REVIEW: Mysore Sandal Gold soap

Let's name some common summer time skin problems. Excess sweating, oily skin, tanning and sun burn, acne, prickly heat and rashes to name a few. Now let's voice some wishes during summer time for our skin problems. We all wish to be cool as a cucumber and fragrant as sandalwood during the summer. We wish for something that can keep us feeling fresh for hours after a good shower. We wish to prevent and treat the very common pesky problem during the summer, prickly heat. We wish to avoid getting burnt and tanned in the scorching summer sun. We also wish to soothe and calm the very painful sun burns. And who wouldn't wish to get rid of the sun tan? Are you feeling that these are wishful thoughts? Think again! Ayurveda says that the one boon for all such wishes is none other than the good old fragrant, soothing, cooling sandalwood.

Sandalwood mainly grows in parts of South India and is pretty expensive by its virtue. The bark of the sandalwood tree is either powdered and made into a paste or ground on a stone to get a very fine texture paste. Oil is extracted from the bark and its fragrance is nothing short of heavenly. While the paste is directly used on the skin , the oil finds a number of uses either directly in the form of aroma therapy or indirectly in the form of perfumery.

Sandalwood trees
Image source: https://raxacollective.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/img_1329.jpg

Sandalwood has the power to keep the body cool and also reverse the damage caused by sun exposure. It is smeared on the forehead to cure fever and sun stroke. Its beautiful fragrance can lift the spirits and treat depression as well.

One simply has to experience the magic of sandalwood. The simplest way to incorporate sandalwood in everyday routine is to use a sandalwood based soap! Let's see if the Mysore Sandal Gold soap really brings out the golden qualities of sandalwood. Read on.

Mysore Sandal by Karnataka Soaps & Detergents Limited produces sandalwood based goods. As such its quality and reputation are untainted. Its sandalwood soap is very popular and a relatively new launch is the Gold soap.

Image source: http://202.138.105.9/mysoresandal/images/logo_100x100.jpg

In literary terms, sandalwood oil is often referred to as liquid gold for its value and virtue. So it is quite apt to name a soap based on the oil, Gold, too. The soap is 80% TFM or total fatty matter which determines the quality of the soap. TFM above 70% is considered as good quality. The soap is priced at INR 75 for a bar of 125 g which is pretty steep in a way, but perhaps it is justified as it contains perfume based on this very liquid gold. Please see below for the list of ingredients in this soap and their respective uses.

Enriched natural sandalwood oil based fragrance - So, the only sandalwood that is there in this product is a derivative based on a derivative of sandalwood. Such a bummer!

Sodium palmate and Sodium palm kernelate - It is the salt derived from palm oil and palm kernel oil by saponification. Both are very drying on the skin and are very alkaline in nature. However they are the base ingredients in soap making.

Aqua - Distilled water or aqua, of course is used in soap making to dissolve the lye crystals.

Glycerine - It is a by product during soap making but it can also be utilized in the soap. Glycerine soaps are much softer and more gentle than ordinary soaps. They are also very moisturizing.

Almond oil and Tocopherol acetate - Almond oil is a rich source of vitaminE. Tocopherol acetate is an acetate of tocopherol which is nothing but vitamin E. As such it is a cheap alternative to vitamin E while maintaining the properties and benefits of using vitamin E. Vitamin E softens the skin, keeps it smooth and glowing, it deep moisturizes skin and keeps wrinkles and dry skin at bay, it is a powerful antioxidant which fights free radicals in the environment and protects skin from damage.

Sodium chloride - It is our common salt. It is used in soap to make it antiseptic. It is also cleansing, astringent and stimulant on the skin making it perfect for a summer soap. When it is used in moderate quantity, it hydrates and softens skin. Too much of it can dry up the skin. It is a common ingredient in all antiseptic soaps.

Titanium dioxide - It is mainly used in soap to in very small quantities to make it pretty in appearance and smooth in texture. But it acts like a sunscreen, so there are double benefits of using it in soap.

