Review and comparison of white clay-based cleansing foams: Heimish, Manyo Factory and So'Natural

Summer is almost over; usually it's time for me to rearrange my bathroom shelves, adding new skincare products for colder season and paring down empties and almost-expired products, as well as some products that I ignored for months. I tried quite a few new skincare products this year, and I noticed that I haven't seen many reviews for some of them. After getting my first sun spot last summer I went all-out shopping for new sunscreens, so as a result I got an extensive sunscreen collection; I've been struggling with clogged pores in hot weather, so I tried out some new cleansers and peeling gels; also I got quite a few new gel creams as I was trying to find a perfect lightweight moisturizer for summer. I'm going to start with cleansers, and I will have to separate them in several posts, just like I did when I was reviewing my sleeping masks.

Today I'd like to talk about white clay-based foams I've been using - Heimish All Clean White Clay foam, So'Natural the Pure Balancing Refine White Clay foam cleanser and two of Manyo Factory foams: Manyo Factory Deep Pore Cleansing Soda Foam and Manyo Factory Ogok Latte Scrub Foam. Before I get into details, I'd like to put it out there that, as usual, this post is not sponsored in any way, shape or form; I purchased all products myself and all opinions are my own. Also, as usual, I'm not going to discuss the packaging, since it does nothing for my skin. It will be all about the ingredients and the results I got after using those products.

First batch of clay foam cleansers that I purchased: Heimish All Clean White Clay foam and So'Natural the Pure Balancing Refine White Clay foam cleanser, that came in a set with So'Natural by Sven Gohla Lab Exfoliating Face Cleanser

I am seeing more and more clay cleansers everywhere from Sephora to drugstore, they are becoming a trend; in my opinion, it makes sense, since clay can be beneficial for many skin types. Clay helps purify and exfoliate the skin, to unclog pores and absorb excess oil. Clay cleansers seem to be less time-consuming and more gentle than clay-based masks, and my skin absolutely loves clay masks; so I just had to give clay cleansers a try. The only thing that I don't like about clay cleansers in general is that their pH tends to be slightly higher than my favorite pH5-6 range; unfortunately,  clay is alkaline. As I explained when I reviewed other foam cleansers here, I'm very particular when it comes to picking up a cleanser, since many of cleansers tend to aggravate my sensitive skin. I believe for my skin correct pH of a cleanser is one of the most  important factors for maintaining a healthy skin barrier. 

I bought Heimish All Clean last winter together with Heimish All Clean Balm; however, I ended up using the foam with a few other first cleansers (both cleansing oils and balms) as well. It's a good second cleanser that worked equally well for me both in winter and in summer. It seems to last forever; the bottle is just huge and little goes a long way. 

Heimish All Clean White Clay foam straight out of the tube

Heimish All Clean has a fairly clean ingredient list (CosDNA here) full of natural oils and extracts with some hyaluronic acid and hydrolyzed silk added for extra moisture. It's paraben-free and formulated for deep cleansing on all skin types, including sensitive skin. Its pH is between 7 and 8, a bit too alkaline for me, but I think all the oils in it make it much milder and less stripping than its pH suggests. All Clean has 3 kinds of natural oils in it (and no mineral oil, which is very important to me): coconut oil, citrus oils (orange and grapefruit), and plant and herb oils (such as lavender, tea tree, bergamot, nutmeg and marigold), as well as some flower extracts, such as rose, iris and narcissus. 

Heimish All Clean White Clay foam

I think All Clean has the heaviest, most dense texture among all foam cleansers I ever tried; it requires some effort to squeeze it out. A few months ago the cap broke so I can't close the tube properly anymore; I'm still storing it standing upright, half-closed, and not a bit of the product leaked out, that's how dense it is. I think its texture is closer to some clay masks than to most foam cleansers. It's light grey in color and it has very mild, almost unnoticeable smell that does not linger; it smells like fresh herbs with slight hints of citrus. It requires some effort to foam up, and sometimes I use foaming net with it; otherwise, as you can see from the picture, it lathers up to low to moderate amounts of foam. It cleanses well either way, so I don't think that foaming net affects the performance in any way but sensory enrichment. I liked it a lot, but I'm going to move on; it's a good cleanser for oily skin, even though it does not eliminate the need for clay masks and other exfoliants. 

