The first part of this two-post series, featuring the Redwin Coal Tar Fragrance Shampoo, can be read here.
Nowadays, I use bath soaps that contain tea tree oil (Melaleuca alternifolia) – which is known for its antibacterial properties. However, soaps that contain the compound are often expensive, with the cheapest ones costing P100 ($1.96) per piece. I managed to buy affordable soaps back then at P50 ($0.98) per piece sold in the famous white-sand destination Boracay, but that was years ago.
Given that Shopee had an abundance of sellers on the platform, I also took the chance to look for affordable tea tree oil soaps. Fortunately, I found one that sells the soaps for P35 ($0.68) so I bought two to begin with.
Just like the earlier tar shampoo I purchased, the seller packed the soaps well. Apparently, the seller based in the northern city of Valenzuela in the National Capital Region also sold herbal pillows. These herbal pillows contain a mix of herbs, grains and essential oils – instead of the cotton stuffing – to promote natural healing. They can also be steamed or put in the microwave oven for use as a hot compress, or refrigerated for use as a cold compress.
The first thing I noticed with this soap was its square shape. Most tea tree oil soaps I’ve used before often had a rectangular shape. Based on experience, square-shaped soaps are often meant for use on the face – but I didn’t mind as I planned to use this as a body soap.
As of writing, there’s still more of the first soap I opened for use. When it comes to the effects of using tea tree oil soap, I definitely recommend it due to its benefits. I no longer had acne breakouts with frequent use, and any zit that developed quickly dried out. Wounds and scabs also healed quickly.
Overall, I have been satisfied with the goods I ordered from Shopee and its in-house courier service Shopee Xpress. The only suggestion I have is that if it was possible to consolidate two or more different orders into one delivery to save up on time, fuel, and packaging – all the better.
To illustrate my point, the shampoo I purchased came from a seller based in one city. Meanwhile, the soap came from another seller in another city. Both were delivered to different logistics and dispatch hubs in the metro, and both arrived at my doorstep on two separate days.
However, wouldn’t it be better if both my orders were sent to one hub for consolidation before they were sent over to me? That way, I get two items with one delivery and I need not wait two separate days just to get the items I bought online. But in the end, I guess separate deliveries are what’s best for business.
How about you? Do you use tea tree oil and other natural anti-bacterial soaps? How was your experience using them?
I’ll end this two-part series at this point. Until the next post, keep it here on The Monching’s Guide!
(AUTHOR’S NOTE: The featured image for this entry came from Kindel Media on the free stock image site Pexels.)
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I‘ve never tried tea tree soap as my husband had a very strong reaction to tea tree essential oil a few years ago. Interesting to hear that you have such positive experiences with it. Maybe I should give it a try again. 🤔
What you‘re writing about the shipping costs isn‘t exclusive to Shopee.
We have had the same experience with Tokopedia. There, its even worse because you have a certain quota of free deliveries per week.
But if you order several products from several shops in one go, the free delivery is applied only to one of the shops.
It even goes as farther, meaning that, especially with bulky products, it can be far less expensive to place two or more orders (1 per product) at the same shop, instead of only one combined order. That‘s because you get free delivery for each of the single orders if you buy the products separately, and, because the combined weight exceeds the free delivery, it would be pretty expensive if you ordered them in the same order. 😜
The shop then really also needs to pack each product separately and send it separately as they have to provide a proof of dispatch in form of the parcel‘s code. Pretty silly 🙃
On the other hand, the free delivery only applies if you reach a certain amount of money with your order. So if you buy small, inexpensive products, it’s better to try to buy everything you need from the same seller and then bundle all in one order.
As with you, we often notice that the parcels are routed through the same hubs and then brought by the same courier. But I think it wouldn’t be possible to bundle that as each of the shops pays its own delivery fee and has a different code for the parcel. 🤔
Thank you for stopping by, Livia! Sorry to hear about your husband’s skin not reacting well to pure tea tree oil. From what I’ve read, it’s often used pure when applied to zits. But methinks the tea tree oil in the soap isn’t that strong, thanks to the soap base.
And thank you too for explaining the other side of how courier services work over there. 🙂 I understand your explanation on why items purchased online need to be packed separately — it’s for inventory purposes. It really does have something to do with the business side of things.
