I haven't met a beauty editor who hasn't had strong thoughts on the best shower products. It's one traditionally boring product category that we're all extremely passionate about, including me. I absolutely love a body wash, whether that's a trusty Dove body wash or a fancy Diptyque shower gel, sign me up to try it.
That's why when I found out about Byoma's new body products at the brand's launch breakfast a few months ago, I was beyond thrilled. I'm a huge fan of Byoma's other skincare products thanks to being affordable, unfussy and efficacious.
After taking my samples home, I twisted open my bottle of hydrating body wash and immediately fell in love with its texture and scent. I texted my beauty editor friends right away to share my instant love to be met with the same enthusiasm on their end. I couldn't wait to try the others in the range. But did all the others match up? This is exactly what I think of Byoma's body washes.
Byoma Body Hydrating Body Wash
I cannot fault this product. True to its name, it's incredibly hydrating on the skin, applying like a dream, starting as a creamy gel turning into sudsy foam and leaving skin feeling soft long after showering. Its scent is just as good. A comforting, clean powdery scent that feels far more expensive than it is.
Although it's a big bottle and a little goes a long way (especially if using a shower sponge), £11.99 is obviously more expensive than your standard 2 quid body wash so it might be one for your 'everything shower' versus using it every day.
I also love the square bottles. I know it's the design of the brand but it works brilliantly for shower products for the ease of slotting into shower caddies and bath corners.
Byoma Body Brightening Body Wash
This Brightening Body Wash has the same beautiful scent (although I'd argue slightly more subtle) as the Hydrating one but with a more gel, almost jelly-like texture.
Now, whether it's actually brightening is difficult to say for certain, particularly since it's a cleansing product so the ingredients don't stay on your skin long. It contains ingredients that are great for hyperpigmentation like azelaic acid and niacinamide, but since it's a short-contact product, you won't be seeing dramatic improvements in your pigmentation from a body wash alone (if any). That's why I recommend using this and following it with a lotion targeting hyperpigmentation if you want to really tackle the concern.
The brand's Brightening Lotion might be your next port of call, and whilst it is pleasant, it only contains niacinamide to improve hyperpigmentation, which won't have a dramatic result. So all in all, I love this body wash and think it's fantastic for being a lovely experience with a luxe scent but I wouldn't buy this with the assumption it'll effectively brighten hyperpigmentation.
Byoma Body Sensitive Body Wash
Perhaps the biggest difference between the Sensitive Body Wash and the others is that this one doesn't smell like the others, as it's fragrance-free as to avoid any triggers for the most sensitive skin types. It contains ingredients like glycerin, urea, panthenol, allantoin and oat
It has a similar texture to the Hydrating body wash, which I love. It's creamy, comforting and non-irritating—everything you'd hope for in a shower gel for sensitive skin. I also love that it still injects that joyful element of the brand since many other sensitive skin-friendly products are a little clinical.
Byoma Body Smoothing Body Polish
OK, this is cheating a little but it's such an excellent exfoliator that I couldn't not include it here. It's rare to find a body polish that is both exfoliating enough without being too harsh and scratchy and this has got that perfect sweet spot.
It's got a lovely cream-gel texture with lots of fine beads paired with polyhydroxy acids (AHAs) delivering physical and chemical exfoliation. It's fantastic for keratosis pilaris (you might know it as KP or chicken skin), sloughing off old fake tan and generally keeping your skin feeling soft.
The pump bottle makes it easy to use and dispense just enough. I find that sometimes exfoliator housed in a jar gets a little messy in the shower and I end up scooping out more than needed.