Why Try Different Types of Exfoliation?
AHAs and BHAs are key exfoliating ingredients and I’ve had a lot of success with them, which you can read about here.
However, I recently got a complicated, irritated breakout from a product (not one I ordered from UNBLEMISH, by the way!)
My neck took much longer to heal, as I can’t even use mild exfoliating acids when it’s irritated – thankfully my usual go-to products really helped calm it down.
Because the breakout was sensitive, I couldn’t apply my usual exfoliating acids on my face, either. The two products I’m reviewing here did the heavy lifting to get rid of the new textured patches and weren’t irritating.
I’m super impressed with both of them and I’ve even used the Beauty of Joseon on my stubborn arm texture, more on this below.
Beauty of Joseon Apricot Blossom Peeling Gel
Texture & Ingredients
This is a double section because the two go hand in hand.
When you squeeze it out of the tube, it’s gel texture that spreads well and immediately starts breaking up, like pilling your face. This is meant to happen because that’s the exfoliating aspect of the product!
In all honesty, I’m not sure where the apricot aspect of this product is but there’s quite a few flower blossom extracts, antioxidant-rich extracts, like rice, as well as soothing ingredients, like arginine and allantoin
Experience
This is my first peeling gel and I’d read reviews of them so I knew what to expect but it was still kind of weird…
One of things we tend to look for in skincare is products that don’t pill but this one is designed to pill because that’s how it exfoliates.
Apply it to dry skin and rub it in. The cellulose will do its job by balling up, then you add water to emulsify it so it becomes this gorgeous creamy milky liquid.
I suspect dry skin could stop there, it certainly feels like it removes sunscreen but I followed it up with a little Axis-Y Quinoa One-Step Balanced gel cleanser, like half a pump.
Here’s the thing: it didn’t seem like the texture on my face was reducing at all – that group of closed comedones just didn’t want to shift. And yet I added this and it really helped! Sure, the texture might have been lessening anyway but it seemed to me that the peeling gel gave it the extra exfoliating my skin needed!
It’s definitely much more gentle than any kind of physical exfoliant I’ve used before and I wouldn’t recommend starting a new product whilst you’re breaking out. I took a risk, because Beauty of Joseon products rarely offend my skin (ignoring the Dynasty Cream – it’s not their fault I can’t use coconut oil!)
I’ve also used the peeling gel on the texture on my arms and didn’t change anything else in my routine – my arms seem a little more smoothed than usual, a little less bumpy.
I’m sold on peeling gels now – although of course I’ll try some from other brands before declaring the Beauty of Joseon as my holy grail.
Isntree C-Niacin Toning Ampoule
Texture
The ampoule feels a touch oily but it has a watery texture. I like watery textures the best because of how well they’ll absorb, although a slightly oily feel makes it feel more luxe!
It applies easily, as it’s slightly thicker than water. The wonderful texture means I can get an entire dropper of this on my face without it running off.
Ingredients
Sea buckthorn is the star here, which contains a lot of antioxidants and in particular, vitamin c.
I’ve written before that vitamin c products can be irritating and unstable. The Isntree has both extracts rich in vitamin c and more stable versions of vitamin c!
There’s a study that showed sea buckthorn extract can reduce oil production, which is a really useful benefit too, especially if you have oily skin.
There are so many great ingredients in the Isntree serum that this section would be very long so I’ll talk about others in the section below.
Experience
I have tried a few products with vitamin c derivatives in and one had a terrible texture that didn’t want to absorb so I didn’t use it very often.
The Isntree, however, dries very nicely and plays well with the rest of my routine. As a result, I have been using it twice a day with no issues.
Although it’s gentle, if you’re new to vitamin c, don’t use it every day to start with: build up your usage. I did notice it stung a little on my first use but after that, no stinging, even when I was breaking out.
I suspect it was this product plus the Beauty of Joseon peeling gel that worked on my texture, given I’d stopped all other actives.
Not only did it help with my skin concerns, it’s also brightening, which is a bonus, because I love products that give me the K-Beauty glow!
The Isntree serum helps with barrier repair – something I desperately needed to heal my skin. Where do I even start with the barrier repair ingredients in this? There’s so many key barrier repair ingredients in this: skin strengthening (niacinamide), skin protection (betaine), anti-inflammatoty (panthenol) and soothing, wound healing (allantoin and beta-glucan).
Hydration is also important for barrier repair. It has glycerin and hyaluronic acid, heavy hitters for great hydration – I can use this as my only serum and not have any issues with dehydration.
And then there’s also the antioxidants from the additional plant extracts that support the sea buckthorn – which may well contribute to the repairing function of this serum.
The Isntree is a well-formulated, all round excellent product. I was enjoying using it before the breakout but it really shone when I was breaking out and irritated.
Final Word
I’ll be honest with you, I’m having to fight myself not to use the peeling gel every time I wash my face because I love it – but I am being sensible. The struggle is real!
These two products worked wonders for my skin when it was really sad and I’m so thankful I had them to hand.