Styx: Potato Hand Balm Review


I will start by saying that this is more a cream than a balm and frankly, I don't see why you should restrict its use to only the hands.


Styx is an Austrian natural skincare brand and from what I've read, it's quite a big commercial concern in its home country and is also active in Germany and Switzerland. According to its literature, it also has many retail points in Russia and has been making inroads in the US and the Far East too.

Styx is now run by Wolfgang Stix, whose grandfather, Florian Stix, began experimenting and making tinctures and ointments using new and traditional recipes in 1915. The Goat Butter Cream which Styx still sells today can be traced back to those early days. However, it was Erwin Stix (Wolfgang's father) who formally established Styx and, with his medical background, he was able to take a scientific and economic approach in steering his company.

Today, Styx produces more than 750 different types of natural skincare products under various brand names. The following are just some points of interest about Styx:

• makes use of only natural raw materials - organic or wildcrafted
• uses cold-pressed vegetable oils
• emulsifiers, preservatives and surfectants used are derived from natural raw materials
• does not use paraffin oils
• does not test on animals


The Potato Hand Balm that Styx makes is based on a traditional farmer's recipe from a region in Lower Austria called Waldviertel (Forest Quarter), where potatoes and poppies are the main crops. It is said that Austrian farmers used the juice of raw potatoes on their hands after a hard day's work in the field at the turn of the 19th century. Skincare in its simplest form!


The Potato Hand Balm is packaged in a 7-inch long aluminium tube. The cream inside is off-white in colour and is not greasy. It has a smooth and moderately thick consistency and is absorbed into the skin within a couple of minutes. The skin feels just a bit tacky (just like with most hand creams) and smelling like dessert. Pudding, I reckon. The cream smells like very sweet almond pudding. It's not indicated but I hope the added fragrance is natural.


I don't have anything bad to say about this hand cream. It keeps the hands sufficiently moisturised. I use it during the day and sometimes at bedtime together with my Essence Nail & Hand Care Gloves. If you wish, you can use it as a body cream too.

Besides potato extract, the Potato Hand Balm contains goodies like macadamia oil (great for aging skin - mine!), shea butter, marigold oil, jojoba oil, chamomile extract and sunflower seed oil.

Ingredients:
Water, Macadamia Oil, Cetearyl Wheat Straw Glycosides, Glycerin, Shea Butter*, Marigold Flower Oil, Isopropyl Myristate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Fragrance, Jojoba Oil, Potato Extract*, Chamomile Extract*, Gluconolactone, Sunflower Seed Oil, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Beta-Carotene/ CI 75130

* from controlled organic cultivation - raw materials checked by LACON (a certification institute)

Price: €6.95 for 50ml

I bought my tube from Dille & Kamille, a Dutch chain of delightful stores selling kitchen, gardening and household utensils and necessities (my other shopping heaven). This seems to be the only Styx product sold there and Dille & Kamille is the only place in the Netherlands where I've ever seen the Potato Hand Balm being sold. I don't know if there may be other stores here selling a wider range of Styx skincare and if there are, I would guess that they are located close to the border with Germany.

I have also found the Potato Hand Balm on Amazon.


Styx website

11 comments:

Unknown said...

It's got a very interesting design.
Sounds like a great product. I love shea butter on its own. ^^ :)
The ingrediants are very pleasing.

Unknown said...

When I started reading, was the first tought on my mind...ow no patatoes stink...hihi but it seams to smell well. I need to pay Dille & Kamille a visit then. Hihi

Witoxicity said...

@London's-beauty
True, shea butter's always good, even on its own. :)

@Vi nailarts
Haha! No, contrary to expectations (mine included), this cream doesn't smell like potatoes (not that raw potatoes have that much of a smell, not those that I have here anyway). :)

Jenni said...

Really nice review! This has really good ingredients and cruelty free. I'm on the look out for this, definitely!

Witoxicity said...

@Jenni
Many thanks, Jenni. I hope the cream's not too difficult to get hold of. Yeah, see if you like the cream yourself. :)

Anonymous said...

Great review. It works well, it smells nice and it's not expensive. That just sounds great.
Take care, Nicole x

Witoxicity said...

@Nicole
You're very kind, Nicole. Thank you! I hope you had a great weekend. :)

Bear Woods said...

I have never heard of this brand but I find it interesting. Who would of thought that potatoes are moisturising? ;)

Witoxicity said...

@MissDoll
This one's new to me too. We all learn something new everyday, don't we? :)

Anonymous said...

I love almond pudding. Great post.

Sometimes simple remedies are the best, just like the juice of raw potatoes. Grandparents usually know a lot about these remedies. "KTee"xx

Witoxicity said...

@KTee
Thanks, KTee. Yes, you're absolutely right! Older folks have many simple, traditional remedies up their sleeves. Gotta respect them for that. I wish I had paid more attention to what my grandmother said when I was younger. :)