Yes, I am talking about the the laundry bar called Perla! It does help whiten your hands because it contains papaya but should you use this on your whole body?

Perla has been a strong name in the market for decades and it is well known for its "Banayad sa kamay!" claim. And it is true, it is by far the safest and gentlest laundry soap that you can use for hand washing clothes. Over the years, it has improved its formulation and it now comes in three main varieties: Papaya, Original White and Original Blue. It is currently available in the market in its usual long laundry bar size or singles for P12.50 or P13.00. 

I guess the most popular for those who are into skin-whitening stuff here in the Philippines is Perla Papaya. Many claim that it is the cheapest effective skin whitening soap. And because of its "banayad sa kamay" and "hypoallergenic" formulation, Perla Papaya sure sounds promising and those who have tried it or have been using suggest that you can leave it on for 5 minutes before rinsing it off of your body. BUT...

SHOULD YOU JUMP ON THE BANDWAGON?

For those who haven't, you better read on. I tried it once.  Why? Because I have used it many times to hand wash my delicate clothes and it is indeed gentle on the hands. How foolish!

So I took a bath one day with Perla Papaya and Thank goodness! I was not crazy enough to use it on my face.The soap felt rough on my skin as I rub it on. Uh please, don't think its an exfoliation property and just read on. 

The worst part is that 2 minutes on and I started to feel a lot of burning and itching. It was alarming. Some bleaching soaps can give you the same feeling but with Perla Papaya, you can tell that something was not right. 

Believe me I have the most tolerant skin and I have tried many, many bleaching and whitening soaps available in our market. Perla is just too harsh to be used as a bath soap. I would not even dare use the two other varieties.

So I rinsed it off, and used a gentle moisturizing bath soap on my body to relieve the drying, itching and the burning feeling. My skin was so dry after I stepped out of the shower so I put a lot of vaseline lotion---the one with SPF 25. After my skin was completely dry, I saw a lot of peeling and flaking in my arms and my legs. I also ended up with itchy red patches but, thankfully, they were gone the next day.

THE VERDICT

I would be stupid to do this again. If you haven't done this yet, I suggest you just keep Perla laundry soap out of your bathroom. Perla papaya is meant to be use as a laundry bar and lets leave it at that. If you are looking for an affordable skin whitening body soap, there are plenty of options.

But hey! That's just my opinion and I am just sharing my experience. It's still up to you, though.

Have you tried using Perla Papaya in the shower? Leave your comments below.