Sulwhasoo Ginseng Renewing Cream Ex for oily skin
Hydrolyzed Ginseng Saponins- Panax Ginseng Root Extract
Acetyl Heptapeptide-4
Squalane
Honey
Average
- AverageOily Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- Low RiskSafety
Works for oily skin; other moisturizers fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with oily skin: shine, enlarged pores, blackheads, and blemishes. For scores and recommendations based on your full skin profile, including your 12D face scan results and any goals or preferences you have, please use the Lovi app.
Page built Nov 8, 2026How the Fit score works
Lovi Assistant explains
- Offers moderate moisturizing and elasticity improvement for your oily skin due to Panax Ginseng Root Extract and Hydrolyzed Ginseng Saponins, though ingredients like dimethicone and glycerin provide hydration that may not sufficiently address oily shine.
- The formulation is moderately suitable for oily skin as squalane and dimethicone offer emollient action, but it may not provide enough seboregulation for your specific concerns.
How to apply
- Could be used as part of your AM or PM routine every day to keep your face fresh.
- Apply this moisturizer after cleansing and toning, but right before your SPF in the morning.
- Gently press a small amount into your skin and let it absorb fully.
- Apply on clean, slightly dry skin to help control that oily shine.
- Avoid the eye area and do a quick patch test before your first use.
People Say
★4.6Overall rating based on 100+ reviewsBased on limited data, this cream is highly regarded for its ability to deeply hydrate and revitalize dry or aging skin, imparting a dewy glow and improving texture. Many users experience enhanced plumpness and reduced fine lines. However, the product is divisive due to its significant cost and strong, earthy ginseng fragrance.
Highlights
Luxurious texture Mostly Mentioned
- “buttery but non-greasy”
- “melts into skin”
- “velvety finish”
- “lightweight yet rich”
High price Mostly Mentioned
- “eye-wateringly expensive”
- “hefty price tag”
- “hard to sustain”
- “luxury splurge”
Deep hydration Often Mentioned
- “skin drinks it up”
- “hydrated all night”
- “soft and moist”
- “banished dry patches”
Radiant glow Often Mentioned
- “instant glow”
- “dewy finish”
- “glass skin look”
- “healthy radiance”
Strong scent Often Mentioned
- “overpowering herbal smell”
- “smells like dirt”
- “medicinal odor”
- “too strong”
Anti-aging effects Sometimes Noted
- “plumper skin”
- “softened fine lines”
- “firmer texture”
- “bouncy feel”
Spa-like scent Sometimes Noted
- “calming herbal smell”
- “earthy and grounding”
- “therapeutic aroma”
- “natural ginseng scent”
Packaging issues Rarely Noted
- “jar hygiene concerns”
- “looked not full”
- “heavy glass jar”
- “prefer pump”
Skin reactions Rarely Noted
- “caused breakouts”
- “small whiteheads (milia)”
- “redness on cheeks”
- “too rich for oily skin”
Sources: lovi.care, sephora.my, sephora.sg, influenster.com, skinsort.com, tryandreview.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does Sulwhasoo Ginseng Renewing Cream Ex work for oily skin?
This cream works moderately well for oily skin, offering balanced hydration and elasticity improvement, though it may not sufficiently address oily shine. Moisturizing treatments that fit oily skin better need lightweight textures, ingredients that control excess oil and support the skin barrier without heavy oils, and soothing agents that hydrate without clogging pores.
Which ingredients make this cream a good fit for oily skin?
Panax ginseng root extract and hydrolyzed ginseng saponins make this cream work for your oily skin by providing moderate moisture and improving elasticity, while squalane and dimethicone soften it. However, a moisturizer for oily skin needs ingredients that control oil and maintain a lightweight texture without heavy oils or excess shine.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2007Journal of Ginseng Research, 2017
What do Ginseng Saponins do for oily skin?
Ginseng saponins help calm skin and may reduce excess oil and redness by tackling inflammation. A product for oily skin also needs lightweight hydrators and balancing ingredients to keep pores clear and the skin smooth.
What does Ginseng Root Extract do for oily skin?
Ginseng Root Extract helps calm oily skin and protects it from daily stress and UV damage. This ingredient also helps reduce inflammation and keeps the skin balanced, though an oily routine also needs lightweight, oil-free hydration and gentle cleansing to stay clear.
Where does this cream go in a skincare routine for oily skin?
This moisturizing treatment goes near the end of your evening routine, after cleansing, toning, and applying treatments. Oily skin works best with a product of this type that also includes oil-controlling ingredients and lightweight hydrators to manage shine.
Can I use this cream with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this cream in your evening routine after applying your retinol treatment. A moisturizer of this type works best for oily skin when it includes lightweight hydrators and oil-controlling ingredients to balance shine while you use stronger active treatments.
How often should I use this cream?
