iWhite Korea Glow Moisturizer Review For Oily, Acne-Prone skin: My personal experience

iWhite Aqua Moisturizer (blue) has been my holy grail budget moisturizer since 2017. So when iWhite Korea had launched a new pink moisturizer that’s infused with a variety of berry extracts and niacinamide, I couldn’t help but try it for myself.

How does iWhite Aqua Moisturizer Glow stack up against the original blue iWhite Aqua? Read on to find out. 

Each skin type has different moisturizing needs. For people with oily, acne-prone skin like me, the best moisturizer has the following characteristics:

• More humectants (to hydrate the skin)
• Oil-free (to prevent oil slick and acne)
• Alcohol-free (preferably)
• Good value for money

These are the same parameters that I used to rate and review the blue iWhite Aqua moisturizer.

    From iWhite Korea’s Instagram

Product Description

iWhite Korea Aqua Moisturizer Glow for Concentrated Brightening + Strengthening is a refreshing water-based moisturizer that leaves your skin soft and supple with a non-greasy formula. It is infused with Niacinamide and Berry Complex to help:

• Brighten and even out skin tone
• Prevent formation of dark spots, freckles, and uneven skin tone
• Hydrate & maintain skin’s moisture
• Strengthen skin’s barrier

Ingredients

Berry Complex:

Rubus fruticosus (Blackberry) Fruit Extract, Rubus idaeus (Raspberry) Fruit Extract, Fragaria chiloensis (Strawberry) Fruit Extract, Vaccinium angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract, Vaccinium macrocarpon (Cranberry) Fruit Extract, Ribes nigrum (Black Currant) Fruit Extract, Euterpe oleracea Fruit Extract, Morus nigra Fruit Extract, Vaccinium myrtillus Fruit Extract, Lycium chinense Fruit Extract

Other Ingredients:

Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Glycerin, PEG-10 Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Cyclohexasiloxane, Niacinamide, Magnesium Sulfate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ananas sativus (Pineapple) Fruit Water, Ananas sativus (Pineapple) Fruit Extract, Ananas sativus (Pineapple) Fruit Juice, Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate, Allantoin, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Butylene Glycol, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Dimethiconol, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, CI 16035, Fragrance

     From iWhite Korea’s Instagram

Other Stated Benefits

• Paraben-free
• Triclosan-free
• Talc-free

Directions for Use / How to Use

Apply an ample amount all over clean face twice a day or as needed. If any irritation occurs, discontinue use and consult with doctor if necessary.

Expiration

See embossed on the tube.

How long can it be used after opening?

It has no PAO (Period After Opening) symbol on the packaging which tells how long the product can be used after opening.

Is it paraben-free?

Yes. iWhite Glow Moisturizer does NOT contain any paraben.

Is it alchohol-free?

iWhite Glow Moisturizer does NOT contain ethanol or ethyl alcohol, denatured alcohol, methanol, isopropyl alcohol, SD alcohol, and benzyl alcohol. It contains a small amount of butylene glycol. See ingredients list above.

Does it contain any synthetic fragrance?

Fragrance is listed in iWhite Glow Moisturizer’s ingredients. Whether it is synthetic or natural is unspecified.

Is it safe for pregnant and breastfeeding women?

“Our products are made from natural ingredients and some alcohol content but are FDA-approved and proven safe and effective. However, to ensure that it is 100% safe for pregnant women, we suggest that you consult with your doctor first.”

(Their answer to a pregnant customer’s inquiry on this post, dated October 24, 2019.)

Is it vegan? Is it cruelty-free?

Maybe not. iWhite Korea does not advertise any of its products as such.

Ingredients Analysis

Almost any product’s ingredients are listed from the most amount to the least. In reading cosmetic ingredient lists, it’s common practice to look at the first 6 ingredients which, due to their high concentrations, will give the product most of its “nature” and “behavior”.

IMPORTANT: This does not apply to retinol/retinoid, Vitamin C, exfoliating acids like BHA & AHA, niacinamide, and other products with similar actives that are already effective and can be safely used in small concentrations.

       From iWhite Korea’s Instagram

For people with skin sensitivity, iWhite Glow contains the following ingredients:

• silicones
• fragrance
• colorant

TRIVIA: Although iWhite Glow boasts itself as paraben-free, parabens are actually safe for use. The belief that “parabens are harmful” is a pervasive myth that should die already.

    ©Nicoleblog_Original picture

Appearance, Smell, Finish

iWhite Glow is a gel moisturizer with a pinkish white color. Weirdly, it smells like watermelon to me more than berries. It turns watery when you rub it on the skin and leaves a lightweight, dewy finish that, in my experience, is a little tacky but not greasy or bothersome.

When I press my clean fingertips on my moisturized face, the skin clings a little to my fingertips. (FYI, the blue iWhite Aqua has a similar finish.) If you don’t like any kind of stickiness on your face, you’d want to set this with, say, face powder.

Interestingly, other parts of my body don’t experience the same slightly tacky finish. I tried the product on my hands and arms and the product was absorbed well. It feels smooth to touch. Not tacky at all. What I did notice is it leaves a very light sheen on the skin.

A tube can last for a month when used 2x a day, every day.

The best thing to do is to buy a sachet or two and test it for yourself.

 From iWhite Korea’s Instagram

Verifying Claims

1. Brighten and even out skin tone

Brighten, maybe. Even out skin tone, not so much.

