Review of Dr. Hauschka “Quince Day Cream”

It was conspired by the stars, the universe, and the little green people (pun intended) that visit me in the night, that I have run out of my face cream on the exact same day when I finally made it to the not-so-local Whole Foods. Some would even suggest that the reason I drove to the said Whole Foods was purely for getting that cream, while using other purchases as an excuse. I beg to differ. I went there for my box of Lara Bars… I only ended up in the skin care isle due to the malfunctioning GPS chip in my brain. I never intended to spend all that money on creams. Honestly.

However, upon getting there and realizing that I absolutely cannot walk out of the store without a pretty new bottle with creamy goodiness, I confronted no fewer than two sales associates, and bombarded them with requests to help me find something. My demands were pretty narrow: I wanted something as organic as possible, as affordable as possible, and good for my dry skin. Lady Luck smiled at me and pointed me in the direction of a whole stack of Dr. Hauschka skin care and makeup products. Now, Dr. Hauschka uses biodynamical grown plants (biodynamic farming is organic plus — it is the comprehensive system of organic farming started by noted esoterist and philosopher Rudolf Steiner in 1924) and prides itself on being friendly to the environment. And having heard tons of positive reviews about this German line, I decided to try it out for myself. Here is my review.

The name of the cream:
Quince Day Cream

What and who is it for:
Quice Day Cream is a moisturizer for normal, dry and sensitive skin.

About the brand:
Dr. Hauschka is a German company that was started in 1967 by Dr. Rudolf Hauschka and Elisabeth Sigmund. The company subscribes to a natural philosophy using biodynamic or certified organic sources for their products wherever possible. I believe that the founders were heavily influenced by the anthroposophical writings of Rudolf Steiner, who was the founder of the biodynamic agriculture. Dr. Hauschka is one of the first natural cosmetics manufacturers, and is now sold in over 40 countries. The company has a comprehensive line of skin care and body care products for men and women. There is also a full makeup line (referred to as Decorative Cosmetics by the company) which was launched in 1999, and uses pant oils and waxes, as well as medicinal herbs. You can read more about it in my Organic Makeup article.

Price:
I paid about $40 Canadian at Whole Foods. It is about $29.95 US at amazon.com.

Certifications:
BDIH Certified Natural Cosmetic

Packaging:
This cream is in a tube, in a box. There are 30ml of the cream in the tube. The external cardboard box is recyclable. I believe that the tube itself is recyclable too.

Reading the ingredients:
While most ingredients and notes look good (Water, Apricot Kernel Oil, Almond Oil…), there are just a couple of suspects: Alcohol, Fatty Alcohols… It’s not that I’m particularly against alcohol, but in a cream for dry sensitive skin? Isn’t alcohol drying and irritating? Seems a little odd. Also: parfum (I suppose that’s German for ‘perfume’. Why? What kind? I assume it is all natural. But would’ve liked more detail. I also found it surprising that “parfum” is listed on the box, but not in the brochure that I got about the company. I’m probably reading too much into it.
Here are all the ingredients, as listed in the brochure:
Water, Apricot Kernel Oil, Kidney Vetch Extract, Quince Seed Extract, Alcohol, Carrot Extract, Glycerin, Shea Butter, Almond Oil, Olive Oil, Fatty Alcohols, Avocado Oil, marshmallow Leaf Extract, Jojoba Oil, Beeswax, Quince Wax, Lecithin, Bentonite, Witch Hazel Extract, Essential Oils, Xanthan Gum.

Reading the insert:
“Refresh, nourish and revitalize normal, dry and sensitive skin conditions with Dr. Hauschka Quince Day Cream. Extract of quince offers moisture-retaining qualities while quince and bees’ waxes provide protection against negative environmental influences. Skin feels renewed and velvety smooth the entire day.”

Scent:
It has a buttery-lemony smell. I like it. It reminds me of lemon custard for some reason.

Texture:
Creamy. Medium thickness.

What does it do on the face:
First impression:
I can’t say I am thrilled. I think, maybe having read the reviews I was expecting too much. Maybe having spent close to $40 on a face cream I thought it would be a miracle. So far it’s not. In fact, when I originally applied it, I felt a bit itchy on the neck, where there was a tiny rush (which I didn’t even notice before I applied the cream — makes me wander if it actually was there before?) Of course, I have an ULTRA sensitive skin. But then again… I’m wearing the cream as I type it. The face feels a bit stretched. Tiny prickles are on my chicks and neck. Not anything massive… But I don’t feel nourished or anything.

Update a few hours later:
I must admit that I’m now of a higher opinion about this cream than I was initially. My face feels soft, smooth and elastic. No itchiness or irritation at all. The tickling feeling is gone too. Hmmm… Maybe I should give it another chance.

Three days later:
Boy, first impressions can be sooo wrong. I love this cream. My face feels so babyish I want to jump around in a sandbox.

Verdict:
For a cream that targets “dry and sensitive skin conditions”, the beginning was not all that “gentle”. But that was probably a one time fluke. Once the moisture restored, the cream works like a charm. I think this cream is great for normal and moderately dry/sensitive skin.

As for me, I intend to use up this tube, but once it’s gone I’ll be trying Dr. Hauschka “Rose Day Cream”, as it contains no Alcohol. Even though this is a good thing, I can’t keep myself from looking for perfection…

UPDATE TO THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
I have since researched the “alcohol issue” and this is what Dr. Haushka sais about it:

A Certified Organic food-grade ethyl alcohol (ethanol) from grain, fruit or vegetable. Many plants are extracted in alcohol because it extracts the widest variety of plant constituents. Alcohol also serves as a natural emulsifier, preservative and carrier, helping ingredients penetrate the skin. Alcohol is not drying to the skin when part of a carefully formulated Dr.Hauschka composition. Our alcohol is derived from a fermentation and distillation process and is gluten-free.

I have also being using the cream for over a month now and absolutely love it. My skin feels soft and nourished, and there even were a few days when I felt it was OK to skip the cream all-together, for I didn’t feel dry at all. And that’s a very unusual occurence for me!

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• What Is Biodynamic?
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• Organic Makeup and Skin Care — Why?
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