Tetra sodium salt of Etidronic acid - It acts as a preservative.

Cocoamidopropyl betain - It is a derivative of coconut oil and its main use is as a surfactant.

Lanolin - It is the natural moisturizer produced by our skin. It is also found in the wool of sheep and is the only moisturizer that is readily absorbed by the skin as it treats it as its own. Lanolin can help repair dry, damaged, cracked, chapped skin in no time.

Liquid paraffin - It is distilled mineral oil and has moisturizing properties.

Methylisothiazolinone & Methylchloroisothiazolinone - Preservatives.

Cosmetic colors CI No. 47000 & CI No. 26100 - yellow and red colors, respectively. The resultant would be orange but it is whitened with the presence of titanium dioxide.

Review:

The packaging is a very simple beige color cardboard box with little tendrils design and the word Gold is printed in golden ink. Their creative team could come up with a better alternative to this for the name itself is Gold but the packaging is not befitting .

The soap itself is wrapped in a synthetic sheet so as to preserve the fragrance.

The soap itself is a chunky oval shaped bar in a sandalwood paste color. The fragrance is exotic and is super luxe. If you do know the aroma of sandalwood oil, you will notice that this soap is different. If you know the typical fragrance of sandalwood based perfumes, then too you will notice that this soap is different. But if you know the fragrance of Mysore Sandal soap, then you will straightway notice that it is the classic Mysore Sandal's signature fragrance. I feel that this fragrance is far better compared to sandalwood oil or perfume. But as I have mentioned in the ingredients description, it is only a perfume which is based on sandalwood oil. Sandalwood oil is very volatile and so is the fragrance of this soap. On the very first day, it is all wonderful and exotic and makes your bath time a dreamy experience. It keeps you feeling fresh and aromatic all through the day. I wish I could say the same for the experience the next day. The fragrance magically disappeared! Well, not completely but all that was really left was a faint aroma. Another bummer. At least the perfume that was used which itself was based on sandalwood oil could be of a better quality. However, this was the only noticeable shortcoming of the soap.

The lather is rich and creamy. It does lather well but don't expect a bubble bath. It cleanses Oh so very well. All that summer ickiness and stickiness completely dissolve in a single use. Often times I reapply soap as the greasiness is not completely gone but with this soap one time wash is all it takes.

I did mention in the beginning of this post all the benefits of sandalwood for skin that is being troubled by the harsh summer sun. Now, even though actual sandalwood is absent in this soap, let's see if all the ingredients together can mimic the effects of sandalwood.

First and foremost, the exotic fragrance of sandalwood pleasantly lingers on through the day keeping you feeling fresh. However, it reduces with each passing day but not completely.

Secondly, its cooling effect on the skin and soothing effect on prickly heat and other summer rashes is wonderful. You will notice some relief from the very first use. In fact on hot summer nights when you are unable to sleep due to the heat and sweat, just a face wash with this soap will cool you down and put you to sleep! This is one experience that is only possible with sandalwood soaps. They easily beat any other summer soaps hands down in this department.

Next, its action on sun burn and tan is also good enough for I have never before seen any soap that reverts sun damage on the skin. My skin is dusky complexioned, so I tan more than burn. But I do notice the tan lightening up faster with this soap. In just a few days, tan is visibly lightened and in a week or two you can notice the difference. I cannot comment on its efficacy to calm sun burn since that is a problem faced by lighter complexioned people, but I can definitely say that skin feels cool and it works on prickly heat so it should work on sun burn too.

Finally, its effect on acne prone skin is great too! It reduces the oiliness on the face and prevents acne. Existing acne dries out thanks to the antiseptic action of salt.

All in all, this is a great soap for summer time although there is no real sandalwood in it. It is suitable for all skin types and for all age groups. It doesn't last very long to be honest, and I also use it quite a many times in a day. If you can ignore the price tag, go for it.