HBS Gluta Reformulated Soap

I've been using this soap for about 4 to 5 months now (which now that I think of it, it's already become a regular part of my bath routine), so I guess it's about time to share my verdict about this product.

I have fair complexion. Not that fair but fair enough compared to the usual Filipina skin tone. I'd say it falls in the line that crosses between a light tan and fair. My color would be the darkest in the fair category. And you know how Pinay's can get obsessed about anything that offers lightening. I was not really planning into getting something that's whitening because I'm already quite satisfied with my color and I was thinking I wouldn't get any lighter than this because I've also already used several commercialized whitening soaps and even lotion but it didn't whiten me more, though it helped me maintain my what I thought was already fair complexion.

However when I was browsing HBS products and the feedbacks album, the Gluta Reformulated Soap is one of the HBS soaps that first got my attention. This is one of the most popular whitening soaps ever mentioned. All feedback I've heard were great and that really made me curious so I decided to try it. Even Jamie herself vouches for the effectiveness of this product that she even qouted this as this soap's description in her Facebook album:

NEW GLUTA DS, REFORMULATED..NOW WITH 3X MORE GLUTA CONTENTS THAN GLUTA MILK W/ OATMEAL!!! SOBRANG GANDA!! PUPUSTA KO PNAGALN NG HBS JAN..WHITENING ANTI AGING MICRO PEELING SUPER SOFT ON SKINWLANG HARSH CHEMICALS,,HAAYY NAKOOO... AS IN IM SO HAPPY W/ THIS SOAP!--TAMA BA? AKO NA NAG FEEDBACK HEHEHE

The Soap
Packaging: All of HBS soaps come in a full packed, big (bigger than the usual soaps available) size of 150gms for less than a hundred peso price. It feels very solid when held, and though it's bar shaped, it doesn't have very sharp edges. It comes in ahm, I think you call it cerulean blue? (just check the pic), which has initially weirded me out, probably because I'm not used to seeing soaps with a quite vivid color. I first thought, won't my skin turn blue with this? Hehehe. Luckily it didn't. :p. You would've expected that a soap with Glutathione as base would come in white, I know. But Jamie has reasons why it's oddly colored. You won't see a trace of this color during bath though so nothing to worry.

Scent: I am not that good yet at describing scent specifics but I would probably put it as somewhere between vanilla and milk. It's really sweet smelling :). One downside of this sweet smell though is I found my soap one time with mice bites :(. The rats here were nibbling on it. They've probably thought it's food, hehehe. But on the good side, I've really enjoyed every bath using this soap. Not the type that lingers though. I'm not sure if it's just with me, but it's not the scent that stays on the skin. I found this an advantage if you're a lover of strongly scented lotions or perfumes. The scents won't clash.

Consistency: It's not slippery when dry. I've encountered some soaps that already feel slippery even when they're not wet yet. But I think it's because of the moisture content. I think this soap doesn't mainly promise any moisturizing effect, just whitening and micro-peeling. When wet, the soap is still fairly easy to hold and it doesn't melt easily so it lasts quite well.

The Experience
My first use doesn't really have different feel. Well it was mentioned that the soap is quite drying because it is said to have a micro-peeling effect so I was kind of already expecting that it will feel dry. First thing I noticed though is that my whole day lasted without me feeling icky even when it's super hot (I've tried to soap during the extreme heat of the summer). I felt fresh all day!

I noticed on the 3rd day of use though that my skin feels kinda dry and itchy. Not the allergy-like itchiness. I never experienced that with this soap. It's the itch that one would easily ignore if you're not really paying attention. Of course with any kind of itch, our natural reaction is to scratch. With this feeling though, I haven't found myself yet wanting to scratch but my body's usual response is to rub the itchy part. it's dangerous to scratch a wet skin because skin is a lot softer when wet. When I was rubbing my back, I got so amazed at the dead skins that are coming off! Andami! This is the micro-peeling. The feeling after every dead skin cells were removed a lot fresher and cleaner. I felt like every libag I had came off. Hehehe. It's like scrubbing using a panghilod without the extra stress on your skin. And oh, another thing to note: I used to have pimples in my back but now, my back's clear! Yay!

What might be seen as a side effect:
As mentioned earlier, this soap is quite drying because of the micro-peeling effect, so it's best to use a moisturizing lotion after every shower. I've noticed my skin is flaking within the first 5 days of use, but it's gone within a week. I guess it does after it removes all the dead skins in the surface. But this drying stage has to come to pass in order to achieve a lighter and softer skin. This soap works by helping dead skins come off easier then remove all of them through micro-peeling to expose a cleaner, fresher, and softer skin. It removes the rough deads. So naturally, the result is lighter too.

Is it effective? Oh yes, very effective. Jamie was not kidding and her confidence in this soap is very well grounded.

Would I repurchase? I've actually been repurchasing this product since March, and I plan to keep on repurchasing it.

Recommended? Highly recommended, especially to those who'd want to be whiter faster.

And to show you proof that this is not all talk, here are my before (left) and after (right) pictures.

 

If you're interested with the soap, feel free to visit House of Beauty Secret's Facebook page and send Jamie a message for inquiries.