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Sulwhasoo: when even samples are fancy

click here to read about Why the pH of your cleanser matters . But low pH cleansers are rare and hard to formulate, leaving very few options that are enjoyable to use.

In this post:

Product details

How well does it foam?

Ingredients list

Final thoughts

Product Details

Full product name:

Purpose:

Scent:

pH result:

Quantity:

Rating:

Where to get it:

Repurchase:

How well does it foam?

Pretty packaging is pretty, I have to admit. I love the Sulwhasoo motif and how subtly they display it.

Straight from the package, before adding water

Cleanser and water acting like the Montagues and the Capulets.

if

Less water = thicker foam with smaller bubbles

One of the amazing things about this cleanser is the micro-fine bubbles it makes; rather than traditional lather that breaks down rapidly as you expose it to oils from your skin, these bubbles seem to last forever. It's almost unnerving; they just keep swirling around your face as long as you let them, until you get tired of it and rinse them off.

More water = looser foam, larger bubbles

This isn't the fragile foam of those bubble pump cleansers, this stuff is dense and springy

Denser and bouncier than ever, what is going on?!

After 4+ min of hard lathering, the foam defies all attempts to disperse it

With half the product I used above, or less!

Ingredients list

Water, Glycerin, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Sodium myristoyl glutamate, PEG-75, Cocoamidopropyl Betaine, Stearic Acid, Glycol Distearate, Oldenlandia Diffusa Extract, Hydrolyzed Ginseng Saponins, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Paeonia Albiflora Root Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Seed Extract, Polygonatum Officinale Rhizome/Root Extract, Lilium Tigrinum Flower/leaf/stem Extract, Rehmannia glutinosa, Honey, Licorice Root Extract, Licorice Root Extract, Ophiopogon japonicus root extract, Niacinamide, Lactic Acid, Sodium salicylate, Butylene Glycol, Methoxy PEG-114/Polyepsilon Caprolacton, Cocamide MEA, PEG 150 Distearate, Polyquaternium-7, 1,2-Hexanediol, Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate, Fragrance

As you can see in the Cosdna link, this cleanser has very few triggers and none over a 2. It's also chock-full of delicious-sounding herbal extracts, but I'm not going to dive into those either as cleansers spend very little time on your face and thus don't really have a chance to impart benefits.









Final thoughts





Hanbang low-pH foaming cleanser, so naturally it racks up bonus points for traditional Korean herbal goodness.



Look at that delicious pH result. As soon as I saw this, I wanted it on my face. Amazing the joys that samples can bring. And yes, I did perch this on a box I was packing to take this photo, pre-move. Desperate times, desperate measures and all that.



Pros:

Low pH

Foam will not quit

Foam seriously will not quit .

. Smells like a forest that just wants to love you, and love you hard

Easily available in sample sizes from US or KR sellers

Cons:

Expensive because it's a luxury brand

Is a bit slow to mix at first

Smells like a forest that just wants to love you, and love you hard I've been using this cleanser for about three weeks, and was supposed to be patch testing a different cleanser by now. But the packets have been so convenient as we move across the country, and the foam has been so foamy that I've not managed to summon the motivation to rotate this out and get testing that new cleanser. Eventually. I'll uh ... mmm. Trees. Forests. Hanbang.



All the best,

-Cat



** Disclaimer: All products reviewed/mentioned in my blog, are 100% purchased with my own money, with a single exception of a press sample I tested & reviewed in 2015 which swore me off of them forever. This blog contains both affiliate and non-affiliate links, and clicking the former before you shop means that this blog may receive a small commission to assist in this blog supporting itself. Please see my Contact Info & Disclaimer policy for more information. I think the pH + the insane foam (for an acidic cleanser) speaks for itself. Not only it's a strong-foaming, low-ph cleanser, it's also alow-pH foaming cleanser, so naturally it racks up bonus points for traditional Korean herbal goodness.Amazing the joys that samples can bring. And yes, I did perch this on a box I was packing to take this photo, pre-move. Desperate times, desperate measures and all that.I've been using this cleanser for about three weeks, and wasto be patch testing a different cleanser by now. But the packets have been so convenient as we move across the country, and the foam has been so foamy that I've not managed to summon the motivation to rotate this out and get testing that new cleanser. Eventually. I'll uh ... mmm. Trees. Forests. Hanbang.All the best,-Cat

