Culprit #3

Things have been so hectic here that I haven't been able to update the blog. Between looking for apartment, packing, and looking for a job, I barely have time to breath. I haven't been sleeping good, and my raven black hair is spotting white hair here and there, at age 27. Urgh. q0s1x1t5

Anyhow, I was doing some inventory of the things my skin didn't like, and read up on the ingredients one by one, but didn't get to post them before now. Below are the products I used in my Korean skin care routine (not all at once, but here and there interchangeably, and switching them to try to find a way to calm my picky skin down):

Honeybunny Propolis Ingredients: Water, Propolis Extract (15%), Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Alcohol, Honey, 1,2-Hexanediol, Centella Asiatica Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Punica Granatum Fruit Extract, Ficus Carica (Fig) Fruit Extract, Codonopsis Lanceolata Root Extract, Polyquaternium-51, Sciadopitys Verticillata Root Extract, Ubiquinone, Althaea Rosea Flower Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Allantoin, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Fragrance, Human Oligopeptide-1, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Adenosine, Hydrolyzed Collagen.

Snail Bee Steam Cream Ingredients: Snail Secretion Filtrate, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Niacinamide, Stearic Acid, Behenyl Alcohol, Phytosqualene, Human Ogliopeptide-1, Bee Venom, Arbutin, Adenosine, Helianthus Annus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Argania Spinosa Kernal Oil, Glyceryl Stearate, Arginine, Carbomer, Urea, Tocopher Leaf Extract, Salix Alba (Willow Bark) Extract, Ulmus Campestris (Elm) Extract, Pentylene Glycol, Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract, Pilsatilla Koreana Extract, Usnea Barbata (Lichen) Extrac.

Olive Cleansing Oil  Ingredients: Olive Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Avocado Oil, Argan Oil, Tea Tree Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, PEG-20 Glyceryl Tristearate, Squalene, Olive Oil PEG-7 Esters, BHT.

AHA/BHA Clarifying Toner  Ingredients: Mineral Water, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Water, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Water, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Lactate, Glycolic Acid, Water, Betaine Salicylate, Allantoin, Panthenol, Ethyl Hexanediol.

Shara Shara Aqua Bomb  Ingredients: Purified Water, Butylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Betaine, Mushroom Extract, Burdock Root Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract,Licorice Extract, Peony Extract, Cnidium Extract, Tea Tree Leaf Extract, Indian Melia Azedarach Leaf Extract, Lime Tree Blossom Extract, Sugarcane Extract, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Edelweiss Extract, Jasmine Extract, Cypress Leaf Extract , Eggplant Extract, Aloe Vera Flower Extract, Basil Leaf Extract, Turmeric Extract, True Coralline Extract, Bamboo Leaf Extract, Honeysuckle Extract, Suited Castor Oil, Water Soluble Collagen, The Position Can Hazel, Aloe Vera Leaf Extract, Sodium Hyaluronidase, Birch Sap, Lemon Oil, Basil Oil, Geranium Oil, Clove Leaf Oil, Damask Rose Flower Oil, Rosemary Leaf Oil, Ylang-Ylang Flower Oil, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sparkling Water, Sea Water, Xanthan Gum, Adenosine, Ethanol, Methyl Diisopropyl Propionamide, Trehalose, D-Panthenol,Ceramide, Phenoxyethanol.

Shara Shara Berry Bomb  Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Panthenol, Glycereth-26, Diglycerin, Betaine, PEG/PPG-17/6 Copolymer, Phellinus Linteus Extract, Arctium Lappa Root Extract, Piper Methysticum Leaf/Root/Stem Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Pueraria Thumberganaa Root Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Paeonia Lacifotora Root Extract, Cnidium Officinale Root Extract, Euterpe Oblecena Fruit Extract, Rubus Chamaemorus Seed Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Extract, Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract, Eclipta Prostrata Extract, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Fruit Extract, Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract, Morus Alba Root Extract, Fragaria Vesca (Strawberry) Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Solanum Melongena (Eggplant) Fruit Extract, Aloe Barbadensis FLower Extract, Serenoa Serrulata Fruit Extract, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Fruit Extract, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Corallina Officinalis Extract, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Soluble Collagen, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Sodium Hyaluronate, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Hydrogenated Lecithin, 1,2,-Hexanediol, Glyceryl Polymethcrylate, Ammonium Acrolyldimethylaurate/VP Copolymer, Ethyxyglycerin, Polyquaternium-51, Adenosine, Disodium EDTA, Folic Acid, Ceramide 3, Cholesterol, Raffinose, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, Phenoxyethanol.

