING HIVES FOR THREE YEARS, I ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS SOMETHING I WAS EATING. I TRIED TO ELIMINATE CERTAIN THINGS THAT I CAN REMEMBER EATING BUT IT SEEMED LIKE I WAS GETTING HIVES EVEN WORST. IM ALLERGIC TO SEAFOOD AND TRUST ME I WOULDNT GET NEAR ANYTHING WITH SEAFOOD SO I KNOW IT WASNT THAT. SO ONE DAY I WOKE UP SOMETHING WAS TELLING ME TO GO ON MY COMPUTER AND READ ABOUT HIVES. YOUR ARTICLE WAS ONE OF THE ARTICLES TO READ ON GOOGLE. SO I CLICK ON IT BECAUSE I KNEW IVE BEEN USING THE DOVE BODY WASH. AFTER I READ YOUR ARTICLE, IT MADE ME REALIZE MAYBE IT IS THE DOVE BODY WASH THAT IM ALLERGIC TO SO THAT SAME DAY I DISCONTINUED THE DOVE BODY WASH AND RUSHED UP THE STREET FROM MY HOUSE TO CVS TO PURCHASE THE JOHNSON’S BABY BODY WASH (HEAD TO TOE ) AND I FELT THE DIFFERENCE IMMEDIATELY MY HIVES WERE DISAPPEARING LITTLE BY LITTLE IT TOOK A WEEK TO FINALLY GET RID OF ALL MY HIVES BECAUSE I GUESS IT WAS STILL IN MY SYSTEM BUT BOY WAS IT WORTH IT. I WANT TO THANK YOU YOU SAVED MY LIFE BECAUSE I WAS SO IRRITATED AND ANNOYED WITH MYSELF ESPECIALLY WHEN I HAD TO KEEP TAKING ZYRTEC EVERYDAY. GOD BLESS.
October 10th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Hi Carline - I’m so glad you found this blog post useful! I had also thought at first it was something I was eating and wondered if I had suddenly developed a sensitivity towards certain foods, but I had this hunch it had to be something I was putting onto my skin.
In retrospect, I remember that about the same time I started developing the hives, my SIL also had them and she had also just bought a bottle of the same Dove body wash. Looks like there are a lot more people who are sensitive to Dove body wash.
October 11th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
[...] is always a real pleasure to read comments from readers who have found the information from my blogs useful. Carline had the same allergic reaction as I [...]
December 1st, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Just look at the ingridients on the bottle. No way am i gonna trust anything with those kinds of names again. Sodium lauryl sulfate , that stuff is used in floor cleaners and other industrial applications. That goes for all the things we use as well as foods. Be wary and be natural. Most companies motto is maximize profit regardless of social and environmental cost.