According to Town and Country magazine, this year’s Oscars gift bag that was given to nominees included a complete pore care pack from Caolion. While most of us probably can’t afford many of the items in the gift bag, we can get the pore stuff from Caolion!
I decided to test out the Caolion Premium Hot & Cool Pore Pack Duo to see if it was worth all the hype it seems to be getting. The duo consists of Premium Blackhead Steam Pore Pack, and Premium Pore Original Pack. The “steaming” mask is supposed to open and deeply cleanse the pores, while the cooling mask tightens and minimizes the appearance of pores.
The hot Blackhead Steam Pore Pack cleans impurities and blackheads, while it exfoliates dead skin cells with grain powder to result in firmer looking skin. It contains charcoal powder to extract excess oil and 100% natural sparkling water to penetrate into the skin for enriched moisture. The cool Original Pore Pack tightens enlarged pores as well as calms and revitalizes the skin. It’s enriched with 100% Alaskan glacial water to keep skin moist, while menthol has a cooling effect to soothe troubled skin.
First off, the jar packaging a huge no-no. Not only does exposure to air and light render the ingredients ineffective, but constantly dipping your fingers into it introduces yucky bacteria. If you get this, make sure to transfer the product into tubes or travel bottles if you want the most bang for your buck.
I first tried the hot stuff, which is the first step. You’re supposed to apply it to clean, dry skin and massage for one to two minutes, then leave on for five to ten minutes, and rinse with cold water. It did get hot, but this stuff was horribly irritating! I couldn’t leave it on for even five minutes because it burned. The granules were also irritating, especially on skin that felt like it was being seared.
Caolion step 1, Blackhead Steam Pore Pack
Well, after that experience, I was looking forward to the “cooling” effect of step two, the cool Original Pore Pack. Nope. It burned even more– I seriously felt like my face was fire! I should have known, considering it contains menthol. Imagine putting Ben-Gay all over your face. Horrible, horrible, horrible! After a minute or so of burning, it finally did have a “cooling” sensation, but it was very irritating. Sorry, Caolion, but menthol is NOT known to be a skin-soothing ingredient!
Caolion step 2, Original Pore Pack
To be fair, ever since I started using tretinoin, my skin is more sensitive due to be hyperexfoliated. But, my skin can usually tolerate irritating products as long as I don’t use them too often. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case here. If it had worked miracles and did wonders for my skin, I would tolerate this just for the end result, but it just didn’t deliver. Yes, my pores were more clear, but I get a better effect from GlamGlow Supermud, with absolutely none of the irritation!
The Caolion Premium Hot & Cool Pore Pack Duo, despite containing irritants, did have some other ingredients that are pretty great, so I would likely be willing to try out other products from the brand at some point- with hopefully a better experience! 🙂
Have you tried the Caolion Premium Hot & Cool Pore Pack Duo? What did you think? Scroll down to comment below!
I got a sample of this (both types) in a monthly beauty subscription box. Personally I was impressed. I have sensitive skin and prone to flare ups of perioral dermatitis, while the heat from the first mask left my skin slightly red it seemed to fade fairly quickly.
As with most skin care products I think it’s just a hit or miss depending on your personal type of skin and what it will tolerate.
Hi Corinne! I’m so glad you liked this, it’s nice to hear something good about it! My skin is overly sensitive from tretinoin, but now that my skin has adjusted more to it, I may have to go back and try this again! 🙂
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Thank you and best of luck.
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Great! Have you tried the mask?