Sibu’s motto is “beauty from the inside out and outside in”. The company has built a beauty system around a key ingredient, Sea buckthorn, which despite its name actually grows at high, cold elevations, such as the Tibetan Himalayas and Siberia. Sea buckthorn is an ancient component of traditional / folk medicine in Tibet, India, and China, and is currently popular in juice or purees in Russia and Scandinavian countries.
Sea Buckthorn Berries
Sea buckthorn berries are packed with vitamins C, E, folic acid, flavonoids, carotenoids, and Omega fatty acids, including some of essential Omega-3 and Omega-6 families, as well as the non-essential Omega-7 and Omega-9 (“essential” nutrients, as in your body can’t produce these so you need to get them through your diet, whereas your body produces the “non-essential” nutrients). There is a head-swimmingly vast amount of research documenting the health effects of consuming Omega fatty acids; much of it demonstrates that Omega 3s have big benefits for cardiovascular health and cancer prevention, although it seems that the long types of Omega-3s found in fish–EPA and DHA–are more beneficial that the short type (ALA) found in plants (like sea buckthorn). It looks like the jury is still out on whether Omega-6s are beneficial or detrimental to overall health, while the purported benefits of Omega-7s and Omega-9s (which produced by our bodies and found throughout the body, but especially in fat stores) seem anecdotal at best.
Sibu Beauty cites a long list of scientific studies on Sea buckthorn, which I was excited to see at first (yay evidence-based beauty products!). However, a closer examination revealed that not all of those studies found beneficial effects of sea buckthorn – although none of them reported negative effects, some found no effects: especially, it seems, when it comes any special beneficial effects of those fatty acids. What does seem consistent, though, are the positive benefits of the potent antioxidants in the sea buckthorn extracts, including vitamins C, E, folic acid, flavonoids, and carotenoids, on healing and tissue repair.
So that’s a bit about the central ingredient in Sibu’s beauty system – now for the product road test!
Some of the Sibu Beauty Product Line-up, from L to R: Age-defying eye cream (sample), Liquid Supplement for Hair and Nails, Sea Buckthorn Seed Oil, body cream (and a sample of the liquid supplement), facial cream, and facial soap.
I tested out the Sibu’s liquid supplement, body, facial, and eye creams, facial soap, and sea buckthorn oil. I’m going to review the Revitalize and Renew liquid supplement and Cleanse and Detox Facial Soap here, and follow up with reviews of the sea buckthorn oil, body cream, facial cream, and anti-aging eye creams in a subsequent post.
Sibu’s Revitalize and Renew Liquid Supplement is a sea buckthorn fruit puree blended with apple juice, white grape juice, banana puree, sea buckthorn seed oil, and a few other ingredients. It contains no artificial preservatives, colors, or sweeteners. The color is *bright* orange (all those colorful carotenoids!), which was a little off-putting at first, but once I got the courage to try it I found it quite delicious! The taste has a little bit of the bitterness associated with cranberry juice or pomegranate juice, but because there are other juices and natural flavors blended in the flavor isn’t too tart. However, of all of the products offered by Sibu Beauty, the supplements come with the most sticker shock: a 750 mL bottle of Revitalize and Renew Liquid Supplement will set you back $29.95 USD (the price of a good bottle of wine!). While I don’t doubt this is a nutritionally dense supplement–and that getting enough vitamins and antioxidants can be good for your skin, hair, and nails–there is a lot of delicious and nutritionally-dense fresh produce that can be purchased for 30 bucks. Since fresh produce also provides those “whole-food” sources of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, I’d rather put my cash into buying lots of fruits and vegetables for the same nutritional punch. (Disclaimer: Since some of this post has wandered dangerously close into the area of giving out health advice, I just wanted to remind the readers that I am not a medical doctor or nutritionist and I’m not intending to give out such advice – just sharing the opinions of a skeptical consumer and product tester!)
While I am a bit skeptical of the special benefits of Sibu’s supplements, I loved their Cleanse and Detox Facial Soap . The soap contains, of course, sea buckthorn extracts, but also bits of sea buckthorn leaves for gentle exfoliation, as well as coconut, palm, and safflower oils, and oatmeal (plus a few other ingredients). I have oily, acne-prone skin, and I was really pleased with how the facial soap removed all the excess oil from my skin without over-drying it. The extra exfoliation from the sea buckthorn leaves seemed to really clear out my pores and leave my skin feeling refreshed. I also tested it out as a body soap – it was really refreshing after working out or when we got back from a camping trip, as it really felt like it removed all of the built up grime! At $5.95 USD, the price is slightly above discount brands but very reasonable compared to other specialty beauty products.
Want to try out Sibu Beauty’s products? You can get buy directly from Sibu Beauty’s website, or check your local Whole Foods or GNC.
PS: Stayed tuned for the continuation of this review, with Sibu Beauty’s body, eye, and facial creams!
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