Foreign Facial Fun ... Mud Rang

Want great looking skin? Forget Lancome, Estee Lauder, and Avon. Enter Mud Rang.

A box of Mud Rang arrived about a month ago, a gift from Danielle, who is teaching English at Sangmyung University in Cheonan, South Korea. Cleansing Foam is a deep cleaning foam, and the Pack is a mud mask.

Mud Rang absorbs and removes sebum and improves skin quality through eruption of minerals. Minerals and minute elements contained in mud provide nutrients to the skin, and strengthen skin cells and improve skin elasticity. So this could be the face lift in a bottle we've all been waiting for!

Mud Rang felt just the right amount of tingly on my skin. Not a burning fire chemical peel, but not an unstimulating "me too" cleanser and mask either. And definitely not a "miracle" cream that isn't.

South Koreans are so taken with mud that they hold an annual mud festival, complete with animated theme characters (very muddy ones of course) in the city of Boryeong, on the beach of Daechon. Boryeong, two hours southwest of Seoul, is near the mud flats where the jimjiban (like a spa or bath house) is set up to apply the products. The festival draws an international crowd because of the many mud activities on the beach.












Boryeong mud is comparable to that found at the Dead Sea in Israel. Participants slather their bodies with mud. Mud obtained at beaches near Boryeong is free from contamination and contains minerals to promote beautiful skin through lubrication and tightening.

Danielle provided me with additional details:

As lovely as the city’s beaches, mountains and ocean views are, Boryeong is mighty famous for its mud. Beginning in July of 1996, the city of Boryeong began extracting superior-quality mud from the pristine tidal mud flats near Daecheon Beach. Boryeong mud was discovered to be remarkably good for the human body. The mud produces a large amount of so-called far-infrared rays (FIR), a form of light - invisible to the naked eye - which ionizes and activates water molecules in our cells and blood. The effects of FIR are improved oxygen levels in our bodies, the removal of toxins and fats from our bloodstream and elimination of waste, and improvement of nervous functions. The mud contains more germanium, minerals and bentonite than mud imported from overseas, including the so-called “black mud” of Israel’s Dead Sea region, also renowned worldwide for its cosmetic effects and used as an ingredient in skincare produces.

The city of Boryeong produces some 16 cosmetic products using Boryeong mud including the ever-popular mud packs. The wondrous health and cosmetic effects of the mud have been proven by studies by the Korean Research Institute of Standards and Science, Korean Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Taepyungyang Technology Institution and Wonkwang University. The town’s mud products, meanwhile, have passed the rigorous standards of international health agencies such as the United States’ FDA and Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. In 2001, it also received ISO 9001 certification.

From my perspective, using Mud Rang wasn't like opening another bottle of skin care hope ... "your skin will appear firm and wrinkles will diminish." Any claims Mud Rang might have had were written in Korean (click on the picture for a close up of that). That said, my expectations were well exceeded for an in-home, spa quality facial which left my skin looking smooth and feeling soft and refreshed. After my current supply runs out, I'm going to be in touch with Danielle and checking on Korean web sites to get refills. Another foreign product I must have besides German socks, Belgian chocolate, Mexican vanilla, and Italian men. That good. Really. Not kidding.