My barrier was screaming after a month of retinol and my usual glycolic pads felt like lighter fluid. So I caved and tried the Some By Mi Pineapple Enzyme Cleanser—mostly because it smelled like a piña colada and I was desperate.
This isn’t a scrub. It’s a foam that sits on your face for 60 seconds, and it’s the first thing in ages that hasn’t made my cheeks flush like a sunset.
It’s a low-foam gel cleanser, roughly $14, that claims to dissolve dead skin without a single acid in sight. I called bullshit until I actually read the label.
Papain Enzyme
A meat tenderizer that gently chews up keratin—not your acid mantle.
10% Panthenol
That’s the healing ingredient in diaper cream. Your skin drinks it.
PHA Complex
A polyhydroxy acid, but it’s so large-molecule it barely penetrates. Safe for the reactive crowd.
Photo: Amanda Wolbert / Unsplash
Enzymes work like tiny scissors, snipping the bonds between dead skin cells. Acids dissolve them chemically—enzymes are just slower and way less mean.
The pineapple extract is the star, but it’s buffered with soothing mushroom and centella so it doesn’t sting even on broken-out patches.
- Pineapple Extract: Breaks down surface flakes without burning
- Panthenol: Calms redness and repairs the lipid barrier
- Betaine Salicylate: A gentler BHA, exfoliates inside the pore
- Sodium Hyaluronate: Holds water so your face doesn’t feel tight
Photo: Viva Luna Studios / Unsplash
It dispenses as a thick, milky gel that turns into a soft, creamy lather—not those suffocating bubbles. It rinses clean but leaves a slight film, like your skin is wearing a raincoat.
Week one, I broke out in tiny whiteheads on my chin. I almost quit. Week two, they vanished and my forehead felt like a baby’s knee. That purge is real—your pores are finally emptying.
Photo: Masum Rahimi / Unsplash
After three weeks, my texture is smoother—those tiny bumps along my jaw are gone. But my blackheads on my nose? Still there. It won’t clear deep congestion; it’s a surface polisher.
Photo: Element5 Digital / Unsplash
It’s not a miracle worker, but it’s the only exfoliant I can use during a rosacea flare-up without wanting to peel my face off. That alone makes it a keeper.