Fruit extracts and niacinamide are known to brighten dull, tired-looking skin. Some fruit extracts can help even out skin tone, whereas niacinamide is proven to do that.

However, the dose is very important.

Does iWhite Glow have enough concentration of fruit extracts and niacinamide to effectively even out skin tone?

We don’t know. It’s unspecified.

After having emptied a tube of iWhite Glow, I CAN’T say for sure if the product has made my skin “glow”.

2. Prevent formation of dark spots, freckles, and uneven skin tone

Berries are “superfoods” that, depending on the type, contain antioxidants anthocyanins, ellagic acid, and resveratrol. Niacinamide has antioxidant properties too.

Antioxidants fight off and reverse the effects of skin damage caused by harmful UV rays. Such UV-induced skin damages are: dark spots (sun spots), freckles, and uneven skin tone (tanning)!

The effectiveness of iWhite Glow in preventing dark spots, freckles, and uneven skin tone is undetermined.

3. Hydrate & maintain skin’s moisture

Yes, it can. It contains humectants glycerin and sodium hyaluronate, which hydrate the skin by drawing moisture to its surface. The silicones in the formula then seal in the water molecules, preventing them from quickly evaporating and dehydrating the skin.

This is the basic function of a moisturizer.

4. Strengthen skin’s barrier

Moisturizing the skin adequately is almost always enough to strengthen the skin’s barrier.

The additional niacinamide can help repair a weakened skin barrier and retain skin moisture. However, in a dosage that could probably be less than 2%, niacinamide’s effectiveness becomes questionable.

    From iWhite Korea’s Instagram

iWhite Glow vs iWhite Aqua (blue)

As a long-time user of blue iWhite Aqua, I can’t help but compare the two iWhite moisturizers.

iWhite Glow has glycerin as its primary humectant whereas iWhite Aqua (blue) has more sodium hyaluronate, a powerful humectant that can hold water up to 1,000x its weight.

Idk how much glycerin and sodium hyaluronate cost in manufacturing so we can compare, but glycerin is commonly used in many cheap, “drugstore” beauty products whereas sodium hyaluronate is found in more mid-range products.

This is interesting because iWhite Glow commands 10 pesos more than iWhite Aqua (blue).

The extra cost may be due to the extra ingredients (berry extracts, niacinamide) added in the formulation. It could also be that iWhite Glow was hard to formulate or its manufacturing is more complex.

But just on the basis of humectant type, iWhite Aqua (blue) is the superior moisturizer over iWhite Glow.

iWhite Glow for Oily, Acne-Prone Skin

 More humectants
 Oil-free
 Alcohol-free
 Good value for money

Having checked all the requirements above, iWhite Glow is a great moisturizer for oily skin. It’s good for both daytime and nighttime use all year round for people living in the tropics such as the Philippines.

It won’t exacerbate your oil slick and cause acne, while providing much-needed hydration to the skin. And the best part is: it’s very affordable!

For high-altitude and cold places (20° C or lower) such as Baguio and Sagada, this can be too thin and insufficient to provide moisture to your skin, especially at night.

For people who live or travel to countries with four seasons, this is a great moisturizer for spring and summer only.

Is iWhite Glow Moisturizer non-comedogenic?

TRIVIA: There’s no existing certification or standardized testing, locally or internationally, that proves a certain product is non-comedogenic.

Any cosmetic company can claim that their product is non-comedogenic. Even the comedogenic ratings on which most beauty companies base their “non-comedogenic” claims are flawed and unreliable. Be informed!

But since iWhite Glow is water-based, oil-free, and lightweight, it won’t likely clog your pores.

The best way to know if a product works for YOU is to test it for yourself. That’s what the iWhite Glow sachets are for.

Standard testing time for irritation: 24 hours

Standard testing time for effectiveness: 8 weeks

As for my experience, it didn’t break me out. My occasional pimples were due to stress.

 From iWhite Korea’s Instagram

Verdict

iWhite Glow is a great moisturizer for oily, acne-prone skin, especially for those who live in the tropics. It’s oil-free, lightweight, hydrating, and not too silicone-y.

As for the additional Berry Complex and the probably low niacinamide content, I have mixed feelings about them. Maybe they can help in improving the appearance of my skin, slowly or on a microscopic level that I wouldn’t see, but I wouldn’t count on it.

But going back to the real purpose of a moisturizer and its basic components, these berry extracts and (probably) teeny-tiny niacinamide are just shiny sprinkles on the top.

Does iWhite Glow, which is fundamentally a moisturizer, effectively moisturize the skin?

YES. I even tested it on my dry hands and it did moisturize my skin.

Am I willing to pay 10 pesos more for it?

YES. It’s now my 2nd choice when iWhite Aqua (blue) sells out.

All in all, iWhite Glow is a great moisturizer. It may be overpriced by 10 pesos but it’s still a much better deal than other oil-free, water-based moisturizers in the market (Laneige Sleeping Mask, Neutrogena HydroBoost).

If you’re looking for an affordable moisturizer for oily, acne-prone skin, iWhite Glow moisturizer is worth a try. This is NOT a sponsored post. 

Price: 

PHP 25 for a 6ml sachet

PHP 205 for a 50ml tube

AVAILABLE on:

Drugstores

7/11, alphaMart and other convenience store

Watsons

And other super markets

By: Nicole G. Serrano

12 ABM-PACIOLI