Review: COSRX Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol

Identifying Information Product name: COSRX Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol, 100mL Price: PhP 730.00 + shipping fee Description: "Uses good ingredients and self-assurance, for flawless skin" Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol is a skin-type solution product that solves the daunting problem of complex skin trouble with a combination of Propolis, AHA, natural BHA, and natural moisture-retention ingredients, as well as helping with control of sebum and clearing of dead skin cell. Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol contains little oil, helping with managing sebum and pores, to give the skin cleanliness with no shine or trouble. Product Origin: Korea Where I bought it: www.theskincarecurator.com History: I've been using this twice daily since October 8, 2015.
Physical Examination:

The liquid looks clear to me. Note how it's already getting into the lines of my hand. It has a watery consistency. Because of its thin consistency and its alcohol content, it dries quickly once spread on the face.

Ingredients: Propolis Extract, Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Lactate, Lactic Acid, Water, Glycolic Acid, Betaine Salicylate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Panthenol, Allantoin, Cassia Obtusifolia Seed Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ethyl Hexanediol, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil

The awesome ingredients list and the purpose of each substance! Click on the image to enlarge it. :) Image taken from jolse.com 

Salient Features Positives:

• Helps calm down any pimple and makes it heal twice or even thrice as fast! Papular (even nodulocystic) acne that usually last more than a week come to a head in about 2-3 days.
• This has a mild tea tree scent which I like. Other people seem to be bothered by the scent of this product but I'm not. I actually like how it smells. :)
• This product contains a combination of ingredients that have exfoliating, calming, moisturizing and anti-inflammatory properties making it good for pimples and/or acne-prone skin.
• It comes in a plastic pump bottle. It is lightweight and not prone to breakage. The pump works well.
• This has never irritated my skin. I've never felt any stinging or burning sensation from using it. It has not caused me to have any new pimples or an allergic reaction. It also does not make my skin feel dry.
• The product description as well as the ingredients are in English and are written on the box. The manufacturing and expiration dates are also printed on the bottle.
• The packaging is simple, straightforward and functional. It's not anything fancy or cutesy. It has more of a professional, kind of medical look to it.
• A bottle comes with 100mL of product and retails for PhP 730.00. I think it's decently priced.  

Negatives:

• This is already being very nitpicky but because the actual product has similar viscosity as water, once you pump some on your cupped hand there is a tendency for it to easily drip. Despite this, I still prefer using my hands than a cotton pad because I think a cotton pad absorbs too much of this precious liquid!
• Only available online

Impression/Rating: 3.95/4

Discussion: Around the first week of this month, I had an ugly breakout all over my forehead and my lower left cheek. My skin was also becoming quite sensitive because of a topical prescription retinoid + benzoyl peroxide gel I was using. It was an extremely frustrating time for me as my mind couldn't accept the fact that I was breaking out that bad when I had been using my topical medication regularly for the past 2-3 months. Because of the frustration and sadness I felt, I gave in to purchasing products by COSRX. I've been meaning to get several COSRX products but I put it off because I wanted to give my topical prescription medication time to work on my skin. Anyway, to make a long story short, I stopped using my topical medication and switched to COSRX products. I'm also using the COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid which I will be reviewing soon.

The A-Sol in the name of this product is short for acne solution, I think. This COSRX Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol can be used as a toner or a spot treatment. I use it as a spot treatment on my pimples and on the problem areas of my face. I use about 1-1.5 pumps of this per application. If you want to use it as a toner, you just have to spread it all over your face after cleansing.

I've used this A-Sol on cystic and pustular acne lesions and it has truly helped them heal faster. I've had about 3 cystic acne lesions on my cheek and on my chin and those usually last more than a week (even more than 2 weeks sometimes!) before healing completely. Using this A-Sol on them twice a day made them come to a head in 2-3 days and heal completely in about 5 days. This is one heavy duty pimple killer! 

A-Sol contains 60% propolis. So, what is propolis? Bees get a resin-like compound from tree saps and combine it with beeswax and other secretions of theirs. This results to a sticky product known as propolis. They use it to coat and seal their hives so it's like bee glue. Propolis is touted to have antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. It was also shown to have antioxidant properties and it helps with wound healing as well. There is limited information regarding the mechanism of action of propolis so more research is still needed. It looks very promising though (of course, it has been used since ancient times!), and at least on my skin it really helps! 

If you want to read more about propolis, you can go to this website. :)    

Important Note: I'm not saying that this product or any other skincare product is better than a prescription medication. I am simply sharing my experiences with the products that I have been using. This blog post is not meant to discourage you from using any medication that your dermatologist has prescribed for you. Please talk to your doctor for any concerns regarding your medications or your condition. :) Do not use propolis-containing products such as this one if you have any allergy to bees or honey. 

Prognosis: I LOVE THE COSRX NATURAL BHA SKIN RETURNING A-SOL! It has greatly helped with my cystic acne as well as my pustular acne lesions. It heals pimples without causing any kind of irritation on my skin. If the shop I bought it from had more stocks of this (it's currently out of stock), I would've purchased a back-up right away! I WILL DEFINITELY REPURCHASE THIS. If you don't have any known sensitivities to any of the ingredients and you're looking for something to help with your acne, I highly suggest you look into this product. As always, just keep in mind that it may work differently for you. :)

I will be posting before and after pictures of my skin on my upcoming review of the COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid. My skin is still far from perfect but it's greatly improving. Please watch out for that post. :)