Reviewing my favourite cleanser ever!

So, hi everyone. Not sure if anyone is reading this but if you're here, I would like to say sorry first because I’m kind of struggling with my posting schedule for this blog. I just love to procrastinate a lot (blaming the INFP in me) and I’m also lazy, a great combo for disaster, but I really really want to make this whole blogging thing work for me so… I guess I’m going to start with posting like twice a month. I cannot cut myself too much slack or nothing will ever get done.

Anyway.

I got a new skincare review I want to share with you guys today and it’s for a well-known and well-loved, I would say, cleanser from a popular Korean brand, COSRX.

When I first got into skincare, I did quite a lot of research about it. I wanted to learn more about my skin type, what kind of products would work for me, stuff I should look out for, all that. And that’s how I came across this cleanser from this K-beauty brand. It’s a very popular cleanser recommendation for oily skin. Majority of the skincare YouTubers I watched would recommend it left and right. Then again, I saw lots of good reviews for this product and suffice to say, I was intrigued. Extremely intrigued. So, I went on Shopee (because this brand is so expensive here in Malaysia and at least I can use vouchers and stuff to get it for a bit cheaper on Shopee) and started to look it up. Great thing that they have trial size (20ml), so I bought the mini one, along with their oil-free moisturizer, to try it out.

 

Turning and Learning

For this section, I decide to put up the screenshot of the whole ingredient list so that it’s more convenient for you guys to check out what else is in the product and so that it doesn’t sound like I’m making stuff up.

All information regarding the ingredients is from INCIDecoder.

 

Screenshot taken from COSRX official website.

1. Water (our universal solvent)

2. Cocamidopropyl Betaine (common surfactant in cleansing products like shampoos and body washes; also great at stabilizing bubbles and balancing between properly cleansing but not overdoing it)

3. Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate (a mild cleansing agent with excellent water solubility and good rinsability)

4. Sodium Chloride (also known as common salt; it works as a thickener in cleansing formula, which is how your cleanser gets that nice gel texture)

5. Polysorbate 20 (a common little helper ingredient that helps water and oil to mix together)

Looking at the top 5 ingredients above, I can definitely see how this COSRX cleanser gets their nice texture and gives me that nice cleansing experience. I talk about this more in the next section of the review, so I’m not going to elaborate much about them here. Also, I’m not a chemist, therefore I won't get too deep and technical.

Now, let’s take a look at their other notable ingredients, which I really like.

1. Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf oil (the famous tea tree oil and one of my favourite ingredients for oily skin; has good antibacterial, anti-acne, and anti-inflammatory property)

2. Ulmus Davidiana Root extract (it’s plant extract which is used as a traditional medicine in China and Korea; a great skin moisturizer and also has anti-inflammatory property)

3. Saccharomyces ferment (it’s a type of yeast; a natural deodorant and good skin moisturizer, also soothing)

4. Allantoin (soothing ingredient, and can also promote wound healing)

5. Betaine Salicylate (it’s a combo of salicylic acid and betaine; a mild exfoliant)

An interesting thing about betaine salicylate is that many Korean skincare products use it as a substitute for salicylic acid because they can only use pure salicylic acid in tiny amounts due to regulations. But I like having betaine salicylate in my skincare product because it’s 2 times gentler than salicylic acid, which means that 4% of this ingredient equals to 2% of salicylic acid in a product. If you’re a beginner and want to try incorporating salicylic acid in your routine, or if you've tried it but your skin finds the ingredient too harsh, then I would recommend finding something with betaine salicylate in it. I think it would make a good intro to salicylic acid for beginners.

 

The Texture and the Feels

The cleanser has this clear, somewhat thick gel texture to it which I enjoy (thanks to the ingredients in it). It still has its foamy lather, but it’s minimal and not as rich as cream cleanser is, so if you like the cleansing feeling that foam and bubbles give you, you might find this one not as satisfying in terms of the experience. But to those who aren’t a fan of bubbles in their cleansers, you might find it tolerable. As for me, I do enjoy bubbles but not to the point that it’s a big fluffy foam, so this one hits the right spot. Since it’s a gel type, you definitely don’t need to squeeze out a lot onto your palm. Just a small amount is enough for your whole face and neck.

Personally, I really like the feel of it and the cleansing experience. My skin feels clean and fresh after every wash, and like its claims, it doesn’t strip my skin of moisture or leave it feeling tight. The cleanser is also easy to rinse off. It doesn’t take much time for me to get rid of all the lather and it certainly doesn’t leave me with the soapy feeling afterward. It really is nice.

In terms of fragrance, it does have a slight tea tree oil scent in it. Like that herbal medication oil kind of scent. But it’s mild and I don’t mind this kind of smell since it's not overbearing for me.

 

Personal Thought

I fell in love with it at first wash.

Something I noticed during the first few times I started using this cleanser was that it took some time for my skin to become oily. With my previous cleanser, it takes like 5 to 10 minutes for the oil to return on my face. With this one, however, it takes slightly longer which got me surprised and happy.

It also does help with the sebaceous filaments on my nose. Of course, the cleanser doesn’t get rid of them all permanently with just one wash, but with consistent use, I can visibly see them lessen on my nose, along with my whitehead and blackhead issue. I like that it’s gentle enough to use on my acne and since it’s packed with soothing, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial ingredients, it helps a lot in making sure that my acne and whiteheads don’t worsen. I especially like using it in the morning to wash away all the oil on my face. I just love the clean feeling it gives me.

Will I recommend it? Absolutely. This is my favourite cleanser (I immediately purchased the biggest size they got right after I finished the smallest one), and if you’re oily like me, then definitely try this one out if you haven’t yet. But make sure to buy their mini size first because in the case of it not working out for you, there would be no regret in terms of money and waste.

However.

I’ve seen some online reviews saying that this cleanser still feels stripping and not gentle enough for their skin, so if your skin is not too oily, I wouldn’t recommend it to you. But if you’d like to find something similar to this cleanser, you might want to check out this brand called Seoul 4PM. They have a low pH cleanser similar to COSRX one; it’s their Galactomyces Niacinamide Gel Cleanser. It also has betaine salicylate in it, which is nice if you want that gentle exfoliating experience from the COSRX cleanser. People said online that the Seoul 4PM one is not as stripping and much gentler than COSRX, so it’s suitable for sensitive skin as well. Another great bonus point, the price is quite cheaper, too, from my research on Shopee platform.

Obviously, I haven’t tried this brand. All of the claims above come from online reviews that I saw, so you should always take it with a grain of salt. To be honest, I was actually interested in this brand, but since the COSRX cleanser works really well with me, I don’t really see the need to replace it for the time being. Maybe in the future?

Although there's already been a lot of reviews for this low pH cleanser from COSRX on the internet, I hope you still find this one helpful in a way. There might be little changes in the way I present my posts as I continue to figure out what works for me and this blog and what doesn't, so hopefully it won't disturb your reading experience too much.

Thank you for reading. Hope you're having a good day and see you again in my next post! Bye (●'◡'●)