I cannot deny how much I love the brand CosRx. I blog about them often and has been really useful when it comes to healing and preventing my pimples, and even giving me a smoother skin which I thought I could only achieve from an expensive skin treatment in dermatologist clinic. (FYI: this is not a sponsored post.) I think you could say, I've used many of their products already. But there's one product I've been wanting to try for so long. It's one of their best selling products. It's not that pricey either. But whenever I have a chance to buy it, I skip it. Probably because I'm loyal to Cetaphil and Himalaya Herbals. I only try a new facial cleanser when someone sends it to me for review. But since they launched a new version of this highly raved facial cleanser, I finally decided to buy one, to see if all the hype and some negative reviews are real. Scroll down to read my CosRx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser review.
WHAT IS IT?
CosRx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser is a 2-in-1 deep facial cleanser and gentle skin exfoliator. It claims to penetrate deep into the skin for comprehensive cleansing that doesn't strip your skin of its natural oils. It contains purifying botanical ingredients and mild acids to gently cleanse your skin to its most supple and clear texture. Lastly, it's also formulated to remove makeup and other oil-based residues with a skin-friendly pH of 5.
INGREDIENTS
It contains BHA that isn't Salicylic Acid, instead, it's the Betaine Salicylate which is a milder and used by brands in countries where the use of salicylic acid is prohibited. It gently removes dead skin cells and improves skin texture. This also contains tea tree oil that helps diminish blemishes for a clearer complexion, delivers softer, smoother, fairer skin. And Citric Acid that is known to have anti-aging benefits but not that good for those with sensitive skin. You can read its ingredient analysis in Skin Carisma.
PERFORMANCE
APPLICATION: Gently massage the Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser all over the damp skin. This will remove the irritants that have built up overnight. And before bedtime, it will remove sebum and dead skin cells. Rinse off with lukewarm water.
SCENT: It smells exactly like CosRx Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol! But if you haven't tried that yet, it smells like a little lemon with a little mint.
PACKAGING: It is packaged in a white rubberized tube that is common to facial cleansers so it's easy to squeeze out the product. It does not come with a box, but it is wrapped with a plastic wrapper instead.
FORMULA: It is indeed a gel, a clear transparent gel to be exact. It's thick but quite runny for a gel, it easily slips down my fingers. It's also easy to massage on the damp skin but it does not foam as I expected. If you want a foamy texture, you will need to squeeze more product than you actually need. Although it bubbles very little only, the clear gel turns white when damped.
RESULT: When I first heard of the CosRx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser, it has an overwhelming amount of positive reviews. However, there are also some negative comments that almost says the same thing: It dries out their skin and caused little bumps on their skin. I think the latter is because they have sensitive skin and as mentioned in the Ingredients Section above, this is not for that type. But the drying claim, it happened to me as well. But not right away.
I am using this as a second cleanser. And after I first used this facial cleanser, my skin feels really clean and normal. No drying feeling at all. But after a week of using, that's when I feel like my oily skin is starting to get dry. But not a dry like it's getting rough and flaky, more like a tightening feeling. And take note, I'm still using the same hydrating toner and moisturizer before I started using this product. So it means it's this product that causing the tightened feeling. But I continued using it for another more week. I know, why take the risk right? Besides I'm reviewing it, I find that this cleanser really works.
So here's my dilemma, I like how the CosRx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser helps reduced my pimples and I could see my skin is getting clearer. But I feel like it's dehydrating my skin too. So in the end, despite the con, I'm still using this facial cleanser. I just use 4 layers of hydrating toners every day, twice a day: 2 layers of the Hada Labo Gokyujun and 2 layers of the Purito Centella Green Level Calming Toner which I will review next week.
VERDICT
PROS: It has acne-fighting and anti-aging ingredients. It's a good second cleanser that removes excess sebum and helps clear the skin of pimples.
CONS: Can be drying.
Will I buy it again? I'll answer this question after I try and review the CosRx Low ph Cleansing Milk Cleanser. Even though I love how it clears my skin from acne, I'm still unsure if I can keep up using 4 layers of two different hydrating toners every day.
WHERE TO BUY?
You can purchase the CosRx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser in Style Korean for $10. They ship worldwide and offers free international shipping on a certain amount of orders.
If you live in the Philippines, you can purchase this in local shops such as Go Bloom & Glow for Php486. Also in The Skincare Curator and Kbeauty Cafe for the same price as Php540. All shops ships nationwide.
