Black Owned Skin Care Series Part 2: Hands of Pharaoh Review
Hey guys, how have you all been? Its’ been a while since I last talked to you all. Trust me I wasn’t neglecting you guys, every day that went by I thought about giving you all an update. There has just been so much going on in my life I haven’t been able to set aside time to write. Today we will be doing a review of a skin care brand. I told you all earlier in the year that I was looking for black-owned skin care brands. I want to be able to say that all of my skin care products are black owned. As you guys can clearly see I am big advocate of black-owned businesses. Today’s review will be of the up and coming brand Hands of Pharaoh.
A little background about this brand, it was created for one of my younger siblings by their father. It was to help with her sensitive skin and eczema since it was really difficult to find products that she would be able to use. It is a family owned business ran by Peter Harley and Andrea Wade. Everything created by this brand is all natural, handmade, and cruelty free. I just want to make this clear that this is not a paid review, so there are no biased opinions being made. Alright are you guys ready to dive right on in.
First, I want to say thank you to this brand for letting me represent you. I was given 6 pieces from their line. I was given the Striped Lotus facial cleanser, Alabaster Sand facial wash, The Queens Crown honey and shea body butter, Sati’s smoke tea jasmine and chamomile body butter, Isis strawberry and chocolate champagne massage oil, and lastly the Isis chocolate chili orange massage oil. In total I received two facial washes, two body butters, and two massage oils.
Let’s start with the facial washes. The first facial wash that I used was the Alabaster Sand, only because I have a strange love for the name Alabaster. I know weird right, either way I love the name and the facial wash. The first thing that you will notice when you open the scrub is the strong smell and how the scrub looks. I for one am a fan of the scrub, but to others I am not sure. It depends on if you are a fan of the natural scents of oils. Now if you are the type of person who doesn’t really know how to use face scrubs, that’s okay because there are directions on usage of the facial was on the bottle. As I begun to wash my face and rubbed the scrub on, I immediately felt the dirt come off my face. There is a strange sensation you get as you wash your face with a scrub. You can literally feel all the dead skin, dirt, and impurities leave your skin. Once I was finished, I could feel the difference of my skin and this was before I decided to moisturize my face. Also, that same day I had a pimple growing in on my forehead. It wasn’t a big pimple, but it was big enough for me to see. After I finished washing my face, I noticed that the pimple was gone. In all honesty, I was really shocked to see that it had disappeared. Along with the feeling that the scrub gave me, the fact it took my pimple away really won me over.
The next day I decided to try the Striped Lotus facial scrub, now if we are talking about scent of this scrub compared to the Alabaster Sand scrub then the scent isn’t as strong. Now don’t get me wrong this doesn’t mean the it’s a bad smell. I just meant that the smell isn’t as strong as the Alabaster Sand. This scrub gives off a subtle scent that feels very calming. As usual I grabbed a two-fingers in size scoop from the bottle and started to wash my face. As I stated before once you start to use the scrub you can literally feel your skin being cleaned. Also, I noticed this when I was using the Alabaster Sand scrub in the shower that if it is a lot of steam the scrub starts to melt on your skin. I cannot speak on if the scrub does this every time whether you are in the shower or not because I tend to wash my face while I am in the shower. In the end after I used this scrub my face felt very smooth and had a natural shine. I can say that I have no problems with the face scrub. As you all know I have very sensitive skin so I cannot always use everything, but I had no reactions to anything that was inside of the face scrubs.
Next, let’s talk body butters! First off where do you all stand on shea butter? Do you like it, love it, or hate it? You can answer this question in your head or out loud if you want. Me personally I love shea butter and I will choose to use it over lotion any day. Now that we know where I stand on shea butter, let’s review these body butters. Let’s just say I have high expectations.
