Dixie
Russian roulette - a game no one likes to play. Using Kiss My Face soap, any scent, is a bit like spinning the barrel and taking your chances. Will it clean my skin without drying it, leaving it soft and smooth, or will it severely dry my skin out and possibly give me some sexy, sexy dermatitis?Olive oil soaps in general are fantastic for your skin but it can be tough to find a pure olive oil bar unless you happen to have a soapmaker in your town. At the time I tried the Kiss My Face soaps, I had not been able to find a soapmaker in my town that made just pure olive oil soap.
Imagine my delight when I discovered that Kiss My Face made an affordable, decently sized bar of olive oil soap. The first bar I bought at my local grocery store, and picked up a few more at various locations as I realized, duh, I need more than one bar of soap for my entire house.
At first, I was delighted with my purchase. The plain olive oil soap appeared to work well. It cleaned my skin without drying it out too much. Imagine my dismay when I broke out in hives all over my entire body a few days later.
Not being a person who writes off a product so easily, especially one that I've bought four of, I tried the lavender-scented bar. Same result. So I tried the honey and olive oil bar. SAME RESULT. HIVES. As a last effort I tried using the soaps just on my hands. NO! BAD DIXIE. Instead of hives on my hands, I ended up with dermatitis so bad that I had to be prescribed a cortisone cream by my dermatologist. As a closet hippie, I was pissed that I had to use a steroid because the inflammation had gotten past the point that I could use a natural remedy.
At this point, I began to think my skin was taking crazy pills. I mean, it's just olive oil, right? What is the problem? A Google search led me to various sites that have reviews of this product. Fully one-third of the reviewers on various sites mentioned that they experienced symptoms like mine, ranging from uncomfortably dry skin to dermatitis. Why would this happen? To tell you the truth, I don't know. One reviewer on a couple of sites who claimed to be a soapmaker theorized that it is possible that the manufacturers used chemicals to extract the oil from the olives. Gross. Also gross? When the soap gets wet it doesn't just get mushy like a regular soap or dissolve like a hand-crafted soap. Instead, it turns stringy and gooey, which is especially delightful since it's greenish-brown in color. Again, I say, gross.
The verdict? Don't use this if you don't enjoy playing Russian Roulette with the condition of your skin. 1/8 tentacles, only because it is fairly inexpensive for around $2.99 at your local grocer or online, you know, should you decide to spin the barrel and see if the chamber is loaded for you.
Rating: 1/8 tentacles
It really does. At the very least, this experience has taught me to be a little more wary when choosing a natural or organic product.
ReplyDeleteI am currently having the same experience, hives all over as result of using this soap. I didn't want to believe that i was allergic to such a simple and so-called natural soap, but this was my second time breaking out in itchy hives after using this product. Its going in the trash now.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this. I'm also having the same reaction to this soap, which is what led me to your post. The soap was recommended to me by someone who's been using it in her family for years, and I'd never had any sort of skin reaction to soap products before, so I didn't think twice. Learned my lesson!
ReplyDeleteI had a severe allergic reaction too! I've never had an allergy my whole life. I came from a family that used the cheapest soaps, or whatever was on sale. Now I use a "natural" soap, and I broke out in itchy, painful hives all over my body. I was in denial that it could be the soap, but when I stopped using it, the hives subsided. How can this be, that a soap with very simple and "natural" ingredients could do this? I'm staying away from this whole brand!
ReplyDeleteI have also had a reaction to this soap.After a few days of using it, my face started reacting badly - itching, red, and a burning sensation. After research, I found the same information about the possible use of chemicals in the extraction process. I am unsure of how valid this information is, but I am going to try another Olive Oil soap, Papoutsanis - perhaps I won't react to that brand.
ReplyDeleteME TOO! I had a full body rash ALL SUMMER two years ago. I wrongly thought it was the fault of fabric softener. Bought the soap again this week and it happened AGAIN! I put two and two together and figured out it's the damn soap. Weird.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post. I was trying to figure out why I broke out it hives. I recently changed conditioners to 2Chic Avocado and Olive Oil conditioner from Whole Foods. And after 3 days I have full blown hives with heavy concentrations around my neck and back where my hair sits. An amazing conditioner, but now I know that hives caused by olive oil is not uncommon.
ReplyDeleteI'm having the same problem now. It is a horrible rash with my ears swelling and burning. This is the second time and both after using the soap. I will never use their products again. There is no way kiss my face doesn't know about this but they obviously can still make money so they don't care.