I got both Manyo Factory Deep Pore Cleansing Soda Foam and Manyo Factory Ogok Latte Scrub Foam in travel size when I decided to try several Manyo Factory's cleansing products; they deserve their own separate post that will be coming up soon, and I will link it when I'll upload it. However, the fact that both foams got kaolin on the list of its featured ingredients was one of main reasons I purchased them.

Manyo Factory Deep Pore Cleansing Soda Foam lists kaolin (white clay) as one of featured ingredients

Manyo Factory states that "this dermatologist tested product is free of mineral oil, synthetic preservatives, dyes, and fragrances, and animal origin ingredients. Does not contain chemical and synthetic, surface-active substances (surfactants)." Overall it has rather clean ingredient list (CosDNA here); its shelf life is 6 month instead of the usual 12 month due to lack of preservatives.

Manyo Factory Deep Pore Cleansing Soda Foam has lighter, more fluid-like texture

It is definitely lighter in texture than Heimish foam, and I don't think it has considerable amount of clay in it; as you can see, kaolin is listed outside of top 5 ingredients. Deep Pore Cleansing Soda foam comes with extensive claims (on its official website page), but I did not notice any difference in pore size after using it, and I can't say it was more effective in fighting blackheads and sebaceous filaments than other foams. Actually, it was not as good at cleansing as you would expect from clay-based foam. It got pH7.5-8 (close to pH of Heimish and So'Natural), so again it's not a low-pH cleanser. It was a bit too drying on my skin, more so than the rest of the foams. It never broke me out, and I really, really like the smell, but I'm not going to purchase full-size product.

Manyo Factory Ogok Latte Scrub foam can be used both for face and body, according to company's website (here). White clay is listed closer to the bottom of the ingredients list (CosDNA here), and I have to say that it's practically unnoticeable; I would never guessed it's a clay-based foam if it weren't for company's PR.

 

Manyo Factory Ogok Latte Scrub Foam does not produce that much foam unless you're using a foaming net

Manyo Factory Ogok Latte Scrub foam is creamier in texture than Deep Pore Cleansing Soda foam, and it's slightly more exfoliating; however, unlike Deep Pore Cleansing Soda foam, it did not dry me out at all. Manyo Factory recommends to limit it's use to 1-2 times per week, but I had no issues using it on consecutive days. Unlike Heimish and Deep Pore Cleansing Soda foams, it has micro-beads in it; they don't dissolve immediately when you start foaming it up, as you can see in the picture above. From what I was able to understand from company's PR, the micro-beads contain the five grains featured as star ingredient, while kaolin is hiding in the foam itself, together with milk proteins and rice water. It got pH6.5-7, lower than the other foams I've mentioned so far.


So'Natural is one of those indie Korean research-based skincare brands that emphasize the importance of natural plant-based ingredients. I saw numerous raving reviews of So'Natural makeup, especially cushions, but I was more interested in their skincare lines. One of my favorite eBay sellers had a set of two So'Natural foam cleansers in travel size, So'Natural the Pure Balancing Refine White Clay foam cleanser and  So'Natural by Sven Gohla Lab Exfoliating Face Cleanser.

So'Natural the Pure Balancing Refine White Clay foam cleanser

I was not able to find the full ingredients list in English, the company seems to emphasize the "star" ingredients of the foam instead; according to So'Natural PR info, white clay, willow, ginger, white tea and papaya extracts, along with Imperatoria AD and Sambucus AD are major ingredients responsible for sebum removal and pore tightening.

So'Natural the Pure Balancing Refine White Clay foam cleanser PR info

Pure Balancing foam is bright white in color when squeezed out, and its texture is much lighter and creamier than Heimish foam's. It has a pleasant mild flowery smell with notes of of jasmine (it might be fragrance). It does not foam up without a brush or foaming net, as you can see in picture, but I'm OK with that. It did not dry me up, and I had no adverse reactions to it after using it for a few days in a row. Its pH is close to 7, about the same as Ogok Latte foam, and just like Ogok Latte foam, it hides its clay content rather too well.

So'Natural the Pure Balancing Refine White Clay foam cleanser

In my opinion, Pure Balanced Refine White Clay foam is not a bad cleanser, and it's reasonably priced, even though it's harder to find that other foams; but I can't say that it was a game-changer for me. I did not notice any changes in pore size and/or sebum production after using it; it cleanses slightly better than Deep Pore Cleansing Soda foam, and it's less exfoliating than Ogok Latte foam. I'm almost done with the travel-size 50ml tube, and I'm not going to purchase full-size one.

