Asian Skin Care: Cosrx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser

There’s a lot of good skin care coming out of South Korea and Japan. Let me tell you about some of my favorite stuff!

Disclaimer: Yes, there are links to products in this post. No, I will not get a commission if you click the link. I know I have an affiliate link disclaimer in my sidebar. My blog is way too new for me to be apart of any affiliate programs yet, but I have it there to cover my butt in the future. You know, just in case. The links in this post are so you can click over to the product and buy it if you want to. (See? I’m helping!) Also, this post is not sponsored.

A facial cleanser is a facial cleanser, right? Wrong.

Whether you have oily, dry, normal, or combination skin, you know that you can’t wash your face with just any old cleanser. Some are too harsh and leave your skin feeling stripped and tight. Some aren’t cleansing enough and leave you feeling like you need to wash your face again. Our skin is like Goldilocks looking for a cleanser that’s juuuuuust right.

So, what do you recommend?

I have a few different facial cleansing products I like to use, but a long time favorite of mine is the Cosrx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser. I order it from Amazon. (Amazon has quite a selection of Asian skincare and makeup. It’s where I get most of my skincare products.) It is a clear gel cleanser that comes in a large 5.07 oz/150 ml tube and usually costs about $11.00 USD. I’ve been using it pretty regularly for a couple of years now.

For those of you interested in what’s in this cleansing gel, here is the ingredients list:

Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate, Polysorbate 20, Styrax Japonicus Branch/Fruit/Leaf Extract, Butylene Glycol, Saccharomyces Ferment, Cryptomeria Japonica Leaf Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Leaf Extract, Pinus Palustris Leaf Extract, Ulmus Davidiana Root Extract, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Flower Extract, Pueraria Lobata Root Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Allantoin, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Betaine Salicylate, Citric Acid, Ethyl Hexanediol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Sodium Benzoate, Disodium EDTA

What is “low pH,” and does the pH really make a difference?

If you don’t know, or if it’s been a few (or maybe several) years since you’ve had a chemistry class, pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline something is. If your cleanser’s pH is too high, it can leave you with that dry, tight feeling. You’ll be squeaky clean, but within moments after cleansing, your face will feel really uncomfortable. For those of us with oily skin, that dry, tight feeling can cause us to get super oily while our skin tries to get rid of that dryness.

I’m not a scientist, and I don’t want to get this wrong. Let me give you a link to someone who may be a scientist and is definitely way more knowledgeable about pH than I am. Skin & Tonics is a science-heavy skincare blog that gets into the nitty-gritty of ingredients and how they react with each other and your skin. An excellent blog about Asian skincare in general is Fifty Shades of Snail. She really knows her stuff! Check them out when you’re done reading my blog. (I don’t know either of these bloggers personally. I just find their blogs to be well written and full of great information!)

A-hem… We were talking about pH…

Ah, yes. So, our skin’s natural pH tends to be around 5.5 on the pH scale. Most foaming facial cleansers tend to be between 8-10 on the pH scale. That’s why they leave your skin feeling squeaky clean and stripped. The Cosrx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser has a pH between 5-6, close to skin’s natural pH. After you use it, your skin feels clean, but it doesn’t feel dry and tight. That’s the BIG difference between the Good Morning cleanser and a lot of other cleansing gels on the market.

Okay, so low pH is good. How well does it foam?

How well the Cosrx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser foams depends on how hard your water is and what tools you are using to cleanse your face. I find the Good Morning gel doesn’t foam up much when I just use my hands. If you use a very small amount of this gel with a wet Japanese foaming net, you will get an abundance of thick, fluffy foam to wash your face with. (Using a foaming net is super easy! If you want to know how to use one, just search for Japanese foaming net on YouTube, and a bunch of how-to videos will show up.)

I have also used this gel with both a konjac sponge and a manual facial brush with good effect. There’s more foam with a brush than with a konjac sponge, so it’s definitely up to your personal preference which is better.

This gel works well with a Foreo-type silicone facial cleansing brush, but may be a bit thin for use with a Clarisonic-type facial brush. On Clarisonic nights, you may want to use a creamier cleanser than this.

How well does this gel clean your face?

Very well. I definitely like the Cosrx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser for my morning face wash. It gently washes away all the nighttime products I use and leaves my skin feeling fresh, soft, and clean, not dry and tight. I can even use this on my eyes and it doesn’t sting. After I dry my face, I don’t feel like I need to rush to put on the rest of my skincare.

It says is a “Good Morning” cleanser. Can I use it at night?

Totally! I like to use the Cosrx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser as the second step of my double cleanse at night. I use either the Hada Labo Gokujun Hyaluronic Acid Cleansing Oil or the Heimish All Clean Balm to melt away the makeup, sweat, dirt and grime of the day, then use the Good Morning gel to thoroughly cleanse my skin and wash away any residues. For me, it’s a winning combination! (Sometimes I wear a LOT of makeup. This combo gets every bit of it off with no problem.)

Does this cleansing gel have a scent?

Not that I’ve noticed. Then again, I’m not sensitive to fragrance in my skincare products unless they are really strong.

Would you buy this again?

I would, I have, and I will!

It doesn’t seem to matter what other foaming facial cleansers I try, I keep coming back to the Cosrx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser. It just works and it doesn’t strip my skin. For me, this is the Goldilocks facial cleanser that’s juuuuuuust right.

Which foaming facial cleansers do you find are just right for you? Which is your favorite? Tell me all about it in the comments below!