Sola Skincare is a family-run Canadian business, handcrafting skin and body care products in Vancouver, B.C. The company's products are made with fairly minimal ingredients and are enhanced with traditional Chinese herbs. I first discovered Sola last year and immediately fell head over heels for their Balancing Oil, which, almost a year later, is still one of my very favorite face oils. (You may have spotted it in my 2016 Best in Green Beauty or caught me raving about it on instagram!)
More recently, I've been trying out three of Sola's body care products and I'll tell you right off the bat: they don't disappoint either. Keep reading for my detailed thoughts on the Coconut Deodorant*, Soft Skin Balm*, and Relief Balm*.
Coconut Deodorant
The Coconut Deodorant is one of Sola's best sellers and I can easily see why! It's a great formula that ticks all my deodorant boxes. Basically, it...
- smells good
- keeps you smelling good
- has a great texture/consistency
- applies easily
- doesn't stain or leave marks on clothing
- doesn't irritate my skin or cause rashes
The ingredients start off pretty standard -- coconut oil, baking soda, arrowroot powder, olive or sweet almond oil, and beeswax -- but true to form, Sola also includes antibacterial Chinese herbs zhi mu and sheng di huang, both known to cool excess heat in the body, calm inflammation, and nourish the skin. Sola doesn't add any fragrance or essential oils, so the sweet coconut scent really shines through. I can be fussy about coconut smells -- even natural, coconut oil ones -- but the Coconut Deodorant is a winner for my nose. It smells fresh, sweet, and delicate, and is more reminiscent of actual coconut than coconut oil, if that makes any sense at all.
The deodorant has a very smooth, buttery consistency that melts into the skin beautifully without any gritty or grainy baking soda texture. It also doesn't feel oily or leave behind any greasy residue, so you don't have to wait or delay pulling clothes on. With regards to irritation, baking soda deodorants are hit or miss for me, but I haven't had any problems with Sola's Coconut Deodorant. I usually use a non-baking soda option if I've just shaved, but that's true across the board, not specific to this one.
And, perhaps most importantly, the deodorant offers great odor protection too. I apply it once in the morning and it keeps me smelling good until the next day -- so, roughly a full 24 hours. I don't notice the coconut scent beyond when I apply it, so it's not so much covering up bad smells as actually preventing them. I don't sweat a ton, so your mileage may vary here, but I find it keeps me pretty dry as well.
I'm looking forward to testing the deodorant more as the weather warms up, but since it's held its own through a few sweaty workouts, I'm pretty confident it'll do just fine in the summer too!
Soft Skin Balm
The Soft Skin Balm is a wonderfully nourishing moisturizer perfect for treating ultra dry skin. The balm is thick and rich, courtesy of shea butter, beeswax, and olive oil, and while it doesn't absorb immediately, it sinks in slowly and deeply nourishes dry skin. The four Chinese herbs included in this one -- shu di huang, bai shao, he shou wu, and gan cao -- are all intended to nourish and bring moisture to the skin, and combine nicely with soothing lavender and patchouli essential oils. The scent is very light and unobtrusive. I mainly smell olive oil in the tin, and while the essential oils come out a little on the skin, it's still very mild.
I've been using the balm mostly on my feet and elbows, and it's also a great thick moisturizer to slather all over your hands before bed. I even used it as a lip balm in a pinch one day! I probably wouldn't repeat that experience, if only because patchouli isn't my favorite taste in the world, but it did leave my lips nicely moisturized and supple!
Relief Balm
The Relief Balm is a gentle warming treatment for aching muscles, minor sprains, strains, and arthritic pain. I deal with occasional back and shoulder pain and the Relief Balm has helped a lot in those moments of discomfort.
The balm is a very soothing and gentle product made of only herb-infused olive oil, beeswax, vitamin E, and essential oils. The herbs and essential oils are all chosen to not only relive pain, but also to target the source of that pain by reducing inflammation and improving circulation and blood flow in order to promote healing.
With ingredients like cinnamon (gui zhi), ginger (gan jiang), and white camphor, the balm generates a gentle warming sensation when applied. The warmth penetrates slowly and gently eases muscle tension and relieves pain and discomfort. It's very soft and light and not at all hot or uncomfortable like some other warming muscle products I've used in the past. In Chinese medicine, cold accumulation is seen as a common source of pain, so from that angle too, a warming product like the Relief Balm is targeting not only the pain, but the root cause of that pain.
