I am trying to nurture my moisture barrier and my acid mantle by using cleansers that are around the skin's natural pH which is 5.5, slightly acidic. This blog post by Skin and Tonics was a revelation to me! I stopped using my old cleansers that I feared were too alkaline (with a pH of 6 or higher). I am not 100% sure of the pH of my old cleansers because I don't have pH test strips and couldn't find information online about it. However, I tried to keep using them, but I noticed that they make my skin feel more dry compared to my new "skin pH friendly" cleansers that I will talk about shortly. Not sure if that's just a psychosomatic response or not! Haha. But I'm putting them to good use by using them to clean my make-up brushes and sponges. :)
These are the cleansers that I'm currently using-
Oil Cleanser: Shu Uemura Cleansing Beauty Oil Premium A/I
Water-based Cleansers: SU:M37 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick and Tosowoong Enzyme Powder Wash
Shu Uemura Cleansing Beauty Oil Premium A/I
I've actually been using oil cleansers or balms for years as a first cleanser at night to effectively remove make-up, sunscreen, and any dirt/oil that may build up during the day. I really like this cleansing oil. I've also used the Anti/Oxi Skin Refining version from the same brand. They both emulsify nicely and wash off pretty cleanly (though I still always do a second cleanse). There is a faint scent, but I do not think it's strong. I actually think it smells lovely. The only downside is that these Shu Uemura cleansing oils are kind of pricey. I paid $36 for 150ml for the Premium A/I at Shu Uemura.com.
The instructions say to use 3-4 pumps, but you only really need one pump. It's enough to massage your whole face with. I ordered the bottle in the picture in November 2015 and after 3 months it's about half gone. So I estimate that this will last another 2-3 months.
Ingredients: Mineral Oil, Corn Germ Oil, Safflower Seed Oil, PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Ethylhexyl Stearate, Jojoba Seed Oil, Avocado Oil, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Ethyl Oleate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Isopropyl Myristate, Isopropyl Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Isostearic Acid, Arginine, Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate, Tocopherol, Capryloyl Glycine, Sea Water, Sorbitan Trioleate, Polysorbate 85, Glycerin, Capryl Glycol / Caprylyl Glycol, Linalool, Parfum / Fragrance
SU:M37 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick
I first read about this product in March 2015 in a Refinery29 article, which I remember being intrigued by, but ultimately decided not to purchase. Then Birchbox released a sneak-peek/reveal video of the upcoming month's Birchbox Sample Choices and one of the options was to pick the featured "On-Trend: K-Beauty Box." And I was like, "I need that box." And then Charlotte Cho of SokoGlam did an unboxing video of the featured box and I think that was when I officially fell down the rabbit-hole of Korean/Asian Beauty. I don't know, I guess I'm a sucker for advertising. (I really loved that box though).
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| Look! It has real rose petals in it! #fancy |
Anyway, I made my first K-Beauty purchase from SokoGlam, which included the SU:M37 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick. I chose this cleanser because it has a pH of 5.5 and I remembered the article talking about the fermented ingredients, which I'm totally into. I loved it at first! I was rubbing the whole thing on my face, "to massage it." Um, but you don't really need to do that and it wastes a lot of product. Now I rub it in my damp hands once or twice, use my hands to create foam, and use that to wash my face. This product is pretty good and it's great for traveling since it won't cut into your liquid quota at TSA. However, it is a little pricey ($28 at SokoGlam and $26 at Memebox). And I found another cleanser that does a better job and is inexpensive!
Ingredients: Glycerol, Water, Orange Peel Oil, Lime Peel Oil, Lemon Peel Oil, Green Tea Seed Oil, Coconut Oil, Basil Oil, Ylang Ylang Flower Oil, Majoram Oil, Fermented Damask Rose Extract, Apricot Seed Oil, Olive OIl, Sunflower Oil, Betaine, Stearic Acid, Lauric Acid, Camellia Oil, Tocopheral, Rose Flower Water, Potassium Hydroxide, Lauryl Betaine
Tosowoong Enzyme Powder Wash
I've been reading a lot about Asian Beauty products lately and I decided to try the Tosowoong Enzyme Powder Wash after reading some rave reviews (especially this review by Fiddy Snails at Fifty Shades of Snail).
This cleanser also has a pH of 5.5, which is great for me! It also cleanses my skin thoroughly while also leaving it feeling soft. The Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick can leave your skin feel a little bit dry if you're not careful. But I never get that stripped feeling from this Enzyme Powder Wash. Another plus is that it is also travel friendly. It is a powder (if you couldn't tell by the name, lol) that you add water to, in order to create foam.
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| Tosowoong Enzyme Powder Wash, Dry. |
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| Tosowoong Enzyme Powder Wash, Water added to create foam. |
The best part is that this cleanser is only $9 on Memebox!!! Yeah, the performance plus the price of this product is enough to make it HG for me. I mean, the Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick is okay, but it's not that great to justify the price when there is something cheaper that performs just as well, if not better.
Ingredients: Corn Starch, Sodium Lauroyl Aspartate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Sodium Palmitate, Badger Oil, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Papain (140 mg), Maltodextrin, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Titanium Dioxide, Alcohol Denat., Phenoxyethanol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Perfume
Hope you enjoyed these three mini reviews! Did you guys know about the acid mantle or am I the only one that recently had a major revelation? After becoming more conscious about pH and hydration, I have already seen a difference in my skin. I am usually acne-prone, but I'm enjoying healthier skin with less break-outs. I still have a couple pimples on my jawline (which I'm guessing are hormonal breakouts), but they are healing faster than they ever did in the past. Maybe one day I'll be completely acne-free. :) I can dream!!!
(note: all links in this blog post are non-affiliated and non-referral. all products were purchased by me with my own money. all thoughts are my own!)
(if you would like, this is a referral link to Memebox* which will get you 20% off off your first purchase. and this is a referral link to SokoGlam* which will get you 20% off your first purchase of $25 or more.)
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