ibteachnu asks…I can no longer afford Arbonne. What drugstore brands are comparable to their hydrating wash, balancing toner, facial serum, and day creme? I’ve already replaced their RE-9 foaming body wash with Olay’s age defying body wash. What are your thoughts on that product?
Right Brain responds
After that big battle about Arbonne, we no longer let Left Brain answer questions about Arbonne, so this one is mine.
Arbonne Hydrating Wash
At almost $40 for a 3 ounce bottle of the Arbonne Hydrating Wash, it’s no wonder you can’t afford Arbonne anymore. No cleanser is worth that expense. Cleansers are put on and then rinsed away. Unless the skin is specially prepared before-hand, cleansers have limited ability to deliver anything to the skin. They simply remove things.
Arbonne does make it challenging to find ingredient lists, but with enough Google searching you can usually find them. The basic ingredient list for the Hydrating wash is as follows.
Sodium Cocoyl Sulfate, PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, Stearic Acid, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Disodium Lauroamphoacetate
This isn’t a complete list but it’s enough to get the general gist of the product. Basically, they are using standard but more gentle surfactants.
Olay alternative?
Oil of Olay is always a good choice. It is made by P&G and is one of the most thoroughly tested skin care lines available. It also has the most cosmetic chemists and scientists behind its development.
The ingredients in this particular product are different than the ones found in Arbonne. Here’s the ingredient list.
Water, Petrolatum, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Lauric Acid, Fragrance, Trihydroxystearin, Sodium Chloride, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Citric Acid, Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Butyrospermum (Shea Butter) Extract (Shea Butter), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A), DMDM Hydantoin, Sodium Benzoate, Disodium EDTA, PEG 14M
ALES & ALS are typically harsh detergents but the harshness is more than off-set by the fact that a moisturizing ingredient (Petrolatum) is the second ingredient. The Petrolatum will protect skin from the harshness of the detergents so overall, the Olay product should be more gentle than the Arbonne product.
Closer Drugstore Alternative
The Olay product and Arbonne products should behave similarly but if you are looking for something even closer, consider trying some of the following.
Johnsons Soothing Naturals Hair and Body Wash – hair and body wash. Contains PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate as the primary surfactant.
Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash – Contains three of the primary surfactants found in Arbonne
Beauty Brains bottom line
Everyone has different skin and you need to experiment to figure out which type of cleansing product works best for you. However, there is no need to spend a lot on a cleansing wash. Go to your local drugstore and find a product that will work for you. It will be good for your skin and wallet too.
How much do you spend on skin cleansing products? Do you think it is worth it? Leave a comment below.
Loading ...
{ 1 trackback }
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
this is so useful and helpful – thank you!
Personally, I love Arbonne’s products, and I have never had so many compliments on my skin since I started using them. Also, I have very dry skin and I find their moisturizers to be very soothing. So, to me, it is worth the extra money, but everyone’s budget is different. Before Arbonne, I was using and organic brand called Avalon Organics that was also pretty good and more affordable, and a moisturizer called Alba Botanical. Hope this helps…
PS
You can get full disclosure on Arbonne’s ingredients through their consultants who can be located on arbonne.com
While I can see that you did the research, you failed to mention that the Arbonne products are concentrated so you use very little. I have a bottle of the wash in my shower that has lasted at least 6 months, and I use it every day.
Thank you so much for this information – very helpful – I would love to read more like this about the other products arbonne carries.
Oil of Olay contains chemical fragrance in their products. Arbonne RE-9 does not.
I, too, have been looking for alternate brands that are more affordable. I have tried several organic brands, but Alba has worked better for me. I don’t believe the quality matches what I am used to with Arbonne, but it is less expensive.
You have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.
Oil of Olay is disgusting and is filled with cheap ingredients.
Arbonne is a wonderful skincare line, and just because it’s a little pricier than your average drugstore crap product, doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. Arbonne is amazing. I swear by this product. And so does everyone else I know that has tried it.
I cannot believe you think drugstore products are better or equal to Arbonne products. If this was the case, then wouldn’t everyone buy drugstore products instead of higher end products?
Learn your shit, before you go and talk trash
that is all.
For me, the draw to Arbonne and similar beauty ranges is that they don’t test their finished products or ingredients on animals, nor contain animal byproducts. Olay, as you’ve said, is owned by Proctor & Gamble– who test their products extensively, and mostly on animals. It is a cruel and unecessary practice, and should be completely outlawed. Fortunately for the compassionate consumer, it is possible to get a really great skincare range without harming animals, the environment, or your wallet. These brands are really good: JASON, Faith in Nature, Liz Earle, and The Green People. If you are inclined to stop by your local store or market for skincare products, do your skin and the animals a favor by visiting an organic or alternative food store or health store, which would more likely carry these products than, say, Rite Aid. And all of these products are available online!
Cheers,
J.
FYI: Sodium Chloride is Salt. Patrolatum is Petroleum. Do you really need to wash your face with this???
Lumene’ has a great product line, you can find this at CVS. It is a product designed in Finland.
