As I've mentioned on multiple occasions, I have very problematic skin, especially on my hands. I have a number of allergies and two conditions that, if not treated very carefully, can be really painful and last months after a flare-up. With this in mind, I'm always on the lookout for natural hand soap because certain chemicals just make things worse. The hand-made soaps* from Valley Mill are as natural as you can get.
Tea Tree & Witch Hazel is very herby, it smells almost medicinal, but maybe that's because it reminds me of a spot treatment I used to use. It's certainly not unpleasant but is not something I'd usually gravitate towards. Bergamot & Basil is lovely, I can detect a hint of something plant-like, but the overwhelming scent here is aniseed, which oddly enough isn't listed on the ingredients. It does state "natural essential oils", so I guess it could be included in that. It's a scent that I'm not generally that keen on, but in this form, with the other scents to accompany it, it really works.
The soaps come packaged in really cute card sleeves, which slide off to reveal a bottomless matchbox type of wrapper, meaning that when the two are together the entire bar is covered completely. The packaging is recyclable too, which is something I'm always pleased to see in any kind of product, be it beauty or food. Inside is a rather heavy bar of soap which looks really interesting, both soaps have a design running through them in different shades of green and brown, with Bergamot & Basil being the darkest of the two. They really do look lovely in the bathroom soap dish and make a nice change from boring white soaps.
As I said in the first paragraph, I do have a lot of allergies, and unfortunately I'm allergic to both of these soaps, so I don't have first-hand experience to share with you on how they actually perform. I did, however, give them to my mother and I asked her to take notes on how she felt they worked and any benefits that she could see. Here are the points that she made:
Tea Tree & Witch Hazel
As I said in the first paragraph, I do have a lot of allergies, and unfortunately I'm allergic to both of these soaps, so I don't have first-hand experience to share with you on how they actually perform. I did, however, give them to my mother and I asked her to take notes on how she felt they worked and any benefits that she could see. Here are the points that she made:
Tea Tree & Witch Hazel
- "The scent is ok but isn't something that I'm overly keen on.
- It looks really nice, I like the different colours of green.
- It lathers just as well in cold water as it does in hot.
- The scent disappears by the time your skin is dry.
- Unfortunately, this dried my skin out so I had to use lots of moisturiser afterwards.
- I wouldn't buy this again because my skin is too dry though it may work for oily skin"
Bergamot & Basil
- "Smells very pleasant, I love the smell of liquorice anyway, so this is right up my alley.
- It lathers slightly in cold water but a lot more in hot water.
- It's left my skin feeling really soft, I didn't need to use hand cream or body lotion at all the day after using this soap.
- I don't know how, but it's removed the nail polish stains I had on my nails, so they look a lot cleaner and very bright.
- I'm going to buy another bar of this as soon as it runs out, it's the best hand soap I've ever used."
As you can see, my Mum was very impressed with the Bergamot & Basil but less so with Tea Tree & Witch Hazel, though I'm guessing that which one works for you would depend on what your skin type is. It's such a shame that I'm unable to try these for myself, because going off what she said I'm sure I'd really like them.
Valley Mill soaps are available online and in selected stores nationwide for £4.