You can use this moisturizing treatment daily to help keep your skin soft and smooth. Oily skin of this type needs a product with ingredients that control excess oil and shine while providing lightweight hydration.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Health Science Reports, 2021
Can this cream clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily skin?
This cream is unlikely to cause purging, but it may feel a bit heavy and contribute to oily shine or breakouts on oily skin. Oily skin works best with products that provide lightweight hydration and targeted oil control ingredients to keep pores clear.
Can I use this cream around the eyes or on my body?
You can use this moisturizing treatment around the eyes or on your body, as the skin in these areas can benefit from its nourishing ingredients and plant extracts. Oily skin and thinner areas like the eyelids require lightweight hydration and ingredients that balance oil while keeping the skin soft and smooth.
Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy, 2002Journal of Ginseng Research, 2017
Is this cream fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It has no drying alcohol and contains fragrance (parfum, linalool, and limonene). Cetearyl alcohol, arachidyl alcohol, and behenyl alcohol are fatty alcohols, which soften the skin.
What the research says
A mixture of Panax ginseng and Crataegus pinnatifida prevented skin aging by improving procollagen type I expression, diminishing matrix metalloproteinase-1 secretion, reducing skin roughness and photodamage scores, and decreasing loss of skin moisture in human dermal fibroblasts and healthy human skin.
Journal of Ginseng Research, 2017Ginsenosides extracted from Sanchi induced stress protein synthesis in human skin cells and showed positive effects against facial wrinkles and skin aging symptoms in clinical testing.
Dose-response, 2013Panax ginseng root extract induced Type I procollagen synthesis and COL1A2 promoter activity through Smad2 phosphorylation in human dermal fibroblast cells.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2007Petrolatum-based skin protectants demonstrated protection against irritants and maceration while providing skin hydration, whereas dimethicone and zinc oxide products showed varying or limited performance across parameters among 18 healthy volunteers compared to positive and negative controls.
Ostomy/wound Management, 2005Enzyme-modified ginseng extract cream significantly reduced the global photo-damage score and various roughness measures including total roughness, smoothness depth, and arithmetic roughness average compared to placebo in 23 human subjects.
Rejuvenation Research, 2015A red ginseng hydrogel formulation with 1,2-hexanediol promoted selective growth of Staphylococcus epidermidis and decreased Cutibacterium acnes in 20 female subjects.
Journal of Ginseng Research, 2022A 1% fermented black ginseng cream significantly reduced eye wrinkles and brightened skin color in twenty-three human subjects compared to control cream and baseline.
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. Part A, 2020Squalane at 0.005-0.015% counteracts UVA-induced oxidative stress, inflammation, and collagen metabolism inhibition while stimulating fibroblast migration in human dermal fibroblasts.
Molecules, 2025Plant-derived squalane protected human dermal fibroblasts against UVA-induced damage by counteracting ROS formation, suppressing apoptosis-related proteins p53, caspase-3, caspase-9, and PARP, and restoring the pro-survival p-Akt/mTOR pathway.
Antioxidants, 2025Honey-based dressings reduced mean healing duration, length of hospital stay, and VAS pain scores compared with povidone iodine-based dressings in 1236 participants.
Journal of Wound Care, 2021Topical honey application improved the mean duration of attacks and pain, occurrence of crusting, and healing time compared to acyclovir cream in 16 adult patients with recurrent labial and genital herpes lesions.
Medical Science Monitor, 2004
Why other moisturizers fit oily skin better
A panthenol-enriched mask improved skin hydration, regulated sebum, and reduced redness and TEWL across dry sensitive, oily sensitive, and oily acne skin subgroups with excellent tolerance and no adverse reactions.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024
Ingredients
Water, Butylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Triethylhexanoin, Squalane, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, 1,2-Hexanediol, Vinyl Dimethicone Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Cetearyl Olivate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Methoxy Peg-114 Polyepsilon Caprolactone, Sorbitan Olivate, Glyceryl Stearate, Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Arachidyl Alcohol, Behenyl Alcohol, Parfum, Hydrolyzed Ginseng Saponins Enzyme-Treated Red Ginseng Saponins, Glyceryl Caprylate, Arachidyl Glucoside, Phenoxyethanol, Sorbitan Isostearate, Polysorbate 60, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium Edta, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Linalool, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Dextrin, Theobroma Cacao Extract, Sodium Chloride, Honey Mel Miel, Limonene, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Rehmannia Glutinosa Root Extract, Panax Ginseng Flower Extract, Paeonia Albiflora Root Extract, Lilium Candidum Bulb Extract, Polygonatum Odoratum Extract Rhizome, Myristic Acid, Arachidic Acid, Glucose, Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Extract, Phytosphingosine, Sodium Polyaspartate, Caprylyl Glycol, Tocopherol, Sodium Methyl Stearoyl Taurate, Acetyl Heptapeptide-4, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Sodium Hydroxide, Acetyl Octapeptide-3
Behind this fit score
Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
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Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
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Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
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Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
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