Gamila Secret Cleansing Bar Initial Review

Hey lovelies,
I hope everyone has been having a lovely week. So, I have been on the quest for healthy and blemish free skin for a while now. I have decided to add a new page to my blog which would be a Skin Care series just to formalise my quest. I suggest you check out my previous blog post here which lets you know what kind of skin I have and a few products I have tried. You can also check out my review of the Gamila Secret Face Oil here.

Before now, I had never heard about Gamila Secret Cleansing Bars. I went into House of Fraser in Oxford Circus some time last month to have a little window shopping. I was about to leave when a cheerful sales lady asked if I would be willing to try out the Gamila Secret brand which was unknown to me. Normally, I would politely decline but she was really nice and sweet so I decided to give it a try and keep an open mind. The brand is called Gamila Secret which has been around for a little while and is popular amongst stars like Madonna, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake and a host of others.

                                                                      http://www.gamilasecret.com/

 I didn't know this though until later when I decided to check the internet. The sales lady was so nice and she kindly gave me a Free Travel Pouch and Sample of the Hand Cream. This is an initial review as I have only used this for a week and half now. To the review of this amazing bar, let's get started, shall we?

Background
Gamila Secret was created by Gamila Hiar who has put in about 40 years of research to produce this amazement of a soap. Gamila Hiar is of Druze Origin and lives in Galilee, Israel. She had always been around herbs and natural oils growing up as a young lady and was passionate about producing a perfect all in one skin care bar which would cater to a host of skin requirements. Gamila Secret Cleansing Bars are made up of 100% natural products right down to the production of all the packaging. They are 100% handmade and one cleansing bar takes about 3-6 months to obtain the final product. If you are interested in more information about the history or background of Gamila Secret, you can head off to their Facebook Page  for all info.

                                                                                                            http://www.gamilasecret.com/

Composition
All Gamila Secret Cleansing Bars are made up of at least 15 different hand picked wild herbs which make up the "secret" of Gamila Secret Cleansing Bar. A few of these wild herbs include Roman Nettle, Lavender, Chamomile, Rosemary, Vervain, Sage, Rue and Pistachio which are bound in a base of Shea butter and a mixture of  a minimum of 80% pure Virgin Vegetable Oils which include Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Laurel Oil, Sweet Almond Oil and Grape Seed Oil. The soap is handmade which includes at least 40 hours cooking process with each herb added at the appropriate time for optimal extraction of its active ingredients and a period of 4 to 6 months for drying, stamping and curving the edges. A lot of love and utmost care has been put into just one piece of cleansing bar which justifies the price which I will come to later. Keep reading :-)

                 
Variants:

Depending on what kind of skin you have, Gamila Secret has at least one variant to cater for either Normal, Dry, Oily or Combination Skin. It comes in ten variants which are made with special herbs that caters to each kind of skin and these variants include:

• All Skin Types: Original and Wild Rose(Premium Line)
• Dry Skin: Lavender Heaven and Creamy Vanilla
• Combination Skin: Jasmine Comfort, Reviving Rosemary and Soothing Geranium
• Combination to Oily Skin: Spearmint Sparkle, Miracle Mentha and Lively Lemon grass

I chose the Lively Lemongrass as advised by the sales lady since I have oily skin around my T zones and combination skin in other areas of my face.

Packaging:
I absolutely love the packaging. It is not fancy but it is so well put together and everything used is 100% handmade. You can feel the love through the packaging. All the products come in proper boxes which have information of the product, its use and how to take care of it. It is one package I will actually keep just because I love how original it looks and I know I am protecting our environment as well. The Travel Pouch (which was a free gift to me) is made of 100% cotton and jute(I think).

Application:
It is pretty simple and straightforward to use. I simply take off my make up with wipes and dampen my face with some warm water. Next, I run some warm water and rub the soap between my fingers in order to activate the "live ingredients" as instructed. I massage it for about 20-30 seconds until I have a slimy and foamy lather. 

Then, I slather this on my face and gently massage it in with small circular motions. Sometimes, I actually use my small face brush for extra exfoliating action. I leave it on for about 3-5 minutes just because I want to maximise its absorption into my skin. Most times, it actually dries out on my face and then I rinse it off. Once I rinse off, my face feels squeaky clean and soft but a little dry if I leave it without moisturising so I use my toner and moisturiser and I am ready for the day or bed depending on what time of the day.

