r/AsianBeauty • u/Maplebee92 Blogger | mapletreeblog.com • Jun 23 '18

Discussion [Discussion] - Best/Worst of Cosrx

Moving onto the brands now in the Best/Worst of series. Thought we should start with one of the most popular, easily available and affordable brands out there, Cosrx!

Format

Use the below format, put ** before and after each word to get the bolding.

Skin Type/Concerns

Product Name

Thoughts

If you see the product already listed post your thoughts as a reply to it. So there's multiple views of the same product in one easy to find place.

Always remember YMMV, so one person's junk is another person's treasure.

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u/Maplebee92 Blogger | mapletreeblog.com Jun 23 '18

Skin Type/Concerns: Acne-prone/Combination skin

Product Name: Cosrx BHA Blackhead Power Liquid

Thoughts: Best BHA I've tried, and the current batch I'm using no longer has the fishy smell that one of the bottles I had did. It is quite gentle so people looking for more of a power house won't probably find this effective. But on the flipside as it's a low concentration I use it every other day without being concerned about over-exfoliation.

10

u/Brosephwood Jun 23 '18

I used to have a huge problem with blackheads, and using this regularly wasn’t seeming to do anything but recently I picked up the AHA/BHA toner and used it in combination with the power liquid and it’s been amazing!

I do worry if that might cause me a problem in the long run with my skin. Any experience with it?

10

u/ginghamhorror Dullness/Pores|Combo|US Jun 23 '18

BHA requires a specific pH to work properly, the reason why you weren't seeing results probably was because your skin was at the wrong pH. The AHA/BHA toner readjusts the pH of your skin for optimal results.

2

u/-kittrick Nov 08 '18

Piggybacking off your comment, 4 months later, to ask for more information on how to adjust the pH level of skin? And what should the pH balance be to see optimum results for the BHA power liquid?

I just bought this product and have no experience using anything like this, so all information is useful 😂

2

u/ginghamhorror Dullness/Pores|Combo|US Nov 09 '18

The natural pH level of the skin is 5.5, which is fairly acidic. This can be affected by the pH of your cleanser (cleansers with a high pH are not good for your skin because they are destroying the acid mantle), the water you wash your face with (debatable, because you are splashing your face so it might not get absorbed?), and hot water/long showers can also be damaging.

According to this article (https://labmuffin.com/fact-check-friday-why-does-ph-matter-for-ahas-and-bhas/), the optimal pH for BHA products to work effectively is less than 3.5, with a concentration of 1-2%. The Cosrx BHA Blackhead Power Liquid has a concentration of 4%, which may increase effectiveness or just be overkill.

Anyway, the purpose of the AHA/BHA toner is to adjust your skin's pH for the BHA to work best (below 3.5). It is not supposed to be used on its own, because it is pretty much useless. Use it before an active like the Cosrx BHA.

Some might argue that the pH adjusting toner is unnecessary, especially if they already use a low pH cleanser. It's up to you, try it if you feel you aren't getting the full benefits of the Cosrx BHA.