COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser: a Guru Score of 61%

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored

~Nay

"The gel texture is very light and doesn't strip your oil too much because it's low acidic, which is a good idea for a morning cleanser. But oh my god, the scent is way too strong, I cannot handle it. The gel texture is nice and light, but what's the point if I can't handle the scent. There are so many better, less scented low acidic foam cleansers now, so there's no reason to use this one."

All 3 takes from CYoung

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"The gel texture is very light and doesn't strip your oil too much because it's low acidic, which is a good idea for a morning cleanser. But oh my god, the scent is way too strong, I cannot handle it. The gel texture is nice and light, but what's the point if I can't handle the scent. There are so many better, less scented low acidic foam cleansers now, so there's no reason to use this one."

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"This has amazing naming, that's why it's still selling so well, but what happened with the scent, it can never become popular in Korea, it's too outdated. It's positioned well as a low acidic cleanser, but we have so many better low acidic cleansers now, I didn't find any good reason to use this one."

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"This one is not bad, but not recommended for a deep cleanse, it's just like the name says, it's great as a morning cleanser or a second cleanser if you double cleanse. It has a strong artificial chemical scent, so be careful. It feels a bit slippery and there's less irritation after washing. It's part of the mildly acidic foam cleanser trend that's been evolving in Korea lately."

Dr. Jenny Liu

321k subs

~Yay

"My personal favorite from COSRX is the Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser. I think this is really nice, at least for me, like a great gentle cleanser to use in the morning. [...] Using a gentle cleanser in the morning is the best way for me to remove everything but not be super aggressive, kind of create a clean slate in a really nice and gentle way. And this is exactly what this cleanser does. It is a gentle low pH. Low pH is just more suitable for our skin because our skin naturally has a lower pH, so less disruptive of the skin barrier, but really designed to remove buildup and impurities while still maintaining the skin's natural barrier. I think this is great for those that have more oily combination skin and acne prone skin, but certainly dry skin. In the summer time it can make a really wonderful cleanser. A great cleanser to use morning, a great cleanser to use at night on its own or kind of as a second step for double cleansing. It's a very gentle, non-stripping formula, suitable for really all skin types, but in particular, in my opinion, better for oily and combination skin. Ingredient wise, it's got tea tree leaf oil."

Top Pick: gentle cleanser

Nipun Kapur

408k subs

~Yay

"This is my recommendation which is a not a must to have but is a good to have from COSRX... the good morning pH cleanser is fabulous"

No BS Beauty

89k subs

~Mixed

"It's been talked about a lot, it's been overpromised. It's just a gentle cleanser for the morning. It doesn't remove makeup, it won't remove sunscreen, but it does enough to remove serums and your routine in the morning. A lot of people I think either relied on it too much to do too much or were let down because it couldn't remove makeup and things like that, but it's just a nice gentle morning cleanser. That's what it is, that's all it is. You don't really want to use it at nighttime. It's just a nice one for the morning for people that a lot of times just splash their face with water. This one is just an alternative basically to that and still gentle."

Hyram

4.34M subs

~Nay

"I'll have to say pass for this one. You know, this was one of like the first cleansers I used, and I think actually like the first Korean skincare product. It's just a little bit too stripping, and that's me with my skin where you need like a pickaxe to get through all the built-up oil throughout the day, but every time I've used this one it just leaves my skin feeling a little bit too stripped and dry. So I'd say pass."

A

AliceintheRabbitHole

59k subs

~Nay

"The Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser is just not a good match for dry skin, it's way too stripping for my dry skin. It is a low pH cleanser, but most cleansers are low pH these days anyway. This could be nice for some skin types, but I wouldn't recommend it for really normal to dry skin."

Lab Muffin Beauty Science

861k subs

~Nay

"Low pH cleansers are a selling point in Korean skincare because a lot of cleansers were really high pH for a long time. Despite the low pH, which is around 5.3, a lot of people, including me, still find this really drying. It might be because there aren't that many surfactants in this, so you're not getting that mixed micelle gentle effect. There's also no real hardcore humectants or moisturizers in the formula to try to replace what gets washed away. I think it is popular because it's COSRX, it's really easy to get in the U.S., and it is really budget-friendly, but I think it is worth it to pay a bit more to get a less drying cleanser. I have oily skin and getting a gentle cleanser has made a really big difference to how manageable the oil is. I'm going to put this in meh."

James Welsh

1.58M subs

~Nay

"I hate it. I absolutely hate it cuz it kind of felt similar."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Salicylic acid

Salicylic acid dissolves in oil, so it can get into a pore rather than just working on the surface. That is why it has long-standing evidence for blackheads and milder acne.

Source: DermNet

Humectants and emollients

Ingredients like these draw water into the surface layers and slow how fast it leaves. The evidence is for comfort, softness and hydration rather than for changing the structure of the skin.

Source: DermNet

Frequently asked.

What is COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser?

A low pH gel cleanser designed to gently remove impurities and buildup while maintaining skin's natural barrier, formulated with tea tree leaf oil.

Is COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser worth it?

The gurus are split. 3 of the 9 gurus give it their stamp of approval while 5 would skip it, which lands it in the middle at a Guru Score of 61%.

What is COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser's Guru Score?

COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser holds a Guru Score of 61%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 9 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.