When my ballet class ends, my face looks like I’ve just walked out of a sauna. The class runs over an hour and works you harder than it looks. By the end my cheeks are bright red, my skin is hot to the touch, and in the studio mirror my pores look wide open. The product I reach for at that point is Incellderm’s ICD Calming Balance Gel. It isn’t on my shelf because it treats anything. It’s there because it does one job I care about after a workout: it cools my face down and takes the edge off before the rest of my routine goes on.
Here’s what the gel is, how I use it, what the brand’s own testing claims, and whether you need it at all.
The post-workout flush
Why a hot, red face after exercise is worth a skincare step
The flush itself is normal. When you exercise, your body pushes more blood toward the skin’s surface to shed heat, so cheeks go pink or red. On most people it fades on its own once you cool down. On me, if I leave it alone, the redness hangs around longer and my skin feels more reactive for the rest of the day. That’s why, after class, I add a step whose only goal is to bring the heat down before I put anything else on.
The order matters. Right after a sweaty class, rich nourishing products aren’t the priority, because a hot, flushed face with sweat still on it is a poor base for layering. I wash my face, pat it dry, and cool the skin first. Once the heat has settled, the toner, serum and moisturiser that follow go on more comfortably and sit better.
A quick note on limits: a cooling gel is about comfort, and comfort is all it gives. If your face stays red for hours after mild exercise, or flushes for no clear reason, ask a dermatologist about it rather than trying to fix it with a product.
What’s in the tube
What the ICD Calming Balance Gel actually is
ICD is Incellderm, a Korean skincare line sold through RIMAN. The Calming Balance Gel comes in a 100 mL (3.38 fl oz) squeeze tube, and as the name says, the formula is built around calming and cooling.
The brand describes the gel in four points. It soothes fast and protects moisture, with a focus on cooling. It’s formulated to settle skin that has heated up. It uses hydrating and soothing ingredients to keep skin balanced. And it’s meant to be gentle enough for sensitive skin. Put simply, it’s made for the moments when your skin “overheats”: a workout, time in the sun, or just a long day of everyday irritation.
Korean brands use “gel” for a specific kind of product. Think of a water-heavy, jelly-like layer that sits between a toner and a moisturiser. It brings hydration and a fresh feel but very little oil. That makes it a natural fit for a sweaty face, where a thick cream would feel suffocating.
One detail I liked: the brand says the tube is made with more than 90% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic. That has nothing to do with your skin, but it’s a nice extra when you’re going through a body-sized product.
Texture and the gold flecks
A watery gel with visible gold, and what the gold is really for
Squeezed onto the back of my hand, the gel is clear with a faint golden tint, and up close you can see tiny glittering specks. According to the brand, those specks are 24K gold. On the skin it spreads easily and feels light, not heavy. It glides on smoothly, settles quickly, and leaves an instant cool, watery feeling instead of a sticky film. That lack of tackiness is the main reason I like it after exercise, because a slippery or sticky layer on top of leftover sweat is the last thing you want.
Now, about that gold. Gold appears in plenty of luxury skincare, but I’ve never seen convincing evidence that it does anything meaningful for skin. For me it’s mostly a visual and sensory touch. It’s pretty in the tube, and it isn’t a reason to buy. The cooling you feel comes mainly from the water-rich gel base. As water evaporates from your skin it carries heat away with it, which is why any watery gel feels cooler than a cream at the same temperature.
My routine
How I use it after ballet and after long, sunny walks
The brand suggests three ways to use the gel, and I’ve built my routine around them:
- As the first step of skincare. Spread a small amount over the face, following the skin’s natural direction, to calm it before the rest of your routine.
- As a top-up when skin feels dry. Pat on another layer whenever you want a quick, fresh hit of moisture.
- On the body. Use it on arms, legs or anywhere that feels warm after sun exposure.
On ballet days I use the first method. After washing and patting dry, I put the gel straight onto my cheeks. It feels cool the moment it touches skin, and honestly, I sigh out loud every time. Within a few minutes my flushed cheeks feel noticeably calmer, and then I carry on with the rest of my routine.
On summer days when I’ve walked around outside a lot, I switch to the third method and spread it over my arms and shoulders too. Because the gel isn’t face-only, one tube does a lot more than a typical face product.
One more use from my house: when my kids come in from playing outside with hot, red faces, I wash their faces and pat on a little of the gel, and it cools them down nicely. If you try that with your own kids, patch-test a small area first, since children’s skin can react differently from yours.
The brand’s testing
Reading the clinical claims with clear eyes
To be honest about what I felt: the cooling on application is definitely real. That’s sensation, though, and the brand makes bigger claims based on a human application test. Here’s what they report, in plain cosmetic terms:
- Hydration after one use under four climate conditions: cool and dry (14°C, 59% humidity), cool and humid (16°C, 78%), hot and dry (33°C, 34%), and hot and humid (30°C, 73%).
- Soothing for skin stressed by physical or chemical irritation, heat (the cooling claim), and UV exposure.
- After one use and after two weeks: help with comfort across five kinds of everyday stress: physical, heat, daily-life, chemical and UV.
The study details: 31 women aged 19 to 59, tested from 17 October to 26 November 2024 by PNK Skin Clinical Research Center, a Korean contract testing lab. The brand also notes that results vary between individuals.
The part I find useful is the four-climate result. Showing a hydration increase in both hot-and-humid and cold-and-dry conditions is a reasonable sign that this gel isn’t only a summer product. You could keep using it in winter, layered under something richer. The part I’d discount is the scale. Thirty-one people tested by a lab the brand commissioned is standard for Korean cosmetic claims, but the summary doesn’t say how much hydration improved or whether there was a control group. Treat the results as “it hydrates and feels soothing,” not as proof that it outperforms other gels.
Should you buy it
Who it suits, and who can skip it
This gel makes the most sense if your skin regularly “overheats.” That includes:
- Your face stays hot and flushed after exercise, as mine does after ballet
- You’ve spent a day in strong sun and your skin feels warm and tight
- Air conditioning or indoor heating leaves your skin feeling touchy
- You want a light calming step before the rest of your routine
- Your arms and legs feel warm too, and you’d rather use one product than two
On the other hand, if you already own a lightweight, fragrance-free gel moisturiser you like, you’ll get most of the same cool, watery comfort from it. The cooling comes from the water-rich texture, not from anything exotic. In that case, skip this one unless the body-friendly 100 mL tube and the post-workout ritual appeal to you. The gold flecks alone aren’t worth paying extra for.
If your face is still glowing red 20 minutes after your workout, try this next time: wash, pat dry, and put on a cool watery gel before anything else. Whether it’s this tube or one you already own, give that step a week and see if the rest of your routine sits more comfortably. Curated, tested and explained, so you can build a routine you’ll actually keep.
