Among the companies booths that I visited was an Australian company called Nature’s Care Paw Paw. What stopped me in my tracks was their brightly colored booth with the banner sign saying PAW PAW. I’m familiar with the slang word for Papaya and I grew up using that word instead of Papaya since my mother uses that slang word as well so I knew immediately that I wanted to find out what their products were about.
I spoke with their Brand Development Manager at CPNA about their products and I was intrigued since the key ingredient to their products is the fruit paw paw which have so many health and skin benefit. Paw paw is rich in Vitamins A, B and C and also contains papain which is known to help whiten skin when used topically. The more I spoke with her the more excited I was to try their products and she was gracious enough to give me their Value I set which contains a Face Moisturizer, Balm and Lip Balm.
I’ve been using Paw Paw Value Pack I on and off since August but found myself using it more often the last two weeks as the weather has become colder where I live. Many of my long time readers know I complain often about how quickly my hands dry out and how few products on the market help keep my hand moisturized and how I’m constantly applying lotions, creams and anything creamy to my hands. I’m happy to report that the Paw Paw Balm is one of the few items that helps keep my hands soft and moisturized while the Paw Paw Face Moisturizer leaves my skin feeling soft in the morning. I’m still not sure how I feel about the lip balm though but I do like it I just wish it had a Paw Paw taste to it instead of having no taste.
Paw Paw Balm, 30 grams
The Paw Paw Balm is not a cream nor is it a lotion, it’s actually an oil since the first first three ingredients are sunflower oil, castor oil, hydrogenated castor oil. It also contains cocoa butter, shea butter, sorbitan olivate, beeswax, silica, macadamia oil, mango seed butter, rice bran wax, jojoba esters, natural paw paw extract (carica papaya), natural paw paw flavour.
According to the packaging it’s “ideal for lips, hands and body, and assists to sooth sunburn.” Would I use the the Paw Paw Balm on my lips? No simply because it’s too oily but I would reconsider that in the winter when my lips chap due to the cold and I know my lips sometime this winter will because it always does without fail. I do use the Balm on my hands, elbows and heels because those are the areas that tend to feel dry and rough especially when I’m cold. My body is weird, when I get cold my body feels like it dehydrates and so my skin will look and feel dry especially those area I mentioned before. I use very little, maybe a nickle size amount except on my heels where I tend to use a little more since I typically don’t wear socks as I wear flip flops, sandals and backless shoes and slippers so my heels are often exposed which means my heels dry out the most.
I absolutely love the smell of Paw Paw Balm since it smells like a ripened paw paw fruit. The only drawback to the Balm for me is that it is an oil which for me means if I apply it my heels I have to wait a bit for my skin to absorb it before putting shoes on and if I apply it to my hands I also have to wait otherwise it will leave oil stains. On my keyboard I can see my fingerprints in oil and if my fingertips still have the oil on it my trackball won’t work. So after I shower I find it’s the best time to use the Balm since it also seals in the moisture in my skin.
Paw Paw Face Moisturizer, 30 grams
Like the Balm the Face Moisturizer also contains oils – soybean oil and paw paw seed oil – but unlike the balm the moisturizer is a thin pinkish cream which also smells like the fruit it’s named after. What I like about the moisturizer is the side effect I’ve been noticing since using it – dark spots on my skin have slowly been fading due to the papain that paw paw is known for.
Another thing I’ve noticed about the Face Moisturizer is that my skin feels and looks more firm after using it and according to the Paw Paw website this product is also an anti-aging product that’s meant to firm the skin surface. I like that it does tighten my skin but I have to say it does feel odd like when I use one of eye firming products or do an egg white mask and the skin just gets tight. The Paw Paw Face Moisturizer’s firming effect is not uncomfortable for me and I like the tightening sensation but it does feel odd at times because I forget that’s part of what that product does.
I like using the Paw Paw Face Moisturizer after I have my shower and after I tone my skin (I’m currently using a ginger toner from another company). I also like using this an hour or two before going to bed so my pillow case doesn’t pick up any oil residue since this does soybean oil as one of the two primary ingredients. When I wake up my skin still feels soft which I absolutely love. (Note, I’m alternating using Paw Paw Face Moisturizer with two other moisturizers so I don’t use it nightly before bed.) With this product I like to apply a quarter size amount to my face bring down my neck and décolletage as well as over my earlobes and the tips of my ears since my ears tend to dry out as well.
Paw Paw Lip Balm, 10 grams
I’ve been alternating the Paw Paw Lip Balm with a couple of other lip balms. It’s not my favorite lip balm primarily because it feels slick to me but also because it doesn’t have a taste. It’s not exactly greasy but it is oily because the primarily ingredients are oils. Some people find oily products tend to feel greasy for them but for me when I think greasy I think thick and heavy and the Lip Balm is not thick and it’s not heavy at all.
Like the other two items the Lip Balm is made with paw paw fruit so it too smells like paw paw, I just wish it also tasted like paw paw but it doesn’t have a flavor to me which is disappointing. I wish this one tasted like paw paw fruit but it doesn’t but I still like it I just don’t think I would buy this particular product if it were available within the United States.I like my lip balms not only with a nice scent but also a nice flavor which this particular lip balm does not.
Over all I like all three products however not one of these items are currently sold within the United States as far as I know. At the time I was at CPNA they did not have a US vendor or distributor but I hope that changes because I think I would reorder the Face Moisturizer and the Balm. I would also love to try their Paw Paw Body Butter and Paw Paw Body Wash as well as their Paw Paw Shampoo and Paw Paw Facial Wash. Hopefully down the road these will become available in the US.
Paw Paw Face Moisturizer Ingredients:
Water (Aqua); Hydrogenated Soybean Oil; Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride; Cetearyl Olivate; Cetyl/Stearyl Alcohol; Sorbitan Olivate; Carica Papaya Seed Oil; Sodium PCA; Panthenol; Tocopheryl Acetate; Xanthan Gum; Carica Papaya Fruit Extract; Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice; Benzyl Alcohol; Perfum (Papaya); Benzoic Acid; Dehydroacetic Acid; FD&C Red 4.
Paw Paw Lip Balm ingredients:
Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Lauryl Laurate, Mangifera Indica (Mango)Seed Butter, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Jojoba Esters, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Wax, Beeswax, Paw Paw extract (Carica Papaya), Natural flavour.
FTC Disclaimer: This item was provided to me for free from Nature’s Care Paw Paw Australia.
Zadidoll 