Review: Dr. Jart+ Ctrl-A Basic 2Step Clinic

Hey there~

First off I'm terribly sorry for the long absence. This review is long overdue, it's been in my drafts for 2 weeks OTL School has kept me pretty busy lately, but I have a couple of reviews to post this weekend so be on the lookout for them! 

Today I'll be reviewing two products from the Dr. Jart+ Ctrl-A line. This is targeted for people with acne prone skin, and claims to clear and prevent breakouts. I got this back in February and I've been using it since then. Well, only the toner now because I ran out of the moisturizer, but more on that later. 

Dr. Jart+ Ctrl-A 베이직2Step클리닉

Name: Dr. Jart+ Ctrl-A Basic 2Step Clinic

Price: 56,000원 

As the name suggests, this is a set of skincare products containing the basics: a toner and a moisturizer. For the rest of the post, I'll be talking about the toner first and then the moisturizer. 

Dr. Jart+ Ctrl-A클래리파잉 토너

Name: Dr. Jart+ Ctrl-A Clarifying Toner

Price: 27,000원 

Size: 150ml

Ingredients: Water, Alcohol Denat., Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Sea Water, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Centella Asiatica Extract, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Glycerin, Beta-Sitosterol, PPG-26-Buteth-26, Sodium Lactate, Salicylic Acid, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Lactic Acid, Steareth-4, Cholesterol, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Propylene Glycol, Cholesteryl/Behenyl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Palmeth-2 Phosphate, Acetyl Dipeptide-3 Aminohexanoate, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol

  

According to CosDNA, there are 8 ingredients that have a yellow flag in terms of safety, and one with a red flag (Salicylic Acid, which is a well known ingredient for treating acne). Alcohol Denat. scores a 3 as an irritant, and Butylene Glycol scores a 1 as a possible acne trigger. With that said, there are a few beneficial ingredients as well. AC-Fensine is the main ingredient of the Dr. Jart Ctrl-A line, and while I couldn't find exactly what it's made of (although I'm sure it's included in the ingredients list), Dr. Jart says that it helps kill acne bacteria and strengthen's the skin's immune system.

Dr. Jart+ Ctrl-A수딩 모이스처 라이저

Name: Dr. Jart Ctrl-A Soothing Moisturizer

Price: 29,000원

Size: 50ml

Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Sea Water, Centella Asiatica Extract, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Pentylene Glycol, Cyclohexasiloxane, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Salicylic Acid, Beta-Sitosterol, Steareth-4, Cholesterol, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Propylene Glycol, Acetyl Dipeptide-3 Aminohexanoate, Cholesteryl/Behenyl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Palmeth-2 Phosphate, Behenyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Alcohol Denat., Disodium EDTA

While there are less ingredients that don't have a green flag in terms of safety according to CosDNA (5 yellow flags and 1 red), there are more potential acne triggers. These include Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, PEG-100 Stearate which scored a 1, and Cetearyl Alcohol, which scored a 4. Both Alcohol Denat. and Cetearyl Alcohol scored a 3 as an irritant. AC-Fensine is also included, and one of the beneficial ingredients, shea butter, is really good for people with dry skin since it provides a lot of moisture. 

Both of these products are free of parabens, fragrances, artificial colors, mineral oils, benzophenone, triethanolamine, benzyl alcohol, sulfate surfactant, and talc, and they're both non-comedogenic, which means that none of the ingredients included are known to clog up pores. 

There's a list of the inactive ingredients in English on one of the sides.

Height: 12 cm | Diameter: 5 cm

Bottom of Bottle

The toner is contained in a white, matte bottle made of plastic. I've noticed that most AC care lines tend to use the colors red, black, and white in their packaging since it looks clean, and kind of hospital/clinic like I guess lol 

The opening of the bottle makes it easy to control the amount you use since it comes out in drops unless you shake it down really hard. 

Once again, the inactive ingredients are included on the side in English

Height: 12 cm | Width (measured from top): 5.2 cm

Like the packaging of the toner, the moisturizer is also white, matte, and made of plastic. I like the tube packaging it's in since that makes it more hygienic, although usually I don't mind jar packaging either. ^^; 

It's also really easy to control the amount you use. One thing I don't like about the moisturizer though is how tiny it is. I usually would finish a toner before a moisturizer if they're the same amount, but a 100ml difference is just too much =__=

You can see the manufacture date and expiration date on the bottom of the boxes.

As mentioned earlier, neither of the products contain any added fragrances, so anything you smell is natural. I found that if you lean in really close you'll notice a very faint alcohol scent in both products, but other than that most of the time you don't smell anything. 

The toner is colorless and looks exactly like water. Its consistency is also like water as well, so it kept on dripping while I was trying to take the photo OTL 

In terms of physical traits, this toner is basically like water lol It's neither extremely hydrating nor is it drying. 

On the other hand, the moisturizer is white and feels slightly watery, although in no way is it runny. I think anyone with combination skin to dry skin would be okay with this. People with extremely dry skin probably wouldn't find this moisturizing enough, and oily-skinned people would find it a bit too moisturizing.

It spreads easily and also absorbs quickly. When you first spread it out it feels quite slippery, but after it's been absorbed your skin feels really soft ^^ 

I don't really have much to say about the toner other than that it's average and expensive. Actually both of these products are average and expensive lol Neither of them did much in terms of clearing and preventing acne, although at least they didn't break me out. I used the moisturizer for a little over a month, twice a day, and I ran out ._. The toner I'm still using after ~2 months since there's a decent amount, but the moisturizer is just too small. I didn't see any improvement to my skin while using these two products, so I'm pretty disappointed

I'm not sure whether or not I would recommend this to sensitive skin or not due to the ingredients. If you know that you're allergic to salicylic acid, then definitely avoid this. I'm not very knowledgeable on ingredients, so I can't say if the others are bad for sensitive skin, although I think it should be fine OTL I'm sorry, I've been trying to learn about ingredients but I haven't had much time. I'll focus more on that over the summer when there's no school ^^; 

The packaging for these two products are very plain and simple, much like the packaging for other Dr. Jart products. I don't really mind though since I personally like simple packaging, but others who prefer fancy or cute packaging wouldn't like it as much lol 

I had semi-high expectations since Dr. Jart is a middle end brand (kind of like where Laneige is), but sadly this toner and moisturizer didn't live up to them. I think there's plenty of toners out there that are better and cheaper, and the same goes for the moisturizer. 

Pros

-Non-comedogenic

-Hygienic packaging

-Absorbs quickly

-Moisturizer spreads easily

-Didn't break me out

-Doesn't contain 10 additives

Cons

-So-so ingredient list

-Expensive

-Moisturizer was tiny

-Didn't clear/prevent breakouts

-Average 

Overall Score: 2.5/5

Repurchase? Nope lol Like I said before, there are plenty of better and cheaper products for clearing and preventing breakouts.

Where to buy:

iBuyBeauti (free shipping): 

-Toner and Moisturizer Set $57.99

-Toner $31.99

-Moisturizer $32.99

What about you?

What AC care products have you tried? Any effective ones that you've liked?