Day 3 of the #30daysofkbeauty Challenge: Low pH Cleanser!


Hey there! Day 3 of the #30daysofkbeauty challenge is all about low pH cleansers! Usually, I use a mixture of Asian and Western cleansers. The two cleansers I rarely stray from are the Hada Labo Gokujyun Hyaluronic Acid Cleansing Foam, and Cerave's Hydrating Facial Cleanser. Both of these cleansers are very gentle, low in pH, and leave my skin feeling clean without being stripped dry (that squeaky-clean feeling that we all know and love is BAD NEWS. You can read up about the importance of pH and maintaining the skin's moisture barrier over at Skin & Tonic's blog post here.) Today I'll be talking about Su:m37's Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick, which has recently earned a new place in my routine. 

Honestly, ever since I learned about the benefits of using a low pH cleanser, I never went back to using just any old cleanser. While my days of high pH cleansing are long gone (I used to slather my skin in Neutrogena's Grapefruit cleanser, and then top that off with some benzoyl peroxide cream... shudder), I was still pretty irresponsible when it came to cleansing until I encountered AB. My routine was essentially clean my face once a day with Cetaphil. I didn't use sunscreen, and I didn't moisturize because I have oily skin and "my skin is already oily, so I don't need to moisturize!". I was a disaster, but just know that I've turned myself around! I no longer go within ten feet of Cetaphil, and sunscreen is my best friend. These days, my skin is so much happier now that I'm using a cleanser that works for me.


If you are at least a little familiar with the world of AB, you'll have heard of the Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick from Su:m37. It's caused quite a stir in the Asian skincare world, and when it first became popular, it was very difficult to find, sold out extremely fast, and was very difficult to get a hold of. Now, it can be found on Amazon, TesterKorea, Sokoglam, and Ebay for pretty acceptable prices.

The cleanser itself comes in a big Chapstick-like tube, which makes it super portable! The novelty of it wears off after a bit, but it's still convenient enough to throw in your bag for overnight trips without having to worry about spills or leakage.



I purchased the MRCS out of curiosity off of Amazon, since this product was hyped to the max, and I read raving reviews left and right. It's gentle foaming, and has a light rose scent that smells sweet but isn't overbearing. Apparently, it's effective enough to use as a makeup remover due to its oil base, so it can be used as one step, both to remove makeup and to cleanse, in lieu of double cleansing. (To read more about double cleansing, click here!).

Ingredients (as per Sokoglam):
Glycerol, Water, Orange Peel Oil, Lime Peel Oil, Green Tea Seed Oil, Coconut Oil, Basil Oil, Ylang Ylang Flower Oil, Majorum Oil, Fermented Damask Rose Extract, Apricot Seed Oil, Olive Oil, Sunflower Oil, Betaine, Stearic Acid, Camellia Oil, Tocopherol, Rose Flower Water, Potassium Hydroxide, Lauryl Betaine
MCRS has a mixture of rose oil, petals, and fermented ingredients. Unfortunately, my stick had a serious lack of rose petals. I think there were like three or four measly pieces in the entire 1/3 of the stick that I've gone though. Bummer! But it doesn't look like the petals provide anything other than aesthetic value, since they're too soft to provide any kind of physical exfoliation. image



The ingredients list is on the short side, which I'm definitely a fan of! You go, Su:m37. However, there are some potentially pore-cloggin' ingredients, namely coconut oil. I say potentially, because not everyone breaks out from coconut oil, in fact I know many people who swear by it! I can definitely appreciate the fact that it doesn't strip my skin - thanks to the coconut oil, my face doesn't feel cracked or tight after cleansing. And seriously, almost every cleanser (especially foaming cleansers) dries me out.


To use:
The official instructions say to dampen the face, twist up a bit of the product, and rub over the face to create a gentle lather. This works well for me. but you can also rub it in the palm of your hand to create some foaming action, or onto a konjac sponge or other facial cleansing tool, like a Clarisonic. Since I don't have a Clarisonic (poor life) I just use my hands. It creates a gentle foam that I lather onto my face for a few minutes, and then rinse clean with lukewarm water.


Final thoughts: I am one of those people who was very impressed by the MRCS. I enjoyed the subtle rose scent a lot (I used to hate the scent of roses, but now I really enjoy it!) and I love the fact that it didn't strip my skin of all moisture. Even with gentle cleansers like my Cerave Hydrating, my skin still tends to feel a bit parched, but this cleanser is just gentle enough to not leave me with dry, tight skin. I kind of wish I had more rose petals in mine, how strange that I haven't encountered any yet! image

One thing I feel a bit weary about it the hygienic aspect of this cleanser - the stick is going to be directly rubbing on either your hands or your face, and unless your willing to dry it off after every use, it will stay wet after you put the cap on. I usually leave it open, and bring it to my cold, air-conditioned room so that it doesn't get all funky in my humid little bathroom, and so far, everything seems okay.

The price point is a bit much, though. While I only payed $23 for this, my usual cleansers are only $6-8, so this is a bit of a splurge for me in the cleanser department. However, I've been using this for about two months now, and there's still a lot left, so I'm hoping that by using this twice a day with my konjac sponge, I'll be able to stretch it for a while!

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