Over the past few weeks, I had been having some allergic skin reaction for which I blamed the use of some products from the Body Shop. Well, to be fair, it did seem highly suggestive that the cause was the shea butter I bought from the Body Shop because my rashes were only appearing on my limbs – the only areas I had been applying the shea butter. The fact that the rest of my body was unscathed seemed only to confirm that observation.
Whenever sensitisation occurs, it can take up to a week after elimination of the causative agent before the rash symptoms completely disappear so I wasn’t particularly alarmed when I was still itching a few days later. And just to avoid aggravation, I had also stopped using body wash when I showered because soap dries the skin which further irritates it. By the end of the week, I was still getting hives and I was, at times, so itchy it was driving me insane.
I went to the doctor who prescribed me with anti-histamines and calamine lotion. They helped to soothe the itch but after I stopped using them, the rashes and hives returned in full force. It wasn’t until I switched to my son’s Johnson’s “top-to-toe” baby wash (I used it top-to-toe – for washing my hair as well as my body) before the problem seemed to alleviate itself.
I now suspect that the real cause of my allergy was because of the Dove body wash I had been using. Although I stopped using it for a period, I was still washing my hair with Dove shampoo and since the suds would wash down over my arms and legs, it was still sensitising my skin.
I mentioned my suspicions to the hubby who then replied that he thought Dove body wash was one of the worst body washes around because he felt it was rather harsh on the skin, despite it being 1/4 moisturising. Hubby has very sensitive skin and can’t use a lot of the body washes on the market because of it. According to him, after one wash with Dove body wash, he started itching all over.
But that’s the thing… Dove first entered the market with their bar of soap with the unique selling point of being “1/4 moisturiser” so it didn’t dry your skin. They did such a marvellous job marketing that tagline that soon everyone associated Dove with its moisturising properties. When Dove launch their body wash product line, they dropped the “1/4 moisturiser” advertising because the body wash didn’t have the same moisturising properties as their bar of soap. Because they had done such a thorough marketing job with the bar of soap, consumers just naturally assumed the 1/4 moisturiser applied to all their products.
Anyway, that’s the insider scoop I remember hearing from one of the competitor product managers… If you’ve heard differently or if you’re from Dove, feel free to enlighten us in the comments section below if this message was misrepresented.
As for the Body Shop shea butter, I might start using a bit of it on a small part of my skin to see if it’s safe to start using it again. I’ll let you know in a week’s time…
Update: I have switched from J&J Top to Toe to Sebamed which appears to be more hypoallergenic. I stopped using J&J because hubby and the kids were still sensitive to it. Sebamed seems to work fine for all of us.
Update 15 July 2014
There is a scam going around about Dove shampoo causing some hideous skin lesions on a video that looks something like this:
The image is really just a photoshopped image of the Water Lotus Seed Pod:
You can read all about it on Urban Legends.
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CG's Diary 
Hello I’ve never had any issues with sensitive skin, rashes, let alone full-blown hives, I got done with working with at the grocery store I just happen to grab a bottle of Dove men face and body wash I was working all day and was pretty dirty so I jumped in the shower showered and hopped out the body wash was somewhat oily and I’m not sure if I removed it entirely when I jumped out of the shower but that night for 5 hours later I woke up completely covered in hives took Benadryl and went back to sleep I continue to break out in hives all over my body uncontrollably for the next 4 days went to the emergency room two times was taking prednisone and Zantac and Benadryl and still having this reaction I eliminated everything I thought maybe causing it I rented a car to avoid my truck in case there was something in there that was causing it the only thing I can narrow it down to being with the body wash the only new thing I introduced to my daily routine I rinsed in the shower with water throughout this time. But was scared to use anything to aggravate it where to trigger another reaction when I figured it cannot be anything but the body wash I purchased some poison ivy antiseptic oil removing soap I washed and rinsed and washed and rinsed until I no longer had hot water. 20 minutes after I had done this I felt way better just overall like there was a weight lifted. Since I’ve done this I have not broken out or had any reaction anyting I go about my normal routine and reducing the things that I thought maybe causing this reaction to no avail I would suggest avoid that stuff like it’s poison I now have to carry an EpiPen with me wherever I go that’s so severe the reaction I had was. I’m a Hands-On guy and in in the construction industry I have been in contact with many things throughout my life some of them actually labeled as poison and hazardous but nothing is ever caused this reaction except the dove men in face body wash that’s pretty scary to me I hope this may help somebody going through what I had went through
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I have had the same problem. I broke out in these bumps all over my chest and arms! It turns out my daughters have had the same experience. I am really surprised that dermatologists recommend dove.
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