Price: AU$26.32 (140g/4.9oz)
Rating: Rating: 
Website: http://www.miessence.com
Ingredients: organic aloe vera leaf juice, alluvial almandite garnet, organic bitter orange extract, natural gum, organic lemon essential oil, organic grapefruit seed extract, organic bergamot essential oil, organic sweet orange essential oil
As you can see by my rating, I love this exfoliant. Miessence is proudly the worlds first internationally certified organic skin care range, and I’m quite proud that it’s an Australian (even Queensland!) brand.
I bought the garnet exfoliant out of a recommendation from a clear skin book by Karen Jessett from the UK. Karen had severe acne that she successfully treated by diet and natural skin care alone. It’s really quite amazing considering her dermatologist wanted to give her roaccutane. But that’s another post …
The main reason why I love this product is because it does a damn good job at exfoliating. It’s great on sensitive and acne prone skin, and does not leave my skin feeling tight or dry after I use it like some exfoliants can.
The active ingredient and the bit that exfoliates is alluvial almandite garnet which is a great scrub. You can really feel it sloughing off all the dead skin cells without being too harsh on the skin. I have tried a lot of supposedly ‘gentle’ home exfoliant remedies before - baking-soda probably being the one that comes to mind the most, and this exfoliant does a much better job and it’s definitely more gentle on the skin than anything I’ve tried.
I’ve had a lot of trouble over the past few weeks with a growth of blackheads and whiteheads on my skin from using the wrong products. This exfoliant has done a really good job at loosening up and gently encouraging them to go away, making my skin a lot smoother.
The only fault I can find with this product is that it’s too harsh for inflamed skin. So if you have active acne you’re best not to use this exfoliant in case you spread the infection. It’s very frustrating for those with inflamed acne, because exfoliating is one of the best ways to prevent new pimples. Finding an exfoliant that is gentle enough to not spread the infection is practically impossible. Finding a natural exfoliant that is okay to use on inflamed skin I’m guessing is impossible. So if anybody has found one, please let me know!
Fran
Fran Kerr is the founding editor of High on Health. To cure your acne, sign up to Fran's FREE acne cure mini-course or download her latest how to guide, Eat Away Your Acne.
4 responses ↓
This looks like a great product Fran,Great Review. I’m presently on the prowl look for an all natural/organic scrub and there’s so many to choose from!
Hi Fran,
I have recently bought Miessence cleanser, the blemish gel and this exfoliant. I have only had them a few days so it too early to tell if its helping, but I have a question.
On this exfoiliant, it says “Do not exfoliate blemished skin to avoid spreading infection”, and you state that its “too harsh for inflamed skin”. I do have blemishes, I wouldn’t be on this site if I didn’t but they are white heads all over my forehead and some on my chin, I was wondering if I cleansed and used the blemish gel after would this stop any infection spreading, and is this product ok to use on white heads? If not, I am never blemish free like the product suggests and therefor I won’t be able to use this product.
I am a bit confused whether exfoliating is actually good or not, but it does make me feel good using it as I don’t pick my spots any more, and it feels mentally like the next best thing.
Have you any advice on this?
Thanks Tegen
Hi Tegan,
It depends on what you mean by ‘whiteheads’. If you mean the small comedonal acne (like blackheads but white, and raised a little on the skin) - then this is okay.
I find that if I have a couple of pimples with a head, then this is okay too ..it really depends on my judgement of my own skin and it will be okay.
If you have a lot of active acne, it’s not advised to exfoliate because the pimples can break and spread the bacteria around. Sounds gross I know but this is what their warning is for.
Sometimes I don’t exfoliate for a while because I feel my skin is recovering a bit, but as soon as it feels a little stronger I give it a scrub. Remember, you can be gentle with your exfoliant too - you don’t have to scrub really hard.
I hope this helps,
Fran
Hi Fran,
In the spirit of full disclosure, I sell Miessence products.
There is another exfoliant that is much gentler that you might consider if you feel the garnet exfoliant is too harsh.
Miessence Gentle Exfoliant:
http://elyorganics.com/miessence-products/11202/
which is made with jojoba beads, it’s much gentler and may be another option for those with inflamed skin.
Ingredients list:
certified organic aloe barbadensis (aloe vera) leaf juice, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) wax, sclerotium rolfsii gum, certified organic lavandula angustifolia (lavender) essential oil, certified organic citrus aurantium amara (bitter orange) fruit extract.
Erin
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