After It cleansing foam - feminine wash discontinued by DevineToys / AfterCare - review by Dawn (Lilac Distraction)

(The title will be explained further in the review. Now on to the general review dialog.)

After It cleansing foam is part of the sexual hygiene product line developed by Sexual Health Enthusiasts. This product is meant to be used as a feminine wash that helps to clean, soothe, and balance the delicate female anatomy after sexual activities. It can also be used for daily maintenance to help keep everything fresh and happy. Not only for post-sex washing up, it will work well for making sure your bits are nice and clean during that time of the month, as well.

Supposedly this stuff is 60% organic, gentle, and free of irritating ingredients. The whole line of SHE aftercare products is designed this way, as well.

Organic Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sucrose Cocoate, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Polyquaternuum-7, Proline, Saccharomyces Ferment, Symphytum Officinale (Comfrey) Rhizome/Root Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Olive Oil, PEG 7-esters, Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Sodium Lactate, Sodium PCA, Allantoin, Panethenol, Sorbitol, Methyl Gluceth-20, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Hexylene Glycol, Citric Acid, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil

Yeah, that's a whole lot of weird chemicals. Let's see what Skin Deep's cosmetic registry has to say about these ingredients:

-Cocamidopropyl betaine is a synthetic surfactant; it has been associated with irritation and allergic contact dermatitis, reactions that could be due to the ingredient itself or to impurities present in it, such as 3-dimethylaminopropylamine.

-Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate has been found to be a primary skin irritant in several laboratory tests.

-Poplyquaternium-7 is classified as expected to be toxic or harmful.

-Symphytum Officinale can cause liver toxicity.

-Hexylene Glycol is known human immune system toxicant.

-Sorbitol is a type of sugar that is used as a thickening agent and skin conditioner, much like glycerin.

Yeah, would you want to use this in your very delicate and and potentially irritated areas? I wish I would have read this before I bought this stuff. In fact, the research I've done shows this sort of trend with the rest of the line they have, but this is one of the worst offenders.

I started thinking about the Sliquid Splash that ended up causing me to have burning sensations which is odd because the formula is natural and this is what I found about that one:

-DMDM hydantoin: Human irritant - strong evidence

Now you have to wonder if it's really worth the risk to use any feminine wash. In the case of this specific product you should just let nature do its job and stick to water.

(The next few sections of this review are going to be slightly brief because there are others that are much more relevant to this particular product.)

The pump bottle dispenses the product as an incredibly light and weightless foam. When washing it almost feels as if the product completely dissolves and doesn't actually do any cleaning because of the highly bubbly nature of the foam. Once rinsed off, there is no residue or any real change to the feeling of the area of application.

Several ingredients found in foaming products have been shown to increase dryness and skin irritation, especially in those with sensitivities.

Because of the ingredients in this product and their irritating nature, it isn't suggested to have it make contact with eyes (as one of the chemicals is classified as an eye irritant) or consumed (because another is a gastrointestinal irritant). Therefore the taste is not important, but I'm guessing it would be an unpleasant experience.

It smells highly of citrus, bergamot, and rosemary which gives it a earthy, natural, crisp fragrance. Like I said in the After Trace deodorizing review, it smells like a health food store. It doesn't leave much of a scent behind even though it is quite apparent during use.

Now here is where we get into the more relevant information.

I am sitting here with my legs all twisted up trying my hardest not to squirm around because of the intense itching and slight burning feeling I've got going on down there. Yeah. Not cool at all.

The first time I used this I dispensed two pumps into my hand and lightly scrubbed everything down there. I sat under the faucet and rinsed for a moment and then hopped out of the shower and got dressed. I noticed a slight itching sensation that was mildly irritating, but it wasn't anything that was too bad and something I could ignore.

I decided to give it another shot, but made sure to use a single pump this time and make sure I seriously rinsed down there in case the itching was caused by some of the cleanser being left behind. Again, after the shower I still felt a mild itching, but as time went on it got worse. I woke up this morning with a crazy itching sensation on either side of my inner labia around my clitoris. After checking everything out to see what the issue was down there I saw that I had a line of a rash running down the creases of my inner labia. Of course I was quite alarmed at this because it's never happened before. I was hoping that this would be a little different than the Sliquid Splash which caused me to have more of a burning sensation like a UTI a little lower. Nope. I'm not generally super sensitive to things like bubble baths and most lubes. Nothing has caused me to have such a bad reaction. No lubes. No arousal gels. Nothing.

My alarmed self did all of that research on the ingredients so I could see what the hell was up with this and because I found that the other products in the line had some rather shady ingredients in them that were known to cause skin irritation and were supposed to not be used on open wounds (and you know how sexual activity causes those tiny microtears in the tissue, yeah). It makes a whole lot of sense now. I'm quite upset with the company for marketing this stuff as something that is safe, natural, and gentle. It's not. Do your research on the ingredients and you'll see the same thing I have and hopefully save yourself from the discomfort that I'm feeling at the moment.