(please read the earlier blog on the ‘the Papaya Factor’ before this one)….coming back to the discussion on food in cosmetics, I think the credit for being a pioneer in this arena goes to our good old friend the ‘lemon’. I remember as a kid, when the lemon swiftly made his move from Limca to Lyril (that soap with a strong lemony fragrance). That was definitely a path breaking move. I am now told that Limca contains ‘no fruit juice or pulp’, and I wonder if the Limca guys decided to put that disclaimer after the lemon left them to shower with the dancing girl under the waterfall (remember the Lyril ads -:) ). But never mind, it doesn’t matter now. The lemon is still a hero. Some might argue that the ‘clove’ beats the ‘lemon’ in the ‘food in cosmetic’ race, as the clove was the first to feature in a toothpaste - remember the ‘Promise’ toothpaste we had back then. But frankly, for many including me, the toothpaste is still a semi-food item and not a cosmetic. It goes in your mouth and traces of it might accidentally end up in your stomach – like the chewing gum. Nevertheless I still credit the lemon as pioneer for bringing about a revolution in the ‘food in cosmetic’ industry.

For a while, the lemon was on a roll. He made his presence felt everywhere from beauty soaps, to shampoos, to shaving creams and even the talcum powder. But then somewhere down the line he lost it. The lemon’s biggest mistake, I think, was he became over ambitious and accepted offers from even the non cosmetic guys. The lemon was everywhere. You could find him in dishwashing soaps, air fresheners, and window cleaners. That’s when the cosmetic guys knew they needed a new fruit and the lemon lost his charm.

The crush of the lemon led to the rise of the orange, banana, papaya, peach, green apple, avocado, and others. The rules of the game were simple. If you needed a place in cosmetics, you need to be photogenic and you needed to sound exotic. Taste didn’t matter. Hence the jackfruit never made it. I feel sorry for the ‘chikoo’ too. But the one who undoubtedly created a sensation in the industry was ‘Aloe Vera’. The guy just rocked the cosmetic world. He was like “Wow!” I mean the guy had the looks and even had a first and last name. That’s so very hep! And most important, many people didn’t know what an Aloe Vera was (many still don’t). That gave him an added exclusivity making him even more desirable.

Hopefully Aloe doesn’t make the same mistake as the lemon did, and keeps a close eye on Jojoba. The Gillette guys already have Jojoba in one of their shave gels, and I don’t think it would take the Jojoba long to catch up in the race. But fortunately, thanks to food lovers like me, I am sure there is enough room for both the Aloe and Jojoba (and a few more are welcome too) in our shampoo bottle and our shave gels.

PS: When is Lifebuoy coming up with an Aloed version? I think the red soap is a little harsh on my delicate and sensitive skin :-)