Product Review - Raw Gaia Bamboo and Pumice Exfoliant

Regular readers of my blog will know that I like smooth skin, and I’m a regular user of scrubs and exfoliants – they’re essential to my facial skin care.  I’ve been using a Bamboo and Pumice Exfoliant from Raw Gaia recently which is a little different from my usual facial scrub.

I was interested in trying some Raw Gaia products, as they are a small, niche skincare brand, selling organic, vegan, cruelty free and ethical products.  I like discovering niche skincare from smaller brands, and Raw Gaia really appealed to me.

Only 2 ingredients!

The Bamboo and Pumice Exfoliant is quite unlike any other type of exfoliator I’ve ever used, because it comes in powder form.  I was very surprised when it arrived, as I had been expecting it to be in a suspension.  However, I was curious to try the finely milled powder, so I followed the instructions and gave it a go.

Basically, you wet your face and then dip your wet fingers into the powder, massage it onto your face for a couple of minutes before rinsing off with water. 

At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it, and I was unsure about putting pumice onto my face, but I soon realised that it’s a really good product.  Because you can vary the amount of powder you put on your face, you can adjust the concentration of exfoliant to suit your own needs.  If you have sensitive skin, you only need to use a very small amount, whereas, if you feel like you need a good scrub, you can use much more.  As you dilute the powder yourself, you can control the concentration of the scrub, whereas with a usual exfoliator in suspension, you can use more of less of it, but the concentration of the scrub remains the same.

And I needn’t have worried about the pumice – the powder really is finely milled, so it’s nothing like a pumice scrub you’d get for your feet. 

It did take me a couple of goes to adjust the amount I needed for my skin, but I’ve worked out how much powder I need now and can get the perfect level of scrub!  I’m not sure how much I like dipping my fingers into the powder – it would be great if there was a little measuring spoon provided to allow you to get the correct dose.

It’s not a cheap product, at £20.99.  However, you do get a lot for your money.  It’s so concentrated that even though I’ve been using mine for more than two months now, there’s still loads of it left!  With normal exfoliators, I go through them really quickly, so it’s pretty good value, even though the initial outlay is more than I’d usually spend.

I have to say I think this is an exciting and innovative brand and I love their ethical approach.  In particular, I love their ethical marketing stance, which is well worth a read.  I know I’m a total victim of the brain washing perpetuated by the beauty industry, despite reading The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf (well worth a read as well).  It’s very refreshing to see a brand take such a firm stance on this issue!   

DISCLAIMER: This item was provided free of charge for review purposes.  This has not influenced my review in any way - I always express my honest opinion on any product I review.