Cure Natural Aqua Gel Review

This is a review of my holy grail facial exfoliant. 1 bottle of Cure Natural Aqua Gel is sold every 12 seconds in Japan! I've been using it for more than a year, and I can totally see why so many people swear by it.

I used to have acne-prone skin in my JC days, and that left behind lots of acne scars and hyper-pigmentation. Apart from my prescribed scar removal gel, I also relied on weekly exfoliation to get rid of the unwanted dead skin cells and speed up the skin renewal process.

There are many advantages of exfoliating the skin. I'm sure you can find a lot of information just by googling, but here are a few:

1. It removes dead skin cells that could clog up pores

2. Speeds up skin renewal process and improves skin elasticity

3. Allows skincare products to penetrate better into the skin

4. Helps to even out skin tone and leads to brighter skin in the long run

I have been using Cure Natural Aqua Gel for more than a year now, and I'm currently on my second bottle. It is unlike any other facial exfoliators I've seen before. It is not a physical exfoliator, nor is it really a chemical exfoliator. The ingredients in the gel naturally reacts with the dead skin cells, allowing them to be removed easily by gentle massaging.

How to use it:

1. Wash face with a cleanser and use a towel to pat dry the skin.
2. Use 1 pump of Cure and apply it on dry skin.



3. Spread the gel evenly onto the skin. Apply more if needed.



4. Leave the gel on the skin for about 10-20secs. This will allow some time for the ingredients in the gel to react with the dead skin cells.



5. Gently massage the gel around the face in a small circular motion for about 30secs-1min. White blobs of dead skin cells will be lifted off the skin. I was quite skeptical at first, because who knows, the white balls could just be the solid state of the gel. So I tried exfoliating once more, and the second time round, there was hardly any white particles.

6. Rinse well with lukewarm water. Pat dry and continue with daily skincare routine.

Price:

S$49 at Watsons. It is recommended to use it twice per week. Most of the time I'll only use it once per week and my first bottle lasted me for about a year, with 1 pump per usage.

Smell:

No fragrance.

Texture:

Gel-like texture, with no micro-beads.

What I like:

• Satisfaction of seeing the dirty skin cells ball up into white particles. 
• Gentle. I don't feel like I'm scrubbing off my skin because there's no exfoliating beads in the gel.
• Softer and brighter skin after use. 
• Skincare products penetrate more efficiently. I feel that this is the most immediate and best indicator of how well a product exfoliates the skin. After each usage of Cure, my lotion and moisturizer get absorbed faster, and my skin feels more supple and bouncy. 
• With long term usage, I find that Cure helps to diminished the appearance of acne scars. I stopped relying on my scar removal gel a couple of months after I started Cure, as my skin wasn't breaking out anymore and I find that to be too drying. Even without the help of a scar removal gel, I've noticed an improvement in my skin tone over the past year.
• There is also a handy plastic lock for the pump that is ideal for traveling.

What can be improved:

• This happened to my first bottle. After a few months of usage, I find that the product doesn't get pumped out as easily as before. I'm not sure if its because of the gel solidifying near the pump, but it took quite a lot of force to press down the pump.
• Doesn't remove blackheads/whiteheads very well. I don't have alot of blackheads/whiteheads, just 2-3 stubborn ones that refuse to budge no matter what I do. 

I really highly highly recommend this to anyone looking for a gentle but effective facial exfoliator. It may seem to be quite a hefty investment (S$49), but 1 bottle will last for a year with weekly usage. For people with oily/combi skin, perhaps it will be better to exfoliate twice a week as recommended. This product is definitely worth the money and lives up to the hype!

Ingredients: