Review: Manyo Factory Active Refresh Herb Peeling Gel

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

I haven't used a gommage in years. Let's flashback to 2013, when I bought a Koh Gen Do gommage that was so useless that it never even made it to the blog because I was so disappointed. I couldn't even muster up the energy to rant about it, it was such a useless product. Imagine rubbing thick, gel-like water on your face, because that pretty much sums up the experience. This is the kind of letdown that makes me stay away from that product type for years, like when I had a bad experience with a cleansing balm and didn't try another one for half a decade. However, I am an unabashed Manyo Factory junkie, so I couldn't pass up a low priced duo of the Manyo Factory Active Refresh Herb Peeling Gel & Active Refresh Herb Mask (reviewed here).

This one is quite a bit different than my previous gommage. It's a slightly grainy, pale green gel that smells faintly herbal. I like that this gel comes in a pump, because I think I would squeeze more than I would need for each application if it came in a tube. I only need one and a half pumps for my entire face, ears, neck. As you gently massage the gel into your face, the cellulose clumps up and rolls away stuff on the surface of your skin. It is an instantly gratifying way for me to remove a great deal of dried sebaceous filament gunk and visible flakes.

I love using this when I'm barefaced and a tad bit oily, like when I wake up in the morning. I found that if I didn't have much oil on the surface of my skin, the grainy parts of the gel hurt a bit (I guess that extra lubrication helps) particularly the dry areas of my face, so I'd suggest using this well before you use a cleanser to remove any oil from your face. I've also noticed that way less clumping of the gel occurs if your face is dry. I'd go as far as misting your face and a massaging in a couple drops of oil into your skin (and waiting 10 min) if you want to use this when your face doesn't have excess sebum.

I convinced my spouse to give it a try and it worked phenomenally on his skin! He has much oilier skin and also deals with a lot of sebaceous filaments. It left his face so incredibly smooth and removed SO much stuff from his pores. I would definitely recommend this for any dude in your life that produces a fair amount of sebum and has rougher face skin. My guy is completely unwilling to adopt any sort of skincare routine or even a single product, total shame because it left his skin so soft that I kept wanting to stroke his face over and over again.

One thing to note, Manyo Factory products (particularly the herb ones) have a short shelf life once opened. Link to ingredients: Cosdna. I don't think I'll finish this before it goes bad, even if I convince Morgan to help me use it up. I found a few alternate uses for it - it makes a fantastic cuticle scrub and also removes dead skin from my feet. It's not sexy, but it is pragmatic.

Overall a great product for those with oily skin, particularly those who get a build up of dead skin flakes and dried sebaceous filaments. It leaves skin very soft and smooth.

To purchase: $23 at Melody Cosme if you're in the US. Also available on the Manyo Factory website.

Product featured was purchased by me. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.