ReplyDeleteWow, same is happening to me right now. I had an upper respiratory infection. I tried going natural (lots of vitamin C, oil of oregano, etc.) but wasn't working. So, starting taking Cefdinir (anti-biotics). A few days later started getting hives on my stomach. Googled and saw hives can happen due to anti-biotics, such as Cefdinir,. So, I stopped after 5 days (instead of 10). The hives started going away it seemed but then continued and stronger. Days later they are still getting worse. Started thinking what else it could be. Well, started using this soap a week or two before the hives started. So, could be a delayed reaction or something. I do remember feeling a little itchy after using it the first time. Going to stop using it and see. Will update here if I remember. Going back to the doctor today just to see what he thinks, especially if it could be the anti-biotics.
ReplyDeleteI have had really bad hives everyday for two months, tried to find out what caused it, at first thought it was something more internally I have been taking rather than externally. No avail, finally thinking it could be the soap, I switched back to old DOVE no scent soap, magically the hives are gone. And at last I slept sound with no more itchness.
ReplyDeleteI've been using the Olive Oil and Honey one and I'm in love. Though, it does tend to leave my skin on the "squeaky clean/shinny" side. I only use it before bed and make sure to moisturize with coconut oil before catching some zzz's. I found this page because I was thinking about switching to another one of their bars but now I'm not so sure. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGoing to add to this here - I've also had a horrible, horrible allergic reaction to this soap. My eyes almost swelled shut, I have a significantly unpleasant rash all over my hands and face. It's definitely this soap - this bar sat in the closet for about 2 years, had a similar reaction two years ago but couldn't pinpoint it. New bar comes out: I've definitely found the culprit.
ReplyDeleteNo idea what's in it that caused this - I eat olives like it's my job. Only other thing that comes close to this reaction is cats - and at least cats have the decency to not appear like something to rub all over your face.
I solved the mystery and I have finally concluded that the terribly itchy little pin prick hives popping up on my arms and legs are indeed from the Kiss My Face Olive Oil soap. I first used the soap back in March at the same time that I tried a new hair conditioner and also soaked some whites in Biz enzyme laundry stain solution. (I did two extra rinse cycles of the Biz-soaked clothes to ensure I got as much of the solution out as possible as well). In March, I thought the mysterious hives were caused by either the new hair conditioner or the Biz, since I consume olive oil in my diet on a regular basis. In March a Target clinic confirmed it was contact dermatitis and they suggested taking an antihistamine like Zyrtec to combat the itchiness and hives. It took about two weeks for the initial bout of hives to stop itching, and about a month for the red marks to disappear. This week, I thought I would try the Kiss My Face Olive Oil soap without changing anything else to see what would happen — BAD IDEA! I now have terribly itchy little hives popping up in random places on my arms, legs, and back. I wonder if I am allergic to some component of the fragrance in the soap, or if maybe all of a sudden now that I am in my early 30s if I have more sensitive skin than I used to. I usually try to avoid anything with fragrance, since "fragrance" or "parfum" often contains phthalates, and phthalates are banned in Europe, but I must have missed the fact that this soap had fragrance in it — so unnecessary, especially since many workplaces do not allow perfume/fragrances. I also have seasonal allergies, so maybe the allergy to the olive oil soap is related in some way — kind of like how people with certain allergies can sometimes also be allergic to certain fruits. I don't have any food allergies but slightly underripe avocados do make my throat a little itchy for a few minutes, but having other food causes the itching to stop. I would like to try a patch test on my arm with a drop of olive oil from my kitchen to see if anything happens to my skin from regular extra virgin olive oil, but I doubt anything will. I will be switching back to Cetaphil for my soap.
ReplyDeleteI bought an organic almond and oatmeal bar soap and broke out in welts on my wrists neck. I didn't know what caused it until I traced it back to the day I used the soap. Today I bought seba med ph liquid cleanser for face and body and my skin feels relived.
ReplyDeleteWOW! I've been searching high and low for an explanation to my outbreak of hives and after reading the comments here I think I've found the culprit! I was in denial that anything so "natural" and only containing 3 ingredients could be so bad for my skin. This soap took a day or two for the irritation to start and then progress into a full bout of hives. I've tried it twice and both times assumed it had to be my diet, but now it's clear...this soap has got to go!
ReplyDeleteThis happened to me last fall, I had just started using this soap and developed a terrible itchy allergic rash of small pimple like hives all over my body. I was prescribed a strong topical steroid cream and it took weeks to fully clear up. I was told to use a very basic soap like cetaphil. Fast forward one year and it happened again! Stupid me-I had forgotten and bought this soap again, one use and the rash is back all over my body! Now I am positive it is this horrible soap.
ReplyDeleteI never use the soap you mentioned but I have had similar experience using the olive oil bar soap twice: the first time with soap from France (Marseille bar soap) and the second with soap from Turkey. Both share the same ingredient - olive oil. I felt very itchy using the soap and the itchiness subsided after I stopped using the soap. Perhaps, we are allergic to olive oil?!?
ReplyDelete