The first body butter that I used was the Queen’s Crown honey and shea body butter. I used it the same I washed my face with the Alabaster Sand facial scrub. If you all are avid users of shea butter, then you know that it is by nature very thick. As I went to try to get the shea butter out of the bottle it wouldn’t budge. So, I had to take the top off to squeeze it out the bottle. After a fight with the bottle to get the shea butter it finally started to come out. As I started to rub on the body butter, it instantly started to melt on my skin. As I continued putting on the body butter, I became intoxicated by the heavenly smell that poured out of the butter. By the time I was finish it wasn’t just my face that had a lovely glow to it but the rest of my body as well. My body felt so soft and smooth. I almost forgot that I had hair on my legs. Yes, ladies the feeling we get when we shave and how we feel so smooth that is the same feeling that the shea butter gave me. My skin had an amazing glow that entire day and I didn’t not once need to reapply any shea butter or lotion to my body that day. The only reason I would have reapplied the shea butter was if I went to the restroom and washed my hands.
The next day I decided to use the Sati’s Smoke Tea jasmine and chamomile body butter. This was the same day that used the Striped Lotus facial scrub. The first thing I want to say about this body butter is that the smell is everything that you ever thought you needed in your life. I am very big on scents; it maybe because I have a very sensitive nose. Either way that information is not here nor there, let’s get back to the review. Again, I was just getting out the shower when I used the body butter. When I went to squeeze the body butter out of the bottle it actually came out the bottle without any problems. I was shocked that it actually came out the bottle without me having to go hulk smash. Then I realized that the heater was on so the body butter may have melted a little to not make it as thick. Either way I was happy I didn’t have to exert any extra strength. As I started to apply the body butter it, melted as soon as it came in contact with my skin. The application of the body butter is very smooth a lot of rubbing to get it to melt onto your skin isn’t necessary. After I was done applying the body butter, I had a shine to my skin that made me glow, and my body felt so smooth. The only problem I would say that I had with the body butters was that the shea butter can thicken up and it becomes difficult to get the butter out the bottle. My skin had no reactions to the product either, so my skin approves.
Lastly, we shall dip a little into the massage oils. I have only gotten the chance to use the Isis strawberry and chocolate champagne massage. I have been so busy lately I haven’t gotten a chance to massage my scars on my knee. So, when I did get the chance today, I decided to use the oil with my favorite fruit. Which is, strawberries just in case you were wondering. As I popped the top open a strong scent of chocolate started to come from the bottle. If you didn’t know I am not the biggest fan of chocolate. Yes; everyone I do not like chocolate. I swear I wasn’t always like this, but I think it’s because I ate it so much at a young age that now when I eat it makes me sick and the smell of it is even worse to me. So, in all honesty the smell of the oils is not my favorite which is also probably another reason I haven’t used the oils yet. Regardless of my personal smell preferences as I applied the oil to my knee this cooling and calming feeling started to arise within me. Also, as you continue to rub the oil onto your body the smell starts to get stronger. In the end if you are a fan of chocolate then I would say that these oils are most definitely for you. If not. then I would suggest getting a different scented oil.
Overall, I like this brand, the body butters are amazing in my opinion and my favorite product along with the face scrubs. I just feel as though the thickness of shea butter needs to be taken into account. Other than packaging default I would say that the shea body butters, are outstanding and definitely exceeded my expectations. The facial scrubs are outstanding again exceeding my expectations, I can tell that a lot of thought went into these recipes so that people with sensitive skin won’t have to worry about their face or body breaking out into hives or having allergic reactions to a product that is needed in their daily lives. The massage oils weren’t my favorite but that is only because of my personal preference towards chocolate. Besides the scents of the massage oil I feel as though that is fulfills the expectations that I had. This was my first time trying a massage oils so I don’t much about them, but I can say honestly that my knee isn’t feeling as tense as it did earlier today.
Thanks for hanging out with me today. I know I was gone for a while and I will try my best not to leave you all for so long. If you think this will be the end of my reviews of black-owned businesses, then think again. This will not be the end of my reviews of black-owned skin care brands; more will be coming in the future. If you are looking to purchase products from this brand you can email them at handsofpharaohhm@gmail.com . Also, there is a 15% off discount on your first orders.
See you guys soon!
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