Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus globulus
Gives the cream its quiet coolness on the skin — noticeable, never fierce.
The carrier
Grape seed
A light, fast-absorbing oil pressed from wine-grape seeds. It is why the cream slides and then disappears.
Vitis vinifera
Grape seed oil is one of the lightest cosmetic carrier oils there is — high in linoleic acid, low in tack. It gives your hands enough glide to work a muscle properly, then sinks in fast enough that you can put a shirt back on straight away. It is also, unglamorously, why the cream feels expensive.
What it does here
Carries the two essential oils and gives your hands glide. Without a good carrier you cannot work a muscle for ten minutes — the cream drags, and you stop after two.
Why it does not feel greasy
Grape seed oil is high in linoleic acid and light in texture, so it absorbs rather than sitting on the surface. You can dress within a minute of using it.
An honest note
Grape seed extract is often sold on its antioxidant content. That evidence is for oral and cosmetic-skin use — we make no claim that it does anything for circulation or recovery from the outside.
Formulation
What is deliberately not in it
Most muscle rubs work by shouting. The 100ml Soothing Cream Gel is built around the things it leaves out. (The roll-on is a different formula — its full ingredient list is on its own page.)
- No methyl salicylate
- No camphor
- No hormones
- No steroids
- No parabens
- No synthetic dyes
The other two
What else is in the tube
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus globulus
Gives the cream its quiet coolness on the skin — noticeable, never fierce.
Niaouli
Melaleuca viridiflora
A soft green aromatic from the same family as tea tree. It rounds the eucalyptus so the cream smells like a plant, not a pharmacy.
Pre + post workout
Soothing Cream Gel
Order online with free delivery from HK$250, or pick it up at Watsons and Mannings across Hong Kong.