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If I had to pick the most life-changing step of a kbeauty routine, it would be double cleansing. To me, it’s the most relaxing, gentle, and effective way to remove makeup and sunscreen. Sure, some foaming cleansers do a good enough job dissolving all of that too, but they don’t bring me as much joy as oil cleansers do.
Hanskin Pore Cleansing Balm, available on Amazon, SokoGlam, and at Ulta, promises to wash away excess sebum and impurities without causing dryness. It’s marketed toward oily and acne prone skin.
How to use
Massage a pea sized amount of product over dry face and neck with dry hands
Wet your hands and massage again - the oil will emulsify
Rinse and follow with the rest of your routine
For me, the recommended pea-sized amount isn’t enough to cover the face and neck, including the eye area, so I’m definitely using more than that.
Despite a lot of essential oils in the ingredients list, including peppermint, the balm has a very mild and pleasant scent. In my non-chemist opinion, perhaps adding essential oils to a formula meant for acne prone skin isn’t the best decision…
My impressions
I was a bit concerned after seeing BHA in the name of this Hanskin cleanser, because BHA isn’t something I would normally use for eye makeup removal or around the eyes in general. However, the formula is very gentle and doesn’t cause any issues for my combination skin. I use this balm as my first step cleanser at night, applying it all over the face, including the eye area.
My main complaint about Hanskin Pore Cleansing Balm is the size. The jar looks misleadingly large, but the inner container with the actual product is a lot smaller. And sure, the package does state 80g on it, but subconsciously I still expected more volume looking at the outer container. I’ve been using this less than a month and am already very close to the bottom. A cleansing oil for a similar price would have lasted me much longer.
Other than that, the balm is good at removing makeup and sunscreen without drying out the skin. I did have some residue left after eyeliner, which required a separate eye makeup remover. But if I only have eyeshadow and mascara, the balm is sufficient.
It rinses cleanly, but I always use a foaming cleanser afterwards as well. I haven’t noticed any extra pore benefits compared to other cleansing oils or balms. If it were my goal to introduce BHA to my routine, I would choose a leave-on product or a foaming cleanser, not a balm. Perhaps someone with super sensitive and reactive skin would find this a suitable source of BHA, but mine can definitely tolerate more robust formulas. Even without the addition of BHA, oil cleansing with a good, thorough massage can do wonders for dislodging oil plugs and making sebaceous filaments appear smaller.
Overall, it’s a solid, effective cleanser suitable for people without essential oil sensitivities. For the price, I find the size pretty small. If I were to purchase a first cleanser with my own money, I would probably go for a different one, but I will happily finish out what’s left of this jar.
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Hanskin Pore Cleansing Balm BHA ingredients: Mineral Oil, Ethylhexyl Stearate, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Cocos Nucifera(Coconut) Oil, Polyethylene, C13-15 Alkane, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, PEG-10 Isostearate, Trihydroxystearin, CitrusAurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia(Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Salicylic Acid, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot)Kernel Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil