Kahi Wrinkle Bounce Multi Balm (aka That Pink Stick Featured in ALL the K-Dramas)

By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
October 14, 2022

I’m not sure when I first started noticing Kahi’s Wrinkle Bounce Multi Balm in K-dramas. Maybe it was in “Taxi Driver.” I definitely noticed it in “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.” But surely the Queen of Kahi is actress Kim Go-eun, who’s depicted applying the skincare product liberally on her face in “The King: Eternal Monarch” and “Yumi’s Cells.”

To be honest, I had no idea what the curious beauty treatment even was when I first saw it. Unlike product placements like Subway — which hit viewers over the head with logos —I couldn’t even read the label as Kim gently swiped the product across her cheeks and lips. Like many viewers, I just referred to it as that pink stick that Kim Go-eun uses in K-dramas.

And even though some of my friends told me it was a waste of money, that it was too greasy, that they didn’t like it … I went and bought it anyhow. Because that’s how I roll. LOL

For the record, this Kahi stick literally is the only PPL that got me to buy it. (I had a Dyson long before K-drama characters cleaned up their apartments with the vacuum.  Same with Kopiko candy. And no amount of Subway or Papa Johns placements have made me want to eat a meal at either of those fast food joints.)

I started using this wrinkle balm exactly 12 days ago. Part of that time was on a trip where I only brought the above products. (Not pictured is a MAC lipstick, which I carried in my purse.) Unlike the actresses in Korean dramas, I don’t use this balm throughout the day. I’ve only ever applied this to my clean face, mainly at night after showering. It works as a moisturizer for me.

Though my hands are always dry in the winter, my face is normal — not dry or oily. The stick worked well with my skin type, smoothing easily over my face. I did try it a few times on my (clean) lips, too. But I prefer it on  my face and feel like it’s better not to cross contaminate. That’s just my preference.

Kahi hypes the product as a salmon complex infused balm that contains salmon collagen and salmon PDRN, which “increases the synthesis of collagen in the skin to restore the elasticity of the skin’s effectiveness.” I have no idea what any of that means. Other ingredients include Jeju natural oils such as schisandra berries, carrot root extract, tumeric, beta carotene and carrot seed oil. From what I’ve read, these are all safe to use.

The real question is, does it work as a wrinkle guard? Again, I’ve only used this for less than two weeks. As yet, I have not noticed my frown lines or wrinkles looking any less visible. And in all fairness, I don’t have a lot of wrinkles to begin with. But I also never expected that this was a miracle product that would turn back time and make me look like I did when I was 20. (I do think that the younger you are in starting a good skincare routine, the better your face will look as you age. My generation didn’t know all the things that Gen Y and Z do. For Pete’s sake, we tanned outside with baby oil on our faces. Noooooooooooooooo!)

Will I keep using this? Absolutely, I would, as a moisturizer before bedtime when it doesn’t matter if the product gives me a bit of an oily glow on my forehead. (I haven’t had issues with the balm sticking to my hair, because I usually have it pulled back in a ponytail.) And I found it very convenient to have in my travel bag.

But my absolute favorite thing about this balm is the beautiful light scent, which I love. It takes me back in time to whatever products my mother used on her face when we lived in Korea. Obviously, she wasn’t using a stick balm, since they didn’t exist back then. But the fragrance is so familiar to me that it feels like home.

CHECK THIS OUT: Recommended. If you want to learn more about the product, check out Kahi’s website, where it sells for $35. (As of today, it’s sold out). I purchased my stick on Amazon for a total price of just under $30.