This review contains PR Samples° and affiliate links* Read all about the Althea Waterful Green Bamboo Pads in today’s review – these toner pads are just the perfect K-beauty bargain fix for dehydrated, thirsty summer skin!
The Althea Waterful Green Bamboo Pads have been a godsend these past days! With the weather turning hot and humid here in southern Germany, these intensely hydrating toner pads are just what I need for the coming summer months.
So, I felt it was time to devote a full review to these beauties, especially since I haven’t seen them mentioned much in the K-beauty community besides the odd Instagram image here and there. Given that Althea launched a pretty extensive review event and gave away what I suspect is a sizeable number of samples, I’m somewhat surprised about this. Because, guys, these are really great budget toner/essence pads!
Althea Waterful Green Bamboo Pads – the Basics
After reviewing and really loving the Althea Petal Velvet Sunaway Sunscreen, I was quite excited to try out the equally budget-friendly Althea Waterful Green Bamboo Pads. I have had a love affair with toning and hydrating pads ever since I fell for the Commleaf Rose Toner Pads, which I still sorely miss in my current routine. Soaked in a fluid that can be either watery or more viscous, ready to use K-beauty pads can be either swiped over the face to refresh and tone the skin or used as a sort of DIY mask for the more dehydrated areas of the face such as the cheeks and under eye area.
The Althea Waterful Green Bamboo Pads, which hold 80 essence-soaked pads in total, are advertised as a lightweight toning solution meant to refresh and hydrate the skin. Their main ingredient is bamboo water, which is known to be a wonderful hydrator for thirsty skin.
Here is the full list of ingredients for the Althea Waterful Green Bamboo Pads:
“Water, Methylpropanediol, Isopentyldiol, Panthenol, Salix Nigra (Willow) Bark Extract, Bambusa Vulgaris Water, Centella Asiatica Extract, Ficus Carica (Fig) Fruit Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Sodium Hyaluronate, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Ocimum Basilicum (Basil) Oil, Polyglyceryl-10 Myristate, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Sodium Citrate, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Disodium Edta, Ceramide Np, 1,2-hexanediol, Hydroxyacetophenone.”
Apart from the bamboo water, hydration is provided by the added hyaluronic acid, panthenol, olive oil and ceramides. Centella asiatica and willow bark extract are great skin-soothers, and both have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. There is no alcohol/ethanol in this product – always a satisfying sentence to type out because I know it makes so many of you happy to know.
Now, do be aware that the pads contain a number of essential oils, among them orange peel oil and lavender oil, which can potentially be triggering for allergy-prone and/or fragrance-sensitive people. As per usual, here my disclaimer that for me personally, a little bit of fragrance or a few low-dosage essential oils don’t disqualify a product for me automatically, since I am not dogmatic when it comes to my skincare. You can definitely smell the aromatic orange oil, but the scent isn’t overpowering, it’s actually really nice and refreshing.
Althea Waterful Green Bamboo Pads – My Thoughts on the Product
The first thing I noticed about the Althea Waterful Green Bamboo Pads is that they are kind of hard to get out of the tub. The soft cotton material is very thin – comparable to, maybe even a tad thinner than, the Cosrx Pads – and they stick together in a way that makes it difficult to separate them. Thankfully, however, there is a little pair of plastic tongs provided with the product. They help achieve an easier and more hygienic removal, though it’s still a tad tedious.
The pads are generously soaked in the watery, runny essence, and unlike so many other toner pads I’ve tried there isn’t an overexcess of fluid in the tub. I always find it a bit sad to see the precious essence come to waste, so I like seeing a good ratio of it here. It drove me nuts how much sticky essence was left over after using up the pretty pricey Commleaf Rose Pads, and scooping it out of the tub was exasperatingly awkward.
The pads hold the essence water really well considering how thin they are, and there is no dripping when I bring them up to my face. I usually swipe them all over my face, leaving out the eye area. This feels so refreshing and soothing! The pads also do a great job removing any residue from the acid step that comes right before I use them.
Especially now that I’ve used the Althea Waterful Green Bamboo Pads for a while, I can see what a positive effect they’ve had on my skin, making it look smoother and more refined overall. They help calm down redness and provide intense hydration that doesn’t feel sticky or too heavy. These work best for oily or combo skin, I would say, since dry skin will probably find them not satisfying enough. If you have dry skin, I would suggest going for the Commleaf Rose Moisture Pads,* which are a lot richer.
The Althea pads offer a more light level of hydration, so I do usually add another, more viscous K-beauty toner afterwards such as the Klairs Supple Preparation Unscented Toner.
Althea Waterful Green Bamboo Pads – My Final Thoughts
I’m greatly enjoying the Althea Waterful Green Bamboo Pads and consider them to be a budget-friendly choice for people with dehydrated, oilier and/or combination skin. These aren’t super rich, nourishing toner pads, since the fluid they are soaked in is more on the refreshing and watery side, but they provide my skin with ample hydration and feel like a perfect summer treat for my easily overwhelmed skin types.
A part of me wishes the material wasn’t quite as papery thin, since swiping them over the face makes the pads roll up sometimes, but the material is surprisingly sturdy and holds the toner fluid really well, so this is a minor complaint. I haven’t tried using these as a mask pack yet, so I cannot tell you how well they work in that regard, but I feel they are so nicely hydrating and plumping that they probably feel very nice and cooling as a skincare treatment.
I can really recommend these toner pads for the hotter months of the year! You can purchase the Althea Waterful Green Bamboo Pads at Althea Korea for 13.00$, which I would say is a very good price given the 80 pad contents.
Let me know in the comments: Toner pads, yay or nay? If yay, which ones have you tried so far?
Take care guys!
Sugarpeaches
°PR Sample, kindly provided by Althea – I am not obligated to write this blog review, and my opinions are entirely my own.
*Affiliate Links, meaning I earn a small commission if you decide to use the link to purchase an item. This does not raise the purchase price for you, and it helps me and my blog to grow – so, thank you for supporting me in this way!
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