Name: Gardeners’ Hand Salve Rosehip & Beespit
Brand: Bellingham Soap Company
Size: 100ml
Price: £10.00
From Bellingham Soap Company’s website:
An amazing all natural rich salve for really dry hands…enriched with fairly traded Cocoa Butter, Bee Spit (honey) and Beeswax it is a blend of natural medicinal herbs (rosehip, comfrey, chamomile) macerated in pure plant oils (grape, almond, olive and soy) and fragranced with pure essential oils.
What I liked:
- creamy consistency, easy to apply
- very moisturizing, makes hand soft and smooth
- helps heal dry and cracked skin
- tin is huge and contains a big amount of product
- a little goes a long way
- pleasant but strong lavender scent
What I didn’t like:
- takes a couple of minutes to absorb
- top later is very hard
- scent may be too strong for some people
Has one beauty product ever made you doubt your mental sanity? Bellingham Soap Company Gardeners’ Hand Salve Rosehip & Beespit did that to me. How? Well, you see, when I tried to pick up some of the balm, my fingers just slided on the smooth surface without making the slightest dent in it. I tried a few more times and just couldn’t pick up any product at all. It’s at this point that I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. I mean, how hard can it be to pick up some cream?
Something like this had never happened to be before. So, I innocently asked Mr BWB to apply some of the balm on his hands (which he hesitated to do cos I thought I was up to something dodgy lol) and had the same problem. No, I’m not crazy (phew), Bellingham Soap Company Gardeners’ Hand Salve Rosehip & Beespit (what a mouthful! We’ll just call it Gardeners’ Hand Salve from now on) just has the hardest surface I have ever come across in a balm.
You either have to apply A LOT of pressure with your finger or simply scrape off the top layer to reach the balm underneath, which has a creamy and thick consistency that’s easy to pick up and spread on the skin. The tin, which doesn’t look too professional but is very pretty nonetheless, is huge (it contains 100ml!), so even if you scrape off the top later, you’ll still have enough product left to last you for a few good months.
And because it is so thick, you need only a tiny amount for each application. Although, even then, it will take a couple of minutes for the balm to fully absorb. I usually find it annoying but this balm is so good that for once I don’t mind. Gardeners’ Hand Salve contains Grapeseed Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Olive Oil and Cocoa Butter, which are all very moisturizing and also have antioxidant properties so it nourishes your hands while helping fight premature aging.
My hands are very dry and, in the harsh winter months, they often get cracked, but this balm quickly solved the problem. I applied it before going to bed and the next morning, they were very soft and almost healed. I kept using the balm during the day too (it lasts for ages so I usually reapply it after meals only) and soon my hands were in perfect condition: soft, smooth and moisturized. Not dry at all and no cracks whatsoever.
This is definitely the best hand cream/balm I have ever tried. A real lifesaver for those with very dry hands like me. However, its herbal scent may put people off. It smells of lavender with a hint of rosemary and it is very strong. Mr BWB and I love it, but my mother can’t stand it. And it hangs around forever, which is a good thing if you like it, and a very bad one if you don’t. So, if lavender or just strong scents aren’t your thing, this may not be for you.
Ingredients:
Ingredients: grapeseed oil (vinis vitefera) sweet almond oil (prunus dulcis) olive oil (olea europea) organic beeswax (cera alba) Cocoa butter (theobroma cacao) Honey (mel) Parfum: essential oils (contains the active ingredients citral, geraniol, citronellol, limonene, linalool ) rosehip (rosa canina) chamomile (matricaria recutica) Comfrey (symphytum officinale). phenoxyethanol, ethylhexylglycerine.
Available at: notonthehighstreet.com
Summary
Bellingham Soap Company Gardeners’ Hand Salve Rosehip & Beespit is a wonderful moisturizing treatment for very dry hands. The rich formula, which takes a couple of minutes to absorb, nourishes hands, making them soft and smooth and heals cracks too. It lasts for hours and has antioxidant properties too. However, the top layer is very hard, and it has a strong lavender scent that, although I find pleasant, can put some people off.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Well, this sounds awesome! I wasn’t sure about it since it comes in a tin, but if you like it that much, then it must be good.
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Trisha, I prefer products that come in tubes too, but it really is a wonderful cream and has really helped to heal and soften my hands.
I need something like this! My hands get dry so often they hurt. Right now I’ve been using The Body Shop’s hemp hand protector and that’s helped moisturize my hands a lot. I’ve looked into hemp products because of you! Your ingredient of the day or something like that. AH I am still so happy I found your blog! You’ve helped me so much.
Janessa, then you will love this, I’m sure. My hands too are so dry that they hurt and even bleed, but this cream solved the problem. It’s just so moisturizing. Aww and I’m glad my ingredient posts helped you choose products that work for you. It’s comments like this that make it all worth it.
:] That makes me smile!
Giorgia, I went to their Facebook page and they posted up links to buy their products and that means I can get my hands on some of their stuff. They have really pretty soaps! http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/search?term=bellingham&search.x=0&search.y=0&search=go
Janessa, that’s wonderful! They make some lovely products, don’t they?
Oh wow, haha. The “Beespit” made me go ‘what?’ for a second there… but hey, this seems like a really nice product! I hate it when products don’t absorb quickly enough as well, but you make it sound like this is full of awesome!
Chriselle Sy´s last [type] ..Airbrush Class Photoshoot Portfolio Pictures
Chriselle, it is awesome indeed. I usually find it annoying to use products that don’t absorb very quickly, but this cream work so well that I don’t mind. It’s a small price to pay for its effectiveness.
Hello there, thank you so much for reviewing my product and all the nice things you said about it. I really do appreciate it. I must just clear something up though…it’s NOT a cream, it’s a salve/balm like Lip Balm for hands and you only need a tiny amount for it to work, if it wasn’t really rich it wouldn’t do the job. It’s also great for feet especially in preparation for summer sandals. Thanks once again, you are lovely, all the best xxx
Allyson Proudfoot
Owner Bellingham Soap Company
Allyson, you’re welcome. I really love this balm, it is a godsend for my very dry hands. And from now on, I’ll be using it on my feet as well.
And thank you for pointing that out. I’ve just substituted the word cream with balm in the review.
I’m so pleased I found your blog
Allyson, aww thank you!