Product Review - Fairglow Soap

Godrej's Fairglow Soap is a complexion soap that claims to make skin visibly fairer through basic cleansing. It's active ingredient is Natural Oxy-G, which is a mushroom extract that is responsible for decreasing the amount of melanin in the skin.

I did some research on the 'mushroom extract' and discovered that it was songyi mushroom extract (derived from Tricholoma Matsutake mushrooms). It is commonly found in a lot of Japanese skin whitening products and is an enzyme similar to Kojic Acid (also from a mushroom) that encourages cell turnover rate and supresses the melanin load from the cells. It has a fairly gentle method of action and is a popular natural lightener in Japan.

I've used Fairglow soap for a solid year, mainly as a body soap. It can be used on the face as well, but I usually don't use soap on my face, as it just literally dries my skin out too much. I did, however use it on my face for a period of time and I found using any moisturizer replenished my skin, so it's not that big of a deal. It lathers up well and is very creamy, and is supposed to remain on the skin for at least 2 minutes to allow the active ingredient to absorb.

I like how the soap rinses clean (without leaving any pore-clogging residue) and has a mild, clean fragrance. As far as actually making my skintone 'visibly fairer', I will say that it does have some effect on the eveness of my skin. The mushroom extract acts as a very gentle exfoliator that can brighten skin. The skin lightening aspect is so mild that is barely visible until 5 or 6 months of daily usage.

My opinion on using soaps/cleansers as lighteners is this: they can lighten to an extent, but do not expect miracles. The reason why I state that they do have the ability to lighten is because skin is most receptive to active ingredients when it is wet. Leaving the product on for a few minutes a day for a long period of time, WILL result in some lightening. Especially if the product features ingredients that have some lightening properties. Lightening soaps are not completley useless and actually can be a great way to lighten sun damaged, hyperpigmented areas of the body.

Fairglow Soap is relatively inexpensive and is probably better than most generic soaps out there in drugstores. The product will not lighten the skin dramatically in any way but it can be used to achieve brighter, softer, more even-toned skin. It didn't break me out and provided a very gentle amount of exfoliation to the skin on my body. I recommend using the soap with a luffa, or some exfoliating gloves for a stronger brightening effect. It is readily avalialbe at South Asian stores, as well as online, such as sites like http://www.dermisoft.com/ and http://www.ebay.com/.

Rating: 5/10

Ingredients:

Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Palmate, Aqua, Parfum, Benzyl Benzoate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citronellol, Coumarin, Geraniol, Titanium Dioxide, Disodium EDTA, Tricholoma Matsutake Extract, Citric Acid, BHT, Disodium Distyrylbiphenyl Disulfonate.