To avoid causing irritations to our skin in the long run which can, and most likely lead to more severe skin complications such as acne, ezcema and rosacea, I cannot emphasize how important it is to be gentle to our skin by using non-sensitizing products that are well-formulated to soothe, heal, hydrate, and repair the skin. 

I have heard only good words about the Etude House Soon Jung range, and so recently, I finally decided to try it out for myself. The Etude House Soon Jung range is a fairly new range from Etude House which aims to provide relief to sensitive, sensitized, dehydrated, and irritated skin. I decided to try the pH 6.5 Whipped Cleanser, along with the cult favourite pH 5.5 Relief Toner. As much as I would love to, unfortunately, the other products in the range are not suitable for my acne-prone skin as it does contains oils and shea butter which can cause clogging and breakouts.



SoonJung pH 6.5 Whipped Cleanser 

If you've watched or read my review on 10 facial cleansers, you might be thinking... Girl, do you really another cleanser? Well trust me, I wish I didn't, but after finding out that none of those cleansers were fungal acne and sensitive skin safe (from what I remembered, only the Heimish All Clean Green Foam is FA safe but it contains witch hazel which is drying), I decided to pick this up knowing that it is fungal acne safe, and at the same time will not cause further irritations to my skin.

Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Sorbitol, Propanediol, Lauryl Glucoside, Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Panthenol, Madecassoside, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Butylene Glycol, Citric Acid, Glyceryl Caprylate, Ethylhexylglycerin

What a pleasant looking and short ingredient list! I never like it when I see a long ass ingredient list filled with useless ingredients like exotic plant extracts. So let's breakdown all the ingredients here.


Glycerin, Sorbitol, Propanediol and Butylene Glycol are humectants which makes them moisture magnets. They are a must if you're searching for a cleanser that will not dry out your skin and take away all your skin's moisture. As mentioned, dehydrated and dry skin is one of the common causes and/or symptoms of irritated and sensitized skin and so you'd want your skincare to do its best to retain moisture. Glycerin especially is a humectant our body produces and hence it will be able to work with our skin better.

You can't call this a cleanser if it ain't gonna cleanse, so that's where Lauryl Glucoside, Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate comes in! These two ingredients are gentle cleansing agents which provides mild cleansing to the skin. Being mild surfactants, they also contribute a little bit of foam which will help reduce unnecessary tugging and friction while cleansing.

Moving on to my favourite bits, Panthenol, Madecassoside, and Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract.

Panthenol is Vitamin B5 which is a superstar moisturizing ingredient known for its healing and soothing properties. It is said to be able to help our skin generate a healthier and stronger barrier making it the perfect and must-have ingredient in your routine if you have sensitive/sensitized skin, or if you love experimenting with acids, this will definitely help strengthen and increase your skin's tolerance level.

Macdecassoside is another awesome soothing ingredient that also has anti-inflammation and anti-redness benefits. Redness is one of the most common signs of skin irritations and it is probably also one of the most annoying signs if you are pale.

Lastly, Camellia Sisnensis Leaf Extract is simply, green tea. Green tea is well-known for its antioxidant properties which can aid in healing, and apart from that it is also a great calming and anti-bacterial ingredient.

Onto the last 3 ingredients, Citric Acid is used to balance the pH level in skincare products, Glyceryl Caprylate is an emulsifier, and last but not least, we've got a preservative, Ethylhexylglycerin.

As someone who loves foamy cleansers and efficiency, I love how this cleanser dispenses out immediately as a foam. The foam will not hold itself for long since the surfactants in this cleanser are weak, but I can give that up in exchange for it being gentle for my skin! During the evenings, I do like to go back to my Bioderma foam cleansers as I find that this is too mild to remove sunscreen and impurities accumulated throughout the day completely and I do not double cleanse when I don't have makeup on.

After using this cleanser in the mornings for a week straight, I did notice an improvement in my skin in terms of it being less itchy and irritated. Since I briefly mentioned it above, in terms of fungal acne, honestly, I wasn't even sure if I had fungal acne to begin with but as someone who does work out and sweat often, I don't see a harm in keeping my routine FA safe. At S$17.90, I find it reasonably priced since my Bioderma cleansers are nearly double the price of that. I wish in the near future they will come up with a re-fill to reduce wastage of the plastic bottle.



SoonJung pH 5.5 Relief Toner 

I walked into Etude House with the intention of getting only the cleanser, but I ended up with the Soonjung pH 5.5 Relief Toner too after realising that the cleanser is actually a pH 6.5. Prior to owning this toner, I was not using a toner in my routine as I found it redundant considering how my cleansers are all low pH. A healthy skin pH level is a 4.7 and so in my opinion, a 6.5 is definitely alkalizing it. Therefore, I figured out that I could kill two birds with one stone by getting this toner. First, I get to bring my skin's pH level down. Secondly, I can also try the cult favourite from the entire Soon Jung collection.

Ingredients: Water, Propanediol, Glycerin, Betaine, Panthenol, Madecassoside, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Butylene Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Carbomer, Polyglycerin-3, Disodium Edta

While my motive for using this toner is because I wanted to lower my skin's pH, I really appreciate that it is also packed with moisture retaining ingredients such as Propanediol, Glycerin, Betaine, Butylene Glycol, and Polyglycerin-3. Even though it might not seem like it, dehydrated skin is the source of many skin complications and diseases including dermatitis, eczema, rosacea, pre-mature aging, and even acne (yep, so stop drying out your pimples!), and it doesn't require a genius to figure out that healthy skin = well-hydrated skin = clear skin. Therefore, I am always happy to increase my skin's ability to retain moisture as long as I'm not using clogging ingredients like facial oils.



Apart from the same 3 amazing, soothing, and healing ingredients (Panthenol, Madecassoside,
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract) found in the cleanser, this toner also contains Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, which has similar soothing benefits. In addition, it supposedly also carries anti-fungal properties, even though it is not a well-known ingredient to treat fungal acne.

There are two ways I like to incorporate this product into my routine. The first method is to simply pat it gently onto my face like an essence (skip the cotton pad for this if you want to save product and the environment!), and the second method is to soak it in a cotton pad and placing it onto any irritated areas.

Coincidentally, when I begun using this product, I had a pretty bad hormonal breakout on my jawline. It was painful, inflamed, and red, so that was when I started soaking this product and letting it sit on the breakout. This has since then become a new must-have in my routine and I even love bringing it with me to the skin to help soothe my skin after a productive workout session. One thing I believe everyone should note is that you should still go in with a moisturizer before this product dries up to seal the moisture in. In other words, do not use this as a facial mist if you're not going to apply a moisturizer right after.

READ MORE ABOUT HOW YOU SHOULD BE MOISTURIZING YOUR SKIN.


In conclusion, the products are amazing! They are truly gentle and suitable for all skin types. If you have oily skin, I will suggest you go with a slightly stronger cleanser for the evenings (the Bioderma ones are super awesome if you do not have fungal acne), or you can also choose to "double cleanse"  with the Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Solution first to remove your sunscreen before going in with this one. The toner is simply amazing and so I highly recommend it!