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Product Comparison

Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of Missha Creamy Latte Strawberry Cleansing Foam versus Merle Norman Skin Refining Cleanser .

Published on May 09, 2022

Overview

What they are

These products are both reef safe face cleansers. They have a total of 9 ingredients in common

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for dry skin and brightening skin

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, parabens or silicones

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that need an update? Let us know.

Face Cleanser South Korean Brand South Korea
Face Cleanser American Brand United States

Face Cleanser

Face cleansers are used to remove makeup, dead skin cells, pollutants, oil, dirt, and/or clean out pores on the skin. Face cleansers may specialize in having one function (exa. just removing makeup) or may have multiple functions (exa. Removing makeup and cleaning pores).

Face Cleanser

Face cleansers are used to remove makeup, dead skin cells, pollutants, oil, dirt, and/or clean out pores on the skin. Face cleansers may specialize in having one function (exa. just removing makeup) or may have multiple functions (exa. Removing makeup and cleaning pores).

Price

Shop

Buy Creamy Latte Strawberry Cleansing Foam

Shop

Buy Skin Refining Cleanser

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and view relevant ingredients.
alcohol-free
silicon-free
fragrance-free
sulfate-free
paraben-free
oil-free
fungal-acne safe
reef-safe
eu-allergen-free
vegan
cruelty-free
alcohol-free
silicon-free
fragrance-free
sulfate-free
paraben-free
oil-free
fungal-acne safe
reef-safe
eu-allergen-free
vegan
cruelty-free

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Notable Ingredients

Exfoliators

Benefits

Hydrating
Brightening

Concerns

Drying
May Worsen Oily Skin (3)
Acne Trigger (3)
Rosacea (3)
Eczema (3)

Benefits

Hydrating
Brightening

Concerns

Drying
May Worsen Oily Skin (2)
Acne Trigger (2)
Irritating
Eczema
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Ingredients Side-by-side

Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.

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Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

1
What it does: Skin Conditioning, Solvent
Community Rating: Loved

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. Talk about multi-purpose! If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water

Missha Creamy Latte Strawberry Cleansing Foam contains this as ingredient number 1.

Merle Norman Skin Refining Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 1.

2
What it does: Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting, Solvent
Community Rating: Loved

Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.

A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.

As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.

Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.

Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.

In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.

This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

Learn more about Glycerin

Missha Creamy Latte Strawberry Cleansing Foam contains this as ingredient number 2.

Merle Norman Skin Refining Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 3.

3
What it does: Cleansing, Emulsifying
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Myristic Acid is a saturated fatty acid. It is naturally found in milk fat. Other sources include palm oil, coconut oil, and butter fat.

Myristic Acid is an emulsifer and cleanser. As an emulsifer, it stabilizes a product by preventing ingredients from separating. Myristic Acid helps clean your skin by acting as a surfactant. It tends to gather oil and dirt on your skin to be easily rinsed away.

One study from 2021 found Myristic Acid to have anti-inflammatory properties.

Learn more about Myristic Acid

Missha Creamy Latte Strawberry Cleansing Foam contains this as ingredient number 4.

Merle Norman Skin Refining Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 4.

4
What it does: Cleansing, Emulsifying, Emulsion Stabilising, Masking
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Stearic Acid is a fatty acid. It is an emollient, emulsifier, and texture enhancer.

As an emollient, stearic acid helps soften skin. It aids the skin's protective barrier by preventing water loss. It also provides a gentle cleansing effect without stripping away natural oils.

Stearic acid may also be used to enhance the texture of products. It can add volume and stabilize ingredients such as water and oil. This can help water and oil ingredients from separating.

Sources of stearic acid include animal or vegetable fats/oils such as coconut or shea. It can be naturally found in butter, cocoa butter, shea butter, vegetable fats, and animal tallow.

This ingredient may not be Malassezia folliculitis, or fungal-acne safe.

Learn more about Stearic Acid

Missha Creamy Latte Strawberry Cleansing Foam contains this as ingredient number 5.

Merle Norman Skin Refining Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 2.

5
What it does: Buffering
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Potassium hydroxide is commonly known as caustic potash. It is used to fix the pH of a product or as a cleaning agent in soap. In cleansers, it is used for the saponification of oils.

Sapnification is the process of creating fatty acid metal salts from triglycerides and a strong base. During this process, Potassium Hydroxide is used up and is not present in the final product.

Using high concentrations of Potassium Hydroxide have shown to irritate the skin.

Learn more about Potassium Hydroxide

Missha Creamy Latte Strawberry Cleansing Foam contains this as ingredient number 6.

Merle Norman Skin Refining Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 5.

6
What it does: Cleansing, Emulsifying
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Lauric Acid is a fatty acid or lipid. About half of fatty acids in coconut oil is lauric acid.

This ingredient helps hydrate and sooth skin. As a humectant, it helps trap moisture. It also aids in cleaning and enhancing the texture of products.

Emerging studies show Lauric Acid to have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. The antimicrobial property helps strengthen the skin barrier by fighting off bad bacteria.

Lauric acid may not be Malassezia folliculitis, or fungal acne, safe.

Learn more about Lauric Acid

Missha Creamy Latte Strawberry Cleansing Foam contains this as ingredient number 7.

Merle Norman Skin Refining Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 7.

7
What it does: Preservative
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent germ and microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.

It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.

Missha Creamy Latte Strawberry Cleansing Foam contains this as ingredient number 9.

Merle Norman Skin Refining Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 12.

8
What it does:
Community Rating: Disliked

Disodium EDTA plays a role in making products more stable by aiding other preservatives.

It is a chelating agent, meaning it neutralizes metal ions that may be found in a product.

Disodium EDTA is a salt of edetic acid and is found to be safe in cosmetic ingredients.

Learn more about Disodium EDTA

Missha Creamy Latte Strawberry Cleansing Foam contains this as ingredient number 16.

Merle Norman Skin Refining Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 16.

9
What it does: Humectant, Masking, Skin Conditioning, Solvent
Community Rating: Mixed

Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:

  • It is a solvent, meaning that it helps to dissolve other ingredients. This also enhances the absorption of the product into one's skin.
  • It is a humectant, which means that it helps attract moisture into the skin.
  • It helps improve product application.

Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient. It is unlikely to irritate skin, and works well with pretty much all other ingredients.

Missha Creamy Latte Strawberry Cleansing Foam contains this as ingredient number 21.

Merle Norman Skin Refining Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 6.

Here's what our community thinks of the ingredients in these two products.

8% are loved or liked
8% have mixed ratings
60% are disliked or very disliked
24% have no rating yet
12% are loved or liked
6% have mixed ratings
65% are disliked or very disliked
18% have no rating yet

Usage

Here's some more info on how this product is used by our community.

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Alternatives

Our Dupe Finder has found 50 potential alternatives that have similar ingredients to Missha Creamy Latte Strawberry Cleansing Foam.

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Our Dupe Finder has found 50 potential alternatives that have similar ingredients to Merle Norman Skin Refining Cleanser.

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