Technically So'Natural by Sven Gohla Lab Exfoliating Face Cleanser is not a clay-based foam, but I'm going to mention it briefly because it is close enough functionally and it was part of a set with Pure Balanced Refine White Clay foam. So'Natural by Sven Gohla is a line of skincare developed by So'Natural in collaboration with Swiss Sven Gohla Lab. So'Natural website describes it as "Headed by Sven Gohla, the vice president of the acclaimed skincare brand La Prairie, The Swiss Sven Gohla Lab is a world renowned, innovative beauty research and pharmaceutical lab that boasts groundbreaking skincare formulations and cutting-edge technology" (usa website). On paper Exfoliating Face cleanser was more interesting than  Pure Balanced Refine White Clay foam; instead of clay, it uses mastic oil for sebum removal and exfoliation. Mastic oil is multi-functional natural ingredient that has anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, anti-fungal and astringent properties that is supposedly effective even against some types of cancer (article here).

So'Natural by Sven Gohla Lab Exfoliating Face Cleanser PR info from global website

Reading the ingredient section on So'Natural website (here) made me excited to try it out - it has vitamin C, papaya, lime and green tea extracts, and last but not least, it has encapsulated moisturizing factors that are supposed to dissolve on contact with skin. Low-stimulating deep cleansing sounds like a great idea; also, it's supposed to be a pH balanced foam that is safe for sensitive skin. Sounds about prefect, right?

So'Natural by Sven Gohla Lab Exfoliating Face Cleanser

The foam does contain small blue particles, but I never saw more than 2-3 particles in a chickpea-sized dollop of foam; and they take their time to dissolve. The foam is pearlescent white in color and almost completely opaque, so it's hard to take a decent picture of the particles; but as you can see in next picture, they stayed intact after foaming. I tried to squish one particle open to check its contents, but it just flattened out.  So'Natural recommends using cleansing brushes with this foam to maximize its effects.

So'Natural by Sven Gohla Lab Exfoliating Face Cleanser - instructions

I have to admit that I rarely use cleansing brushes; most of the time I used this foam as my second cleanser, foaming it up with just my hands. It's a bit easier to foam up than Pure Balanced Refine White Clay foam, but the difference is not huge. It has a standard creamy texture that reminded me of Japanese foam cleansers that I used to like some years ago.

So'Natural by Sven Gohla Lab Exfoliating Face Cleanser - moisturizing particles take their time to dissolve

It has a generic flower-y, perfume-y, hand soap-y smell that I do not care for, but it does not linger. Its pH was higher than I expected it to be, it measured about pH7-7.5; I can't say that I noticed any moisturizing effects, actually, it was  a bit too drying to be used as a morning cleanser. It cleanses well. Overall, it's not a failure as a cleanser, but it certainly does not feel like a scientific breakthrough; while it sounds like a cosmeceutical on paper, it felt like an average old-school foam on my skin. I admit  I did expect more after reading PR spiel...

TL;DR

I had no adverse reactions to any of the clay foams I mentioned, but I'm not going to repurchase any of them when I run out. With the exception of Heimish foam, clay is almost unnoticeable among other ingredients; in my opinion, it does not add enough sebum removal and exfoliation functions to justify using clay-based foams instead of my regular low-pH cleansers and risking a disruption of my and skin's acid mantle. Heimish foam is the best performer when it comes to declogging pores, but I still needed clay masks and other exfoliants on weekly basis. None of the foams did anything to minimize my pores. Manyo Factory Ogok Latte Scrub foam has lowest pH among all the foams I mentioned; both Manyo Factory foams smell great, but I prefer Deep Pore Cleansing Soda foam, I think it smells divine (warning - YMMV, everyone has different opinions when it comes to perfumes).

Edit: "Run and find out" is a perfects attitude when it comes to skincare; as we have daily proof, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi had a proper mindset for a skincare junkie. As usual, I got a bunch of travel-sized testers when I ordered some stuff from Korean sellers on eBay, and hidden among them was a true gem. Ithink I should mention it here that I just discovered a great clay-based foam with low pH (pH4.5-5) that I'm definitely going to purchase in full size - Sulwhasoo Snowise EX Cleansing Foam (CosDNA here). I will link the full review when it'll be out, but it'll take a while since I got quite a few new cleansers to play with; the seller got generous with samplers and there were a few travel-size cleansers included in gift sets that I ordered.