Keep Cool And Soothe Bamboo Toner and Serum Review
New releases in K-beauty are always an exciting thing, but many new releases have not lived up to their hype (Cosrx, I’m looking at you). But recently I discovered a new-to-me and relatively new-to-the-scene brand, Keep Cool, and their Soothe Bamboo Toner and newly released Soothe Bamboo Serum. And I’m excited!
As someone who tests a lot of skincare, I can honestly say that when something gets you truly excited, instead of just satisfied, you’ve got something special on your hands.
And Keep Cool has me truly excited! They’ve created two products that are truly appropriate for sensitive skin, great for dehydrated, acne prone and weak or damaged moisture barriers! They are cruelty free, don’t use synthetic fragrances, drying alcohols or any essential oils!
Why Bamboo?
So, why bamboo? A somewhat unlikely star ingredient, bamboo has a lot of benefits for skin.
Let’s start with the fact that bamboo is jam-packed full of minerals and amino acids for the skin, which allow it to be both hydrating as well as healing and regenerative.
Bamboo contains about 70% silica which is the most abundant trace element found in the human body after iron and zinc. Silica bonds protein molecules which contribute to the skin’s ability to hold on to water, a bonus for those of us that struggle with hydration levels.
Silica is also an essential part of the collagen synthesis process, has anti-inflammatory properties and is a crucial component for bouncy and elastic skin.
Bamboo also contains antioxidants, which are amazing for protecting the skin from oxidative damage. Antioxidants help protect the skin from UV damage, but they also have shown promising benefits to reverse existing damage on the skin.
Bamboo is also a great ingredient to seek out for those suffering from acne, because bamboo has shown promising benefits for wound healing. In fact, bamboo is often used for cuts and wounds in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Bamboo is like the summer sleeper hit of the skincare world!
Keep Cool and Soothe Bamboo Toner:
Notable Ingredients:
- 85% Bamboo Water
- Keep Cool’s Phyto Green Shower complex of herbs including Japanese cypress leaves, pine, arborvitae and bamboo extract
Texture: Watery
Scent: None detected
Ingredients List Highlights:
Cruelty Free, Alcohol, Paraben, Sulfate, Fragrance and Essential Oil Free
Bambusa Vulgaris Water, Glycereth-26, Glycerin, Water, 1,2-Hexanediol, Hydroxyethyl Urea, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Polyglutamic Acid, Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Forsythia Suspensa Fruit Extract, Chamaecyparis Obtusa Leaf Extract, Thuja Orientalis Extract, Pinus Densiflora Extract, Bambusa Vulgaris Extract, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Disodium EDTA
My Experience:
Before I dug deep into the ingredient bamboo, I was floored by this toner (in a good way). I could not seem to wrap my head around the fact that this toner so deeply hydrated my skin! It was mind boggling to me because, as much as I love toners, they are a pretty basic step. Hydration is fundamentally important, but it can be a blink and you’ll miss it kind of step. But something about this toner just seemed to feed my skin exactly what it needed.
Now that I’ve done more in-depth research, it makes so much sense why my skin just responded to this toner so much. Bamboo is a great hydrator (we’ve got 85% bamboo water here), but beyond just giving skin a drink of water, bamboo has the ability to help skin retain that hydration (remember the protein bonding silica)!
I struggle with dehydration and more recently have had a bout of sensitized skin, and this toner has had a continual presence in all my routines. It’s mild, gentle and crazy effective.
I use this right after cleansing, morning and night, in about 3-5 layers. This is the pure definition of a watery and runny toner and it has zero weight on the skin.
This is perfect for all skin types, but I think those suffering from dehydration, sensitive skin or a weak or damaged moisture barrier will really experience the magic with this toner.
Keep Cool and Soothe Bamboo Serum:
Notable Ingredients:
- 66% Bamboo Extract
- 4.5% Centella Highly Concentrated Centella, Madecassoside and Asiaticoside
- Low molecular weight sodium hyaluronate, polyglutamic acid, panthenol and allantoin
Texture: Thin Gel
Scent: None detected
Ingredients List Highlights:
Cruelty Free, Alcohol, Paraben, Sulfate, Fragrance and Essential Oil Free
Bambusa Vulgaris Water, Water, Butylene Glycol, Centella Asiatica Extract, Dipropylene Glycol, Glycerin, 1,2- Hexanediol, Panthenol, Cellulose Gum, Carbomer, Tromethamine, Allantoin, Polyglutamic Acid, Madecassoside, Sodium Hyaluronate, Asiaticoside, Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Forsythia Suspensa Fruit Extract, Chamaecyparis Obtusa Leaf Extract, Thuja Orientalis Extract, Pinus Densiflora Leaf Extract, Bambusa Vulgaris Extract, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylicacid Copolymer, PVM/MA Copolymer, Disodium EDTA
My Experience:
I had experienced the magic of the Bamboo Toner before I tried the Bamboo Serum, so I had high expectations. I wasn’t disappointed.
This serum harnessed the power of bamboo with 66% bamboo extract (extract is more highly concentrated than the bamboo water in the toner). I definitely found this to be deeply hydrating, just like the toner, and it’s the serum I reach for when I need more hydration. (Often!)
What sets this apart from just being the serum version of the toner, in my opinion, is the 4.5% centella. Now, 4.5% doesn’t really sound like much, does it? I wasn’t so sure either until I learned that the 4.5% centella being used is so incredibly concentrated you can actually see it in the serum! Turns out that when centella is ground down for extraction, the green leaves turn brown, which is why this serum has an amber-brown hue to it. Pretty cool, huh?
Centella is well known for its ability to soothe skin and reduce redness and inflammation, an acne-prone skin must. But centella actually has some other amazing benefits we don’t always talk about, like its ability to help the skin hold on to more moisture and its ability to help the skin produce collagen!
When my skin was feeling sensitized, I reached for this serum because I trusted it to hydrate and heal my skin. This formula doesn’t contain any known skin irritants (like essentials oils, which seem to be the ingredient du jour in K-beauty lately) and it doesn’t contain aggressive ingredients like exfoliants or actives. This definitely delivered relief to my irritated skin and helped keep it protected with deep hydration.
This serum is lightweight yet still feels balanced on my skin and is the perfect product to bridge the gap between watery toners and more moisturizing creams.
This is another universal product, appropriate for all skin types, but I’ll especially recommend this to my acne prone, oily, dehydrated and combo skin types. And of course, sensitive or sensitized skin will appreciate the clean, safe formula.
These two products have been staples in my routines this spring, and their mild and essential oil-free ingredients lists have elevated them to sensitive and irritated skin must-have status!
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2 responses to “Keep Cool And Soothe Bamboo Toner and Serum Review”
*u* tehehe that bundle deal is definitely a great deal! Also, can I just say – these photos look so professional? >: )