What is an enzyme cleanser? Enzymes in skin care have two functions ~ exfoliation and to help reduce swelling, tenderness, redness and pain ~ anti-inflammation. Enzymes can be very gentle and are a fantastic replacement for facial scrubs and microdermabrasion products, such as Dr. Brandt Skincare Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant and Derma E Microdermabrasion Scrub ~ those products can be too harsh for your skin and could exacerbate the skin issues you thought the product was going to handle! Enzymes break down the upper layer of skin which contains dead skin cells that contains keratin and whisking them away ~ literally decomposing the skin cells. By breaking down keratin, your skin is smoother and silkier. Some of the best fruit enzymes are papaya (papain), blueberry and pineapple.
I personally use these cleansers as exfoliators and not a replacement for a normal foaming or cream cleanser. Exfoliation are very different from cleansing and whereas these are gentle enough to use several times a week, I would not use them daily. I mention this as I have been asked this product can be used to replace the 2nd step in the double cleansing routine and I do not recommend it. I wouldn’t use a facial scrub as my 2nd step, so why would I use an enzyme treatment, regardless of its foaming action, as one? Rhetorical question, as I already answered it!!
Tosowoong Enzyme Powder Wash comes in an easy to use bottle, with a blue cap that flips up. It works on a principle that once you tip the bottle to shake out the product, it has already pre-measured the amount for that “shake & tip” ~ I don’t know how else to explain it!! At any rate, you won’t spill the whole contents of this cleanser into your hand. The grains are a light beige in color and have a light scent, but it isn’t overpowering. One thing I do dislike about this bottle is that the cap breaks apart too easily ~ you can see in the photo below that it is already cracking and separating and I have not been rough or dropped this bottle.
When I first used this, I applied the powder directly to my face and I could really feel the gritty grains against my skin. I do not have sensitive skin ~ however, I decided with future uses, to foam up the cleanser in my hand first instead on my face, so that I could dissolve the grains before applying to my face.
Tosowoong Enzyme Powder Wash really does foam up nicely!! It provides a thick sudsy lather, which will please anyone who loves foaming cleansers. It is also soft and my skin feels soft, smoother and cleansed. This doesn’t give me a stripped out dry feeling ~ instead my skin feels moisturized.
Tosowoong claims that their cleanser is 5 to 5.5 pH level, so I put that claim to the test. Using my own pH strips, I tested the foam, using my own tap water, and came up with …. 5 ~ 5.5! So, this is a low pH enzyme cleanser, for those who are concerned about pH levels.
I translated the ingredient list directly from the box. There are some potential irritant triggers with this product, such as alcohol denat (rating a 5), papain ~ which is lower from 0-3 and there is an acne trigger with sodium laureth sulfate (3) and also is an irritant (2). Sodium laureth sulfate should NOT be confused with sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate is deemed safe to use in skincare products. Some ingredients of note