Have always been leery of sharp-edged soaps, imagining that I would poke my eyes with it.^^ Haven’t tried teatree soaps, is there an option for specific types of skin like for dry, oily, sensitive, etc?
The sharp edges aren’t really a risk, Doc. If anything, there’s a higher risk of having soap getting into your eyes (and tea tree soap definitely stings!)
I don’t have any idea for oily skin, but depending on the dermatologist — they would often recommend Aveeno for dry skin due to its oatmeal content. For sensitive skin, Cetaphil is often recommended because of its gentle cleansing. Tea tree oil soaps are often used to address acne breakouts and accelerate healing of acne scars.
Tea Tree essential oil is one thing I always have around. I’ve been using it for years! The smell takes some getting used to though lol
The smell definitely does take some getting used to haha!
But once you’re used to it, tea tree oil works like PanOxyl when it comes to zits. No wonder The Body Shop prides itself on its tea tree oil products!
I use tea tree oil as a medicinal inhalant, for shampoo, and as a natural treatment for sore conditions But not for soap. It works like aloe to me.
Glad to know it works for you in different ways! Looking at it now, I find that tea tree oil soap is milder compared to the old sulfur soap I used back in high school and college.
And yeah, it’s also used as a shampoo – but I haven’t tried it yet. Interestingly, that Australian shampoo brand I featured in an earlier entry has a tea tree oil variant.
Oh Tea Tree is amazing for breakouts but I don’t think sensitive skin likes it too much. I didn’t know most square soaps are for the face! Learn something new everyday!
Agreed on the sensitive skin part; there have been numerous times where I’ve had to stop using it on my face for at least a day or two, just to let my skin recover.
It’s actually economical for face since only a small area is to be cleaned. Just get some soap, lather a small amount, and apply on the face. Glad to hear you learned something new from the post!
I’ve seen tea tree oil soaps at beauty bars here but didn’t really think of buying one. Perhaps I should try it soon. I use tea tree oil mixed with virgin coconut oil for a hair mask, it helped get rid of my itchy scalp. And my former roommate uses the oil as a deodorant. She swears by its good effect.
Now that’s interesting! From what I’ve read, tea tree oil does help relieve itching in the scalp. It’s also my first time to read about it being used as a deodorant.
Thank you for sharing! 🙂
I’m a huge fan of tea tree oil. I used to buy shampoo with it as one of the scents, but I didn’t really see its benefit. Last year I started using the essential oil for a dark spot on my face and applying it on scratches and old scars. I love this stuff! The smell is pretty harsh but it’s a wonderful oil to have at home. I place a few drops of tea tree oil and a pump of fractioned coconut oil, and I’m all set to go for the sun spots and acne scars on my face.
Now that’s great to hear too! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your story about tea tree oil.
My younger brother interestingly told me about how tea tree oil helped him with his pimples just hours ago! I gave him a tea tree oil soap to address his acne breakouts, and it definitely addressed those.
He also mentioned how it made his skin smoother, healed his acne scars, and prevented new pimples from developing further.
Tea tree oil is great and it’s all natural! What’s not to love.
Rosehip oil is also good too. For spot treatment of acne and dark spots, you could use a few drops of tea tree oil with fractioned coconut oil. Another essential oil tip I have is to dab peppermint oil on your wrist or lightly soak a cotton ball with it to quell nausea and headaches. Does wonders!
Unfortunately, I can’t stand the smell of tea tree.The worst was when I accidentally bought natural toothpaste that had tea tree in it. One use and it went straight into the garbage. My favourite soap of all time was a honey soap that has since been discontinued. I’m still looking for a good replacement.
Oh my…terribly sorry to hear of that. Good luck with your search for a new soap that you like.
I don’t use honey, but tea tree oil is fantastic for many things. I remember my late father-in-law had a boil on his back. I put tea tree oil on it and it went away. It’s also great in shampoo, it feels so tingly and fresh. I love it!
Thank you for sharing your experience with tea tree, Maryanne! I forgot that it also works on boils. Apparently, it can also stand up to the MRSA superbug (based on an article I was writing for work just earlier.)
There was a certain period back then when I often developed them on my legs, and I’d often address them with an antibiotic ointment. But ever since I used tea tree soap (way before this one), they thankfully haven’t recurred.
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