Review | Etude House Soon Jung 5-Panthensoside Cica Balm

I'm always on the hunt for acne treatment products because if your skin is anything like mine, you'll understand why it's a necessity in my skin care routine. I suffer from hormonal acne every single month, and my skin scars and gets post-acne pigmentation very easily, yet takes a really long time to heal fully. Essentially, I have a ready supply of acne every single month.

I first chanced upon this product when I bought something from Etude House and they gave a mini tube of the 5-Panthensoside Cica Balm from the Soon Jung line as a sample. I tried it on my skin with zero expectations (at that point in time, I hadn't even researched on what this did) and was pleasantly surprised with how decently it worked for my skin. I've actually mentioned this product in a post titled "How I clear acne spots fast" and today I'll be doing a more in-depth review on this product.

First and foremost, Etude House's Soon Jung line is aimed at reducing skin irritation and healing damanged skin. More specifically, this cica balm is for the improvement of damage skin and (as the name suggests) it contains 5% Panthensoside. It has a slightly acidic pH formula, contains 92% natural ingredients, is free from 10 toxic ingredients, and is made from EWG Green Level ingredients. The cica balm contains panthenol and madecassoside which are both ingredients which heals damaged and irritated skin.

It comes in 2 sizes, 15ml and 40ml and I bought the 40ml because with how problematic my skin is, I'll be finishing this up in no time at all

It comes in a squeeze tube which I love because it keeps the product hygienic and I can squeeze out the amount I need easily. without using additional tools (like spatulas in the case of tubs) The opening is just the right size to and it is very easy to control the amount of product I dispense at any one time.

The cica balm comes out slightly cloudy in colour but blends out to a transparent finish. It is pretty lightweight in texture, doesn't have any scent to it, and doesn't leave any residue on the skin. I typically use this as the last step in my skin care routine, and as a spot treatment only, although Etude House did say that you can apply this all over the face. I did it once and it actually pitted up slightly which I didn't like so I use it strictly on my spots. I'll do toner > serum > moisturiser > 5-Panthensoside Cica Balm (only on spots).

I like to apply this cica balm on spots that are forming or have yet to show their "white/yellow" head. Over the next couple of days of constant usage, either the spot will go down, or the head will appear. If the former happens, I'll just continue applying the cica balm. If the latter happens, I'll then follow up with COSRX's Acne Pimple Master Patch to suck up all the gunk in the spot.

Am I very impressed with the results? Yes and no. This cica balm definitely isn't a one-night wonder but I find that it does heal my spots faster than if I didn't use this at all. That being said, knowing how my skin works, I don't expect any product to work immediately and have amazing results overnight. I find that this cica balm doesn't irritate my skin, doesn't dry it out, and in general is a decent product and I like using it.

However, I applied this on my husband's forming spot (that was as big as a mosquito bite), and overnight, it soothed the spot and flattened it considerably. After the 2nd night of using it, the spot totally flattened and disappeared. Maybe it works for his skin type, not so much for mine, but I was still really impressed at how fast it worked for him!

I'm nearly halfway done with the tube and at this moment in time, I probably won't repurchase this because I have so many other products in my arsenal that I want to try out first but if I ever change my mind, you'll be the first to find out!

[Update: This cica balm works amazing for damaged skin barrier! I recently suffered from a very damaged skin barrier, (you can read about it HERE) and this cica balm literally stopped it from worsening and helped soothe my skin. I also figured out how to use this all over the face. Apply a liberal amount but don't blend it into the skin, so just spread it on and leave it alone. This stops the cica balm from pitting up and appearing a white mess on the face.]