If you deal with aches and pains, I think this would be a great one to keep in your arsenal!
The Bottom Line
Sola Skincare is a great Canadian line and I really like everything I've tried from them! The products work as promised and both the handcrafted nature and the way Sola brings together classic natural ingredients and components of traditional Chinese medicine really resonate with me. I doubt you could go wrong, but I'd especially recommend the Coconut Deodorant and, of course, my favorite, the Balancing Face Oil. If you deal with aches and pains, the Relief Balm is another fantastic pick.
*Press sample
Sola Skincare is a family-run Canadian skin and body care company, inspired by the idea that what you put on your skin, you put IN your body. Everything is handmade in small batches in Vancouver, B.C. using pure, natural, and food grade ingredients, and is free of preservatives, synthetics and fillers.
In a booming green beauty market, what most sets Sola Skincare apart, to me, is that their products incorporate not only Western plants and herbs, but also less common traditional Chinese herbs and ingredients. One of Sola's founders is a Doctor of Chinese Medicine and that extensive knowledge base is evident in a lot of the company's formulations.
I've been trying out two of Sola's products over the last couple months and I'm eager to share my thoughts on them. Also, make sure you read to the end to enter to win some Sola Skincare goodies for yourself!
Balancing Face Oil
Sola's Balancing Face Oil* blends together healing plant oils and Chinese herbs to balance and nourish the skin. Argan, tamanu, camelina, sweet almond, jojoba, and meadowfoam seed oils serve as a hydrating and healing base for zhen zhu mu (mother of pearl), dang gui (Chinese angelica root), zhi mu (anemarrhena root), sheng di huang (Chinese foxglove root), and ru xiang (frankincense resin) -- ingredients known in Chinese medicine to improve micro-circulation, clear heat and inflammation, and provide important vitamins and nutrients to the skin. The blend also includes antioxidant vitamin E and soothing and regenerative carrot seed, lavender, and sandalwood essential oils. The oil absorbs well and sinks in pretty quickly, making it great for both morning and night use.
To my nose, the herbs are definitely noticeable and the oil is a little pungent. If you've used Chinese herbs before, or even just walked into a Chinese medicine or herb shop, the oil smells, to me, like a concentrated version of that. It's earthy, herbal, and just a little bitter. Not necessarily my favorite scent in the world, but it doesn't linger beyond the first couple minutes, and the performance of the oil is definitely worth getting used to the scent.
My cheeks are prone to clogged pores and congestion - something I've talked about many times before - and I saw a noticeable difference in that area right from the first use. I applied the oil before bed and woke up with cleaner-looking, less noticeable pores on my cheeks, and all over glowing skin. An oil, obviously, can't actually change your pore size, but this blend keeps them least looking tighter and more refined. Over time, I've also noticed my skin becoming more even in tone, and started seeing less redness after several weeks of using the Balancing Oil too!
I've tried a lot of oils in these last five years blogging and the Balancing Face Oil would rank right up there in my top 5.
Lavender & Adzuki Cleansing Grains
The Lavender & Adzuki Cleansing Grains* are also a solid product, though they didn't quite incite the immediate swooning reaction of the oil. Made with only oats, adzuki beans, and lavender, the Cleansing Grains offer gentle cleansing and exfoliation without being harsh or overly abrasive, or effecting the moisture balance of the skin.
Dry, the grains have a delicate lavender scent, but once moistened, I more so notice the earthiness of the adzuki beans coming through. The grains work well on their own, just mixed with a little water, and I also like mixing them into another cleanser for an added boost. Either way, my skin is left feeling calm, clean, and super soft!
GIVEAWAY
I've teamed up with Sola Skincare to give one of you a Sola Sampler Set! The set includes mini sizes of almost all of Sola's products -- the Balancing Face Oil and Lavender & Adzuki Cleansing Grains that I tried, as well as Sola's Rose Hydrosol, Calendula & Rose Cleansing Grains, Coconut Deodorant, Bare Bum Balm, and Soft Skin Balm.
Giveaway is open to the US and Canada. Follow the Rafflecopter widget (below) to enter!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
*Press sample