Lumene has the Vitamin C line which is similar to Arbonne. Also, look for Jason’s product line… a natural line with Vitamin C.
Trader Joe’s has a Vitamin C. line that smells like Jason’s product line.
Regarding the comparison to Oil of Olay… with petroleum being the 2nd dominant ingredient, it’s no wonder why the harsh detergents don’t seem to wreak havoc. They are prevented from impacting the skin (along with any good ingredient that could possibly be healing).
Bottom line: If petroleum is part of the formula, don’t put it on your skin. Unless you need to stop the bleeding from a wound! Nothing can get in or out which defeats the whole purpose with proper skin care.
You won’t find this ingredient in a Swiss hospital, they know better!
I doubt that petroleum is the second ingredient. Don’t believe everything you read on these blogs. they are often wrong. My sister is 46 and looks 35 and uses oil of olay since she was in her twenties. My other sister is 53 and looks my age. People ask us if we are twins, she is 13 years older than me. She uses the new oil of olay line.
Yes, never put anything synthetic on your skin–always all natural LOL! Synthetic things are evil! And made by evil people! Give me a break…
Gotta love the Arbonne consultants who automatically attack and call names if you impugn the product! I have used the whole anti-aging product line from Arbonne. It was nice, fine while I used it. I used it up, I moved on. I liked it well enough, but didn’t feel that I needed to spend the money again when I was just as happy using various other products. Get over it people, some are gonna love it, some aren’t…it doesn’t mean they don’t like you! Take a chill pill, enjoy whatever you use and let others do the same! Have a good evenin’ y’all!
I’m a health/beauty writer for The Daily Glow, and I am to write about Arbonne makeup. I briefly skimmed over their “Natural Radiance Mineral Foundation” and found some shockingly not so natural ingredients. Sure, there were natural ingredients like Thyme, rice lipids, and a couple of others. But amongst that was Bismuth, for one, was in there, which receives a lot of complaints about irritating sensitive skin. There were a few other preservatives in there that definitely are not natural. So personally, I think it’s silly to pay so much for something that IS pure let alone something that isn’t. If there skin care ingredients look anything like this, then no way is it worth it. I use Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Cleanser, which I got for $7.19 at Target. That’s my idea of worth it.
For a site that has high regards for it’s “research”. #1 cancer, hormone altering and wrinkle producing….petroleum. You know what they did with all that oil they skimmed up from the spill in the Gulf? Sold it to skincare and cosmetic companies.
Get to the root of your issues. Do you eat perfectly? Do you get enough vitamins and minerals? Do you live in a place with no petro-chemicals and use none in your house or clothes?
Am truly disappointed in your “research”. Am getting the feeling you are subsidized by P&G, you bring them up quite a bit.
Arbonne was created with the help of the creator of La Prairie – an expensive line available exclusively at Holt Renfrew. The quality is apparently the same, but it is less expensive because it is sold to the consumer to the client by way of the distributor. No advertising. They are Vegan certified and PETA stands by them as cruelty free (no animal testing at any point). PETA is fanatical in its own right, so there is no way they would give their stamp of approval otherwise. Arbonne is made with safe pharmaceutical ingredients and botanical ingredients – not synthetics. Can botanical ingredients cause skin reactions? Yes. I have a bottle cleanser from Weleda, which is a fantastic line, but I can’t use it because every time I do, I get a bumpy rash just under my eye. Is it because it’s made with animal products or harsh chemicals? No, it’s because I’m allergic to one or more of the botanical ingredients that is found in the product. It doesn’t matter that it’s organic or wild-crafted or that the ingredients are harvested around the moon cycles. It’s an allergy. That’s all.
I am a certified esthetician. I am not an Arbonne consultant. I have nothing to gain by bashing Arbonne or praising them. I don’t use their line. I use Evan Healy skin care products. I also use Neostrata Toning Solution (drastically contradiction, I know!) But, they are both fantastic for different reasons. Will I try Arbonne? Yes, I will. Why? Because that is what I do. I try different skin care products. Oh, I also write unbiased reviews about them too on my blog: http://www.beautytipsfromahag.blogspot.com
The Hag
Arbonne is overrated and most of their products are very basic and tend to be very irritating to the skin . Their products are overpriced and are in fact loaded with irritating essential oils and perfumes that are should not be on your face.Many of the products are formulated with very basic ingredients which are cheap to manufacture.One of the most expensive products is the Re9 night cream , the first ingredient is water the second is glycerin. There were no antioxidants or any other beneficial ingredient in this product and yet it is priced at over $100 dollars for a mere 29 ml . People need to educate themselves on labels. Most of the consultants have other careers and do this to make extra money. A lot of them are not educated in skin care whatsoever and will tell you loads of nonsense in order to sell the product. There is a high drop out rate for consultants especially when they see that it is not that easy to sell such overpriced products to masses.
People need to get over the petrolatum thing. People have used that for decades without any problems. With all the other toxins out there I would say this registers small on the scale. The petrolatum used in personal care is rigorously tested to make sure it is safe. The fact that people are more concerned about petrolatum in products than the toxins in their food that they consume each and every day baffles me.