I'm current locked in an epic struggle between our cross-country moving company, the city permit office, and our local moving company; it's throwing me off my blogging game as I tryto throw myself off a cliff. It's difficult.things need to be thrown and I need to throw them.But I'm taking a moment to unglue my phone from my cheek and stop rage-throwing things to unveil a new low pH foaming cleanser contender: the (unsurprisingly) luscious Sulwhasoo Snowise EX Cleansing Foam.One of the things that I really appreciate about Korean products is how readily available they are in sample sizes, at least compared to traditional western offerings. That's how I stumbled across this low-pH cleanser hidden in my stash; I was packing my stash for the move, and my pH strips were handy.If you are new to the low pH cleanser life,As you can see, I have yet to purchase this in full size, although I do have a heck of a lot of samples; and at 4ml per pouch, I've managed to snag myself a good amount of product without committing to a full size.Sulwhasoo Snowise EX Cleansing FoamA foaming cleanser, which can be used as a sole cleanser in the AM, or as a second cleanser following an oil cleanser as part of a PM double cleanse. If you're new to double cleansing, check out myLike a forest is trying to hump your face. Personally, I've grown to love the Hanbang (한방, traditional Korean herbal medicine) herbal smells favoured by companies like Sulwhasoo, but if you don't like using things that smell like a grove of pines and field of flowers are trying to make sweet love to your epidermis, stay away.Yes, oh yes. A beautiful pH 5, image is below.The full size is a hefty 150ml, but I purchased a set of 20x4ml samples, so I have 80ml. Also comes in travel size tubes of 15ml.4/5, because it's a low pH foaming cleanser that actually foams (more on that later), but I've docked it a point for being a bit difficult to use and also for being expensive, although it's a prestige brand, so it's a luxury item.I am not sure where my original sample came from, but when I found out the pH, I hauled tail to Amazon Prime because I was about to move out of state and needed fast delivery. Thankfully, Amazon Prime had it with overnight shipping, so I threw my wallet at the screen and it was in my hands the next day., or, or 150ml for $38 You could also use a buying service likeand possibly get it even cheaper, although you would have to consider shipping costs.I decided to go for the 80ml in samples to test it long-term, and if I didn't have a stable of low-pH cleansers on my to-try list, I'd definitely buy a full size tube. I might still get a full-size tube, because I am a total sucker for packaging.Pretty packaging aside, this is the million dollar question with low pH cleansers. I've had hilarious (and unflattering) conversations about low pH cleansers with other bloggers, like Kerry fromwho started the low pH revolution with her post on The Importance of Fatty Acids, pH & the Moisture Barrier: How I Eliminated my Acne & Decreased my Skin Sensitivity As you may know if you have already read my post on, I set out hoping that I could find enough scientific backing to support continuing my affair with the ultra-foamy goodness of high pH cleansers. No such luck; the science both is solidplentiful.The problem is, as Kerry agreed, is that. They don't produce frothy clouds of foam that can be shaped in your palm into bouncy poofs, they don't explode into generous lather with a mere splash of water and a few rubs of your palms.equivalent in the cleansing world; they get the job done but they're underwhelming to use.So, a foaming cleanser that is low pH and still actuallyproperly is a rare beast. This cleanser has a slightly different foam than a high pH cleanser, but I quickly got used to it and I appreciate how robust it is compared to other low pH cleansers. This stuff just! Will. Not. Quit.So, I present the following photo chronicles ofLike all Sulwhasoo products, this cleanser is unnecessarily luxurious and I can't say I don't appreciate it. Look at that pearlescent sheen!One downside of this cleanser is that; the product doesn't want to mix with water at first, so you have to work it between your hands or with a foaming net, a facial brush or a konjac sponge. Sadly, no demos of those because they're currently packed in a box ... somewhere. Possibly somewhere in Oklahoma, or perhaps Missouri? Only the movers know.But if you keep mixing it between your hands, it will bloom into a lovely foam. I think a foaming net would actually solve this entirely,when I find mine when I unpack, I'll test it and update.Like any foaming cleanser, you can play around with consistency of the mixture, depending on whether you prefer a, or aI know this may not look that impressive, but for a low pH cleanser, this is serious foam. And it gets crazy, as you will see after this loose foam version. But first, let me include my original thoughts on the foam:I never bothered to test to see just how long the foam would actually last, because I don't overwork my skin during cleansing. Until now. But first,Now it looks and feels more like a regular 'loose lather' type cleanser, just with the scent of a herb-festooned forest that iseager to be "friends"with your face. If you know what I mean.I don't have much of a preference on which consistency to use, I just add water and rub my hands together and then slap it on my face, gently massage for a bit, and then rinse. If I had not been allI might never have known the true hidden power of this cleanser.This is the foambetween my hands, trying to break down the bubbles:Look at that. Just look at it. Can you believe that is a low pH cleanser?! I can't. I had no idea that it would just keep refining the bubbles the more I worked it; I've never bothered to work the foam this much/this hard when I washed my face with it.So I set out to find how long it would take to disperse the foam. I furiously rubbed my hands together for another 2+ minutes () and I gave up because my fingers were getting tired. Snow: 0, Snowise Cleanser: 1.It just won't die! It just gets denser and denser, and defies all attempts to disperse it without just rinsing it away.Here it is spread out so you can see the ultra fine texture:My mind is blown. I have to get this stuff onto a foaming net; if it works, it could rival the high pH cleansers that are banished to my 'discards' box.: I found the foaming net, and oh my snail:I was able to use a lot less product and got some ridiculous results. Now I don't need to purchase a full size, because my samples are going to last me a lot longer. And I'm holding that ball of foam sideways to show how dense it is.A kindly person has entered this into, albeit a few years ago. My current attention span (being more focused on calling back and forth between moving companies a kid getting bounced between mom and dad) was unable to tolerate a deep-dive for an ingredients list when Googling failed to cough it up.