Usage and Storage
I use this every morning and night and it has been a wonderful experience so far. My skin feels softer  and more radiant which is very good. Many people, including myself, feel uncomfortable using bar soaps for cleansing because leaving the wet soap on a soap dish may breed bacteria which could be introduced to the face and cause some havoc. 

In order to combat this, I suggest you get either get the waterproof Travel Pouch or a Stone Dish which I also bought. The Stone dish is the perfect way to store this soap because the chances of bacteria growing on the stone is very very minimal and it actually dries out the soap completely so it is always dry and fresh; ready to use.

Results
I have seen a couple of people on some reviews saying they suffered some breakouts in the first few weeks of using this soap. I have been lucky so far and I have not experienced any at all to my delight. I think these breakouts may be because they may have been some dirt lurking around under the skin. I have always had quite a good cleansing routine due to my sensitive and acne prone skin so I guess the dirt underneath is minimal so it had no cause to break me out. I have to say I have been absolutely amazed at the results I have got so far. They are not a marked huge difference per say but it is visible to me. My skin feels really soft and radiant in a good way. 

Best of all, my dark acne blemishes are really getting less visible which was the main reason for buying this soap. I love the fact that it is a slow but sure process. Gamila Secret advises its customers to use this soap for at least 28 days to see any significant changes because the human skin takes about 28 days to regenerate and I think that's absolutely fine. Also, clients are advised to keep the use of other skin care products to a minimal which makes sense since some of the ingredients in those skin care products may have a lot of artificial ingredients and preservatives which may interfere with the way Gamila Secret Bar works. I will definitely put up pictures of my face in a before and after style when I have used this cleansing bar for about a month as instructed. For now, hope you enjoy the other pictures of the products.

Cost
This baby is not cheap at all, in fact, it is quite pricey. My Gamila Secret Lively Lemon Grass cost £21.00 but I got it for £18.90 because House of Fraser was having a 10% discount. For a cleansing bar, it may be pricey but I think it is worth every penny because you can see visible results and your skin would definitely thank you for it. 

The Gamila Secret Dish for storing the soap retails for £10 but I got it for £9 which is not too bad because it is a good quality stone soap dish and it makes the soap look exotic in my bathroom and of course helps keep the soap in optimum condition. I was gifted with the Travel Pouch by the nice sales lady :-) but it retails for £6.50 and it is an excellent way for storing the soap when you are out and about like me. 

It has waterproof material inside which dries the soap and prevents it from wetting other items in your bag. I think the whole brand is very practical and well thought out. You can find the Gamila Secret products in store in House of Fraser in UK and on their website if you live elsewhere. I am not sure but I believe they ship internationally.

Cons

• The first will have to be its cost. I know it is handmade and 100% natural but the cost may make it less affordable to everyone especially because it is a cleansing bar. 
• Another con is the fact that you have to either buy the secret dish or find a good way to store a dripping soap to prevent bacteria from proliferating. 
• Also, I think the easiest way to buy it is via the website because it is not readily available in many stores you can walk into. In fact, not all the House of Fraser actually stock it. I got this one from the Oxford Circus branch. 
• Just like any bar soap, the chances of experiencing dryness of the skin is very high so you need to ensure you moisturise adequately. 
• The steps involved in application such as rubbing the soap for at least 30 seconds under warm water to activate the ingredients to form a slimy lather may delay people who are on the go and have no time.

Overall Verdict

I love this soap so much and I am sure you can tell from this post. It is by far one of the best cleansing bars I have ever used. It gives results that you can see and feel. The fact that everything is 100% natural, handmade and organic won me over way before I used it. To be honest, if a product delivers what it says, I don't care how much it costs. I would rather spend a little more on a sure product than save pennies on products that are just a necessary fancy in the bathroom cabinet. This is just my initial review just to introduce this brand and tell you guys how much I love this brand. I will be posting a final review with pictures and results after the 30 days challenge of using it. So, I will keep you posted on this one. Wish me luck in my quest for perfect healthy and blemish free skin. Leave me comments on how you take care of your skin. I would love to read from you guys; it makes my day :-)))...xxx

*DISCLOSURE: I have no material relationship to any brand or person mentioned in this post. All Opinions are mine and the products were bought and paid for by me.