Why is Gillette Body Wash Discontinued? (We Have the Answer!)

As of 2017, Gillette Body Wash was one of the most popular brands of body wash on the market for men! So the question is, with such a great track record, why is Gillette Body Wash discontinued?

Gillette Body Wash was discontinued in the year 2018. While the Gillette company did not give an official reason for discontinuing the body wash, it is possible that the ingredients in the product and the popularity of competing body washes contributed to its cancellation.

Gillette Body Wash was beloved, but learning why it may have been discontinued can be a great early warning system for comparable products. In this article, we’ll remember what it was that made Gillete Body Wash great as well as investigate some possible reasons for its discontinuation.

Knowing Gillette Body Wash

Understanding what Gillette Body Wash was and it’s popularity is the first step to answering the question: why is Gillette Body Wash discontinued?

Gillette Body Wash was a men’s cleansing product that came in several different categories of scent and ingredient content. 

It was created by the Gillette company, which produces many products for men’s hygiene, including shaving foams and gels, razors, and even exfoliants. However, Gillette Body Wash was one of their most popular products according to customer reviews. 

Benefits of Gillette Body Wash

Let’s take a look at some of the things customers loved about Gillette Body Wash in the list below.

• Variety of Body Wash Products – Gillette had more than one option when it came to their body wash products. For example, for men with drier skin, the Hydrator gel was available. There was even a 2-in-1 shampoo version! Variety was helpful for customers.
• Pleasing Smell – According to popular customer reviews, Gillette Body Wash scents were a cut above the competition when men first applied the product during showers, satisfying both male customers and their significant others!
• Animal Testing Safe – According to the Environmental Working Group, the company that produced Gillette Body Wash took a pledge with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in the making of their product!
• Affordable Pricing – A sixteen-ounce Gillette Body Wash bottle used to be available for lower than $10.
• Dual-Phase Technology – One of the Gillette Hydrator Body Wash’s main claims to fame was the dual-phase technology, which kept the white and blue cleansers separate until the moment the bottle was squeezed and the wash was applied to the skin for fresh activation. 
• Optimal Moisturization – After using Gillete Hydrator Body Wash, customers who loved the smell also found that they didn’t need to apply moisturizing lotion thanks to the effects of their Gillette Body Wash.

With so many great benefits to using Gillette Body Wash, customers searching for replacements now that the product has been cancelled may find it difficult.

When Was Gillette Body Wash Discontinued?

Gillette Body Wash was discontinued in the year 2018. This was to the disappointment of many customers, and several retail websites like Target and Bath ; Body Works feature reviews asking for the popular product’s return. 

The Reasons Behind Gillette Body Wash Being Discontinued

Now that we’ve investigated just how many factors made Gillette Body Wash great, the fact that it has been discontinued can seem even more surprising. Let’s look into the reasons Gillette Body Wash may have been discontinued, although the Gillette company has offered no official explanation.

Disadvantages of Gillette Body Wash

As popular and sought-after as Gillette Body Wash may be, there are some disadvantages to the product which may have contributed to its discontinuation. Check out the list below for a few potential reasons why Gillette Body Wash was discontinued:

• Contained Micro Plastics
• Short Scent Life Compared to Competing Products
• Lack of Effect on Acne

These factors could be just a few of the complaints customers made which the Gillette company paid attention to, resulting in the discontinuation of Gillette Body Wash. Let’s take a closer look at these specific complaints.

Contained Micro Plastics

According to an article on micro plastics written for the news website The Guardian, Gillette Body Wash was among beauty products in 2016 that contained these tiny materials.

Understanding why micro plastics were a bad thing can be helpful in guessing why the Gillette Body Wash product was discontinued.

Micro plastics are tiny beads of plastic which have been broken down, either as a result of plastic waste being left out in the elements, or intentionally by companies. Specifically, beauty product manufacturers often used micro plastic in their products to help customers exfoliate their skin.

Have you ever used a beauty product with tiny, hard beads that help to scrub clean the pores? It is possible that these beads were actually microscopic pieces of plastic. Although effective, micro plastics are harmful to the environment.

In the United States after 2015, President Obama signed a governmental Act banning the manufacturing, packaging, and distribution of cosmetics that rinse-off. The reasoning behind this decision was that micro plastics can find their way into the ocean and pollute earth’s environment.

Additionally, in 2018, the year that Gillette cancelled it’s Body Wash, United Kingdom enacted a similar ban. Micro plastics that were present in Gillette Body Wash is one of the reasons it may have been discontinued.

Short Scent Life Compared to Competing Products

Although Gillette Body Wash was famous for its great smell, and that smell is still missed by customers according to online reviews, the scent did not always last as long as competing products.

For example, one customer review before Gillette Body Wash was cancelled claims that Old Spice Body Wash lasted much longer than Gillette’s version: up to eight hours, while Gillette Body Wash’s effect faded shortly after showering.

Lack of Effect on Acne

Similarly to its poor performance when compared to other body wash products’ scent life, Gillette Body Wash did not always satisfy customers looking to clear up their acne problems.

Acne is often the result of oil and dirt irritating the skin. If there’s one thing you hope your body wash does, it is remove that oil and dirt! 

However, according to customer reviews, Gillette Body Wash smelled nice but failed to improve men’s acne even after multiple uses. 

Summary

Gillette Body Wash may have been popular in the early 2000s, but even its benefits couldn’t save it from discontinuation. Although the scent of the product was popular with customers and is still sought after today, Gillette Body Wash contained negative ingredients like micro plastics and didn’t hold up against competitors like Old Spice Body Wash.

Although no official explanation has been offered by Gillette, these are a few of the reasons that Gillette Body Wash was discontinued in 2018.