Review: Koru Naturals

In my years on the  Review Crew I’ve had many occasions to get excited about products, but deep down I know that they’re really for my son (or rather my son’s education).  This time the items for review are for me, me, me!  I got the chance to pamper myself with two products from Koru Naturals.   In the height of dry skin season I would have the chance to try their Emu Oil and Koolpurrie Restoring Balm.

The Emu Oil comes in a brown plastic 2 oz.  bottle with a flip top cap allowing use to pour out a small amount. The sole ingredient is 100% Grade A Emu Oil with no additives or preservatives.  I’ll be honest, I was not familiar with Emu Oil and had to do a little browsing on the internet to see how I might use it.  I decided to test it for fine lines around my eyes and on my dry cuticles and peeling nails.  I applied it morning and evening on my right hand and eye, hoping I’d be able to notice an improvement over the left.

The dollop I applied was much smaller than a dime and plenty for both my face and hand.  And I can say that the greasy feeling you get after applying many moisturizers was quickly dissipated(according to their website, if it feels greasy you’re using too much).  After several weeks I could tell that my right hand had fewer tags of skin peeling away at the base of the nail, there weren’t any layers on the nail itself to file off, and the point where the nail meets the skin was softer.  At one point during my trial the base of my left thumb had become so dry and brittle it actually hurt so I threw the scientific method  and its need for controls out the door and applied some Emu Oil to it as well.  By morning it was much improved.  I can’t say that I noticed as significant difference around my eyes though.

I did find another use for the emu oil.  At one point my son developed a sinus infection.  My normal treatment is to apply an essential oil to his feet.  Because I remembered Emu Oil had a rapid absorption rate I used it as the carrier for the Thieves Oil which must be diluted before application.  It works as quickly as I expected and I believe it was instrumental in his quick recovery.

Koolpurrie Restoring Balm comes  in a short plastic tub with a screw-on lid.  When opened, it’s wide enough to glide your finger over the top and swipe off the small amount you’ll need. Once again the ingredients are pure and simple: just lanolin (from sheep) and emu oil.    The balm is thick and sticky so I didn’t want to try it on a large surface or try to smear it over the delicate skin around my eyes. The test this time would be my elbows.  I’m embarrassed to say I have extremely dry, cracked skin on the back of my elbows.  They almost look gray from the dead, dry skin—not that I notice the appearance because who can see their own elbows, but I have had people tell me that I must have something smudged on my arms.  I applied the Koolpurrie to my right elbow after using the emu oil on my hand and eye so there may have been some residual oil added to the mix.  I didn’t use a pumice stone or any other treatment on either elbow  so the only difference would be the balm. I could feel the difference whether or not I saw it, but for the sake of the review I had my husband take pictures of my elbows.

I had no idea that my husband had started using the Koolpurrie as well.  Every winter his thumbs crack and split, and it get worse if he’s been fiddling with engines and gotten motor oil and grease on them.  He started using the balm on his thumbs after he’d seen me applying it to my elbows.  Last week he not only told me what he’d been doing but that he was amazed at how much healing had occurred and how quickly.  He has several allergies and so was thankful that there were no fragrances added to either product.  Emu oil is considered to be hypoallergenic as well. 

I love finding natural products to use for personal grooming and health so we’ll keep the medicine cabinet stocked with these Koru Natural products. You need to use so little, I’m sure these containers will last us a long time.

As an amusing anecdote, whenever I used either the Emu Oil or the Koolpurrie Balm, our dog would follow me around until I took a seat and then she would lick my hand.  I suppose I tasted like a giant chicken.