AS A guy, it’s difficult to penetrate into and fully appreciate the world of Korean skincare. For one, it expects a heartfelt commitment. Skincare, whether you are male or female, is a daily routine for many in South Korea. For another, there’s just too many products. It’s easy to be overwhelmed and lost among the various brands and items.
From the time I was first introduced to the product, I’ve since been able to differentiate a cleanser from an exfoliator, and the two from a toner. As a person suffering from eczema, a chance encounter with Son & Park Beauty Water, which combines the effects of the three I’ve mentioned, has since improved the health of my skin. I’ve definitely seen the appeal of Korean skincare.
The claim to fame of Beauty Water is that it is a triple-acting toner that cleanses, exfoliates, and hydrates. I have very dry and sensitive skin, and the area around my forehead flakes in severe patches. At the end of the day, I would always feel my face tight and even dirty. Because of dryness, my skin would also occasionally break and bleed. Hence, I found it important to ensure my face was clean for my own protection. Additionally, I had to clean my face to ensure a moisturizer can penetrate easily to make my skin moist and less likely to tear.
As a cleanser (for cleaning) and exfoliator (for removing outer skin), I always found Beauty Water effective and efficient in removing anything that should not be there. It’s applied by gently sweeping a dampened cotton pad across the face. On really bad days where my skin is flaring, the cotton pads that I would use would end up grey or brown. Even on normal days after washing my face, Beauty Water would still pick up some dirt or dead skin on the cotton pad. For someone who suffered from bad skin for the most part of his life, you have no idea how liberating it is to feel that your face is light and clean... and soft! Even if it is hydrating, I still lather on a heavy cream since that is what my skin needs.
One of the reservations I had prior to using this product was that it is formulated with alcohol. As I’ve mentioned, my skin usually rips open, and I guess you can imagine the feeling of alcohol on open skin. Surprisingly, the product remained light like water but cooling like alcohol. Even when my skin was bad, applying Beauty Water would not sting. This convinced me that alcohol in skincare is not too bad as long as it remains a minor ingredient. Perhaps it is necessary as it improves the solubility of the ingredients or the texture of the final product.
There’s a lot of aspects left to discuss about this product, especially its soft citric scent made from natural oils. It has loads of benefits, which is why many tout it as the “Holy Grail” in their skincare routines. My skin has never looked better, and to this day Beauty Water remains to be the only skincare product I’ve recommended to other people. But alas, there is only so much space we can talk about this product.
Son & Park Beauty Water is available online or through specialized boutiques around Davao City. A 340 mL bottle can cost up to P1200.