Cucumber Gel  Ingredients: Aqua, Cucumber Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, Aloe Vera Leaf Extract, Birch Tree Extract, Glycerin, Fragrance.

Slowganic Adlay  Ingredients: Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Water, Sodium Glutamate Laurate, Glycerol, Trehalose, Water, Betaine, Triethanolamine, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Peppermint Leaf Oil, Lime oil, Lemon peel oil, Basil oil, Orange oil , Ylang-ylang flower oil, Geranium flower oil, Job's tears seed extract, Green tea seed oil, Evening primrose oil, Camellia oil, Macadamia seed oil, Barley seed oil, Brazil nut seed oil, Sweet almond oil, Argan tree kernel oil, Olive oil, Sunflower seed oil, Jojoba seed oil, Rosemary leaf water, Matricaria flower water, Grapefruit peel oil, Horse chestnut seed extract, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric triglyceride, Ethylhexylglycerin, Ethanol, Carbomer, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Benzyl alcohol, Dehydroacetic acid, Caramel.

Refined Clear Foam  Ingredients: Aloe leaf, Peony, Centella extract, licorice raspberry, and blueberry extract.

(And desperately to try and put some water back into my burning, irritated, parched skin) Climax Water Pool Cleanser Ingredients: Soap grass extract, muhwanja extract, yam root extract and wheat germ extract.

I finally gave up and admitted that I failed in using Korean products, despite being born and raised in a neighbor country. Even my skin had been Americanized beyond recognition, it seems. The more I persist in trying Korean products, the more my skin rebelled. I gave up the products, but I didn't give up the steps, at least, though it's narrowed down to 1) Eye makeup remove, 2) Makeup remove, 3) Toner, 4) Serum, 5) Moisturizer. That's still something, right? The whole thing took me about 4 - 5 minutes. It's less than the Korean 10 steps, but more than my previous rinse then moisturize, and according to Geisha skin care routine, less is more :)

My skin is doing better. Much much better. It had returned to its original state, before I move back to Indiana, and only acted up in light dry patches when I'm too stressed (once or twice occurrences since last update.)

I had try to figure out what was it about the Korean skin care products that my skin doesn't like, and I noticed that my skin reacted the most with PEG; of course, there were a couple of products that my skin was reacted to that was totally innocent (?), but my skin behave worse with PEG than without, and the cause of other reaction had been found out and fix, and will be show and tell next post, but I want to bring attention to PEG in this one.

You'll see lots of things that has PEG-6/20/60/80/100 Stearate, and they're all bad. Polyethylene Glycol Stearate "is made by combining natural oils (oftentimes palm or coconut) with Stearic Acid to form a water-soluble ester, and the numerical value of each PEG Stearate corresponds to the average number of ethylene oxide monomers in the polyethylene chain, from 2 - 150" (taken from Truth In Aging), and it is not harmful in itself, but what it can be contaminated with. Polyethylene glycol is produced by the interaction of ethylene oxide with water, ethylene glycol, or ethylene glycol oligomers (Wikipedia), and usually, the contaminant are processed out, but might be missed, allowing ethylene oxide monomers to remain. They are in the low number, but ethylene oxide are carcinogenic, and have the rating of 10. And of course, PEG will usually be process by intact skin so it doesn't get into the blood line, but, well, it's bad for broken skin.

It doesn't apply to everyone, of course, as millions of products with PEG was used by millions of people with no problem. I'm just one of the few that has too sensitive skin, and didn't like it much. I mean, just look at the thousands of people that uses and love Korean skin care products that I tried, and they didn't have any problem. I'd still advise precautions (because I'm a paranoid hippie XD).

In any case, that was the bad news, as I will not be using Korean skin care products any time soon, and I'm not sure if I would be interested in any other Asian skin care products. I don't want to fight my Americanized skin any more, and just use Western products from now on. However, I wish you all luck in succeeding with Korean skin care, or Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Indian, etc. - any skin care that you fancy (without bad skin reaction, of course).

Cheers for the skin, they tell us so much :)