September 17, 2010

Review: Hada Labo Tamagohada AHA/BHA Face Wash

This review has taken a long time coming. And you'll see why in a moment.

Several months back, Kahani asked me if I'd like to give this face wash a whirl, and (me being me) I was all up for it.

I started using it occasionally, and as my skin did not object to it (and I rather liked it actually), I started using it regularly in my night cleansing routine. I was using it every night for about two weeks, I believe, during which I was rather happy with the results.

As far as cleansing went, this was a pretty decent cleanser. It foamed into a rich lather, and it was able to take off most of my light makeup with one wash. But I still liked to end my cleansing routine with a round of Cetaphil.

Fast forward two weeks later though, and things started going downhill from there.


I noticed that my skin was starting to get a bit dry, and I suspect that because it was dry, it had also started breaking out. But through it all, I was still using this product, thinking the AHA/BHA acids would help deal with the zits.


I was also slapping on Aknemycin, which helped deal with the pimples, but it did not help with the dry skin. No sirree! In fact, my skin started flaking even more.

After a while, I suspected that my skin could be reacting to the facewash, and so I stopped it completely. But my skin didn't feel much better. A few weeks later, it was still dried out and flaking. It was so bad to the point that my skin was only relieved while I had moisturiser on. The moment I washed it off in the morning, it went back to feeling dry and stretched.

It was baaaaad.

And in an effort to save my skin, I recently picked up Estee Lauder's Advanced Night Repair, but that will be another story for another day.

So back to this cleanser. While my skin went through a really bad patch, I can't say for sure that this face wash was entirely responsible.

Granted, using it daily might have been a little more than my skin could take, but the aknemycin, coupled with stress and sore lack of water intake might have jolly well all contributed to my skin shriveling up.

My skin is now slowly healing, and while there are still break-outs, it no longer feels dried out and stretched. I have quite a mind (when my skin is much better), to perhaps give this facewash another shot, say perhaps only once a week. We'll see if I have the guts to do it.

I haven't had that much luck with it so far, but it seems to be a lot more agreeable with ParisB and Connie. Ironically though, both of them have dry skin and I'm the one who's suppose to have combi/oily skin!

At RM17.90(50g) and RM31.90(130g) at Guardian Pharmacy, it's not exactly expensive, but not the most economically priced cleanser either.

Would I repurchase? Unless my next round of experimenting with it proves to be miraculous, I'd say not really, no.

Note: This product was provided for review on So Loverly.

6 comments:

knitties said...

Sorry to hear it didn't work and made your skin worse. I know the feeling. I have not used this wash before but it looks like something I won't be picking up.

Anonymous said...

hey thanks for the review! i was wondering about a similar thing myself. I've been using this for two weeks now. Initially I liked it but gradually I found my normal-oily combi skin showing redness, some zits near the nose area. I was suspecting whether my moisturizer expired or that the period is coming but I have yet to be able to pin point the cause. Haha I guess I was unwilling to even consider the face wash as a possible culprit cos it's a newly bought product and I didn't want to conclude that I wasted money :p

-mandy

Risa said...

Thanks for sharing! I've been contemplating whether to get this face wash. Now that I read this, I might think twice!

XOXO

lavender said...

I note that there is this ingredient "Salicylic acid" in the product. This ingredient is always used in pimple gel- meant to dry the pimples. So, it may be the cause of the dryness.

I don't advise u to try this product again.

Connie De Alwis said...

very perplexing indeed! If anything, my skin has gotten less dry ever since I started using this cleanser because it helps my moisturizer absorb better. Perhaps there are certain ingredients in there that are not suited for long term use on your skin. Good luck!

Syen said...

Hey ladies! Thanks for the feedback. I guess everyone reacts differently to it, although I'm still not putting my thumb directly on it and give it a guilty verdict.

But if it works for you, awesome! =)