1 Star (Horrible)
I was recommended to try the Neem and Tea Tree Shampoo Bar since I have seborrheic dermatitis (oily). I placed an order and decided to get the shampoo bar, the mini Whipped Shea Vanilla Bean body butter, and the Apples and Spice soap. Shipping was alright but cost over $5 (within the USA). I tried all three products and noticed the next day, I was starting to break out. I didn't think much of it and the reaction just kept getting worse until my entire body (except for my back) was covered in pretty severe hives. I deduced it was a reaction to the body butter. Looking at the ingredients, I have never encountered babassu oil before. The body butter also looked old (it was yellow compared to the white on the website and didn’t look fluffy).
I contacted the company. I had made a post on their Facebook page saying what had happened and it was immediately deleted. I also posted on their website and it was also deleted. The company responded to me via email with the following...
"Hi Mary,
This is Sam, at Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve. Thanks for writing to us!
We don't deal with nay customer service on our Facebook page. We usually just take down any questions for us from the page and then answer our customers via email. We simply dont have the time and ability to use FB for customer service. Hopefully you understand.
As for your issue, it sounds like for sure you are having an allergic reaction.
There are only 6 ingredients in the product. The most likely culprit is the Shea butter, as it is 100% pure Virgin Shea, as strong and pure as it can be. Shea is a naturally occurring form of latex, and many people find at some point that they can have a reaction to very pure Shea Butter. It is fairly common. Other ingredients that are not normal everyday ingredients would be Babassu Oil and Jojoba oil. Sunflower is an unlikely culprit and the Vanilla is not an added scent, we simply cook actual vanilla beans into the butters.
My guess is the pure Shea. If you have used Organic Unrefined pure she before and know that you have no reaction, than I can tell you I am stumped.
If you wanted to see, you could always get a trial size of our "Whipped Cocoa" and see if you have any reaction....
I hope that helps SOME.
Thanks very much for your order and support for our work, Mary!"
So, their solution was to basically shell out another $8.50 for a small body butter and then over $5 for shipping... I know I'm not allergic to shea (I use it in many products) and the same with Jojoba oil.
Overall, I was incredibly disappointed with the customer service and company overall. This isn't how you treat customers.
I threw out the body butter ($8.50 down the drain). The shampoo bar did nothing for my hair so I threw that out as well. The Apples and Spice soap smelled of spice and not of apples at all.
I will never buy anything from this company again. I was extremely disappointed with everything I bought. My face broke out the worst of all and isn't as smooth as it used to be.
I was hoping for a refund of some kind but I received squat all. Every other company I have ever dealt with allows refunds when a product doesn't work. Considering how severe my reaction was, I was hoping for more.
The fact that the company also doesn't let negative reviews be posted anywhere on their website or Facebook also says something about them as a whole.
