Review: Tonymoly Dr. Tony AC Control Acne Cleansing Foam

I used to rely on American drugstore cleansers like Neutrogena and Clean & Care because they were cheap and accessible.  Over time I found them too drying (especially after I overdid the acne products) and they didn't really deliver in terms of keeping my breakouts away.  Hence, I turned to Asian skincare products with the reasoning that these would be better designed for my Asian skin.  Online research also revealed vast numbers of positive reviews for Asian brands so I figured I had nothing to lose on trying some out. 

I received a sample of Tonymoly's AC Control Acne Foam Cleanser (not to be confused with their regular AC Control Foam Cleanser) and liked it well enough to hunt down the full-sized one on eBay.  Since there aren't too many Asian beauty shops around me I purchase mostly everything online.



The 150 ml tube was much bigger than expected and a little product went a long way.  I only consistently used this cleanser for a few months and still had half the tube left.  The snap lid cracked a few months down the road but I think this was more from my carelessness than any defect.  The white, pearly cream texture was easy to massage around my face and created a nice foam with a strong but clean, soapy scent.  I usually dislike strong fragrance but this one was tolerable.

After cleansing my face felt extremely clean without being tight.  I used it mainly at night because twice a day was a bit drying.  My cotton pads didn't pick up make-up residue as long as I was thorough with the massage and I was pretty happy with the overall cleansing performance.  As to the anti-acne ingredient, triclosan, I was initially wary because of claims it could kill skin cells as well as acne-causing bacteria.  In the end I figured this cleanser was a wash-off product I wasn't ingesting or leaving on my face to be absorbed systemically, so probably okay.

However...

There may have been some mild improvement in my acne at first, but after a few months of use it was obvious stress & diet had bigger influences on my troubled skin than any topical skincare products.  I noticed if I ate well, slept enough and experienced less stress then my skin was naturally happier (DUH).  In the end I decided to stop using this foam cleanser and move on because any product can claim credit when skin is already good-looking but I need something that's effective even when I'm physically/mentally stressed.

By that time I was also beginning to hear more about the importance of pH when choosing skincare items since they change the skin's natural moisture barrier.  (Kerry of skinandtonics.com has an informative post on that if you have time to read.)  Most foam cleansers are slightly alkaline which is why they're so effective, but also compromise the natural pH of skin (~4.0 to 4.5).  I bought pH strips to test my skincare collection and this cleansing foam failed big time (don't remember the exact pH but it was definitely nowhere near skin pH).

What did I end up doing with the leftover cleanser?  I still liked the scent so used the rest as a hand soap (but only if I wasn't planning on touching my face afterwards). 

Summary

• Packaging:     4/5 (hygienic; easy-to-use; stable bottom, flimsy lid hinge)
• Smell:             4/5 (strong but pretty clean & non-offensive scent)
• Performance: 3/5 (nice foam; effective cleansing; little/no effect on acne)
• Value/Price:   5/5 (bought for $16 but $10 on eBay now; long-lasting)
• Recommend? Maybe (only for non-sensitive and trouble-free skin)
• Repurchase?  No (pH too high & not effective enough on breakouts)