Do you have that one cleanser that would never go wrong with your skin? No matter if it is AM or PM? No matter if it’s your good skin day or bad skin day, you’d still reach out for it? It is there, always there, by your side, always ready to wash off those dirt and gunks in your skin without ever making your skin feel or look bad. Well I have one! And only one, I guess, well, for now.
And it is *taraaaaa* Cosrx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser.
Well, like most of my Holy Grails, this one is love at first sight. Anyway, before I go on declaring my love to this one, let me tell you that I have oily combination skin with pore concern. Before using this one I have never had that one cleanser that has got me hooked for long. I used to use Bio Essence Miracle Bio Water Foamy Cleanser, while I love how gentle it is, I feel like it is not enough for an evening cleanser that goes deep into my pores. Then I found Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash and while it is really great for my combination skin, the price tag is twice the Cosrx’s price. Okay, now let’s get into the deeeets!
Ingredients
Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate, Polysorbate 20, Styrax Japonicus Branch/Fruit/Leaf Extract, Butylene Glycol, Saccharomyces Ferment, Cryptomeria Japonica Leaf Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Leaf Extract, Pinus Palustris Leaf Extract, Ulmus Davidiana Root Extract, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Flower Extract, Pueraria Lobata Root Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Allantoin, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Betaine Salicylate, Citric Acid, Ethyl Hexanediol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Sodium Benzoate, Disodium EDTA.
It is free from paraben, sulfate, alcohol, and silicone. It is a cleanser with betaine salicylate which is a BHA that is gentle on the skin and is known to improve skin tone and texture. “The compound is recommended for skin that is prone to mild or low acne as it breaks down keratin and sebum that builds up over time in the skin’s pores” (www.ceramicle.com).
This really satisfies my need for a cleanser that can go deep in the pores without too deeply cleansing. It also contains tea tree leaf oil which has been great on my skin (I’ve been using The Body Shop tea tree oil since 2015 until about early 2018 and now I really rarely use it cause my skin is getting less and less oily as I age). However, there are people who don’t really fancy tea tree oil so you might wanna check what your skin can and cannot tolerate. It also has citric acid which is one of anti-aging ingredients. Other notable ones are allantoin, Cryptomeria Japonica Leaf Extract (a humectant), and evening primrose flower extract which is said to be good for dry skin. Saccharomyces ferment is also listed among the top ones on the ingredients list which is popular for its brightening and glowing effect (Yay! Love it).
Texture and Scent
A clear gel that is not too viscous and quite lightweight. It doesn’t contain artificial fragrance but it smells of a very subtle hint of tea tree oil.
The gel consistency gets foamy as you lather it up, but not too whipped kind of foamy, for me it is just nice.
Experience
I fell in love because it gives me the best of both worlds wonderfully: keeping oil and acne at bay but at the same time, very gentle for daily use. This one is a no-frills cleanser that does its job as a cleanser, falling neither into the squeaky clean strong deep-cleansing type of cleansers (that we usually opt for during our congested pores, extra oily day) nor a super creamy, moist, usually with ceramides or peptides as ingredients. I love an intense deep clean cleanser on weekly basis and not daily. This suffices my daily need to remove dirt and excess oil, keeping my skin clean for the next steps in the routine, keep pores unclogged, and not irritating or being harsh while doing all those.
The fact that his cleanser doesn’t irritate my skin even on bad days make it even more loved since people usually opt for a much gentler cleanser than their daily ones whenever they have breakouts, sunburn, or inflammation. On bad skin days I’d still choose this one, my daily one. I guess this is because of the low pH nature of the cleanser, which is pH5.0-5.5, skin’s natural pH. It doesn’t aggravate my open acne or inflammation that I sometimes get. It also doesn’t strip off my skin’s natural moisture and there is no tight or taut or slippery feeling.
I also noticed that this cleanser really helps my skin texture (along with my glycolic acid toners and all) because it always leave my skin feeling smoothened and soft to the touch. It might also be good to note that this cleanser doesn’t claim to make your acne disappear or make your skin brightened so do not expect this to do those! YMMV, loves!
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