Where does this toner go in my routine?

Straight after cleansing, morning and evening, while the face is still damp. Anything thinner than a toner goes on before it, and anything richer goes on after. If you are adding it to a routine you already like, give it a week on its own first, so what you see is the Houttuynia Cordata Extract and not three changes at once.

Is this the Korean-market toner or a US version?

The Korean-market one, Houttuynia Cordata Extract and all. We match this toner to its Korean barcode before it reaches the shelf, which is the check that tells you which market release you are holding.

What else is on the list besides Houttuynia Cordata Extract?

Bifida Ferment Lysate, Tocopherol and Biosaccharide Gum-4. The order they are printed in on this toner's panel is the order on the box, so you can see where Houttuynia Cordata Extract sits relative to them. Further down the same panel: Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract and Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract.

Abib

Heartleaf calming toner Skin booster 200ml

Name: Abib Heartleaf calming toner Skin booster 200ml
Brand: Abib
SKU: 5123625341
Price: 27.5 USD
Availability: InStock

Abib Heartleaf calming toner Skin booster is a 200ml toner whose ingredient list carries Houttuynia Cordata Extract alongside Bifida Ferment Lysate and Tocopherol.

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$27.50

200 ml

$13.75 per 100 ml

Korean-market formula
Ships from California or direct from Korea
Korean barcode and batch code intact

Suited to: Dehydrated skinSensitive skinDull, uneven tone

Helps with: Shoppers looking for Houttuynia Cordata Extract in a tonerRoutines that want Houttuynia Cordata Extract and Bifida Ferment Lysate in one stepFilling the toner step with a Korean-market formulaAnyone who wants the Houttuynia Cordata Extract toner sold on Korean shelves

One-time purchase

$27.50

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$24.75

In stock. Arrives in 3 to 7 business days

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How it works

The Heartleaf calming toner Skin booster is a 200ml toner, used straight after cleansing, morning and evening, while the face is still damp. The plant extract it is built around is Houttuynia Cordata Extract, named seventh on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Bifida Ferment Lysate, Tocopherol and Biosaccharide Gum-4, so the plant extract is not the only thing on it worth naming. How much of the Houttuynia Cordata Extract stays on the skin, and for how long, is decided by the toner format rather than by the list alone. This is the Original Korean Formula, the toner Abib sells in Korea, Houttuynia Cordata Extract and all.

Key benefits

Houttuynia Cordata Extract, the plant extract this toner is built around
Bifida Ferment Lysate on the same list, a ferment
Tocopherol on the same list, an antioxidant
Biosaccharide Gum-4 on the same list, a polysaccharide
Centella Asiatica Extract and Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract further down the same list
Gaultheria Procumbens (Wintergreen) Leaf Extract and Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract further down the same list

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

1 of 3

23 of 23 explained

Water solvent: Water is the base almost every serum, toner and cream is built on. It dissolves the water-loving ingredients and sets how light the finished texture feels. On an INCI list it is usually first, which only means it is the largest single ingredient by weight.
Glycerin humectant: Glycerin is the most used humectant in skincare. It draws water into the outer layer of skin and holds it there, and it is one of the very few ingredients whose hydrating effect is settled science rather than marketing. Higher amounts feel tacky, which is why it is usually blended.
Butylene Glycol humectant: Butylene Glycol is a small glycol that does two jobs at once: it holds water in the top layer of skin and it dissolves plant extracts and actives that plain water cannot. It also thins a formula, which is why watery Korean essences lean on it.
Pentylene Glycol humectant: Pentylene Glycol hydrates and, like the other longer-chain glycols, makes a formula less hospitable to microbes so the preservative system can be lighter. It also improves how evenly a product spreads.
Xylitol humectant: Xylitol is a sugar alcohol humectant. It holds water in the outer layer of skin and is often paired with anhydroxylitol and xylitylglucoside as a hydration trio.
Bifida Ferment Lysate ferment: Bifida Ferment Lysate is a bifidobacteria ferment with the cells broken open. It is the ingredient behind the first-essence category and is used for the look of tired, reactive skin.
Houttuynia Cordata Extract plant extract: Houttuynia Cordata is heartleaf, and it is one of the two or three anchor plants of Korean calming skincare. Its extract carries quercitrin and other flavonoids and is used for the look of redness and blemish-prone skin.
Sodium Hyaluronate humectant: Sodium Hyaluronate is the salt of hyaluronic acid, and it is what most products labelled hyaluronic actually contain. The salt dissolves more readily and the molecule is smaller, so it sits in the outer layer of skin rather than only on top of it.
Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract plant extract: Soybean Seed Extract carries isoflavones, plant sterols and soy proteins. It is used as a conditioning antioxidant extract.
Centella Asiatica Extract plant extract: Centella Asiatica is the plant behind the whole cica category, sold as gotu kola or Madagascar centella. Its extract is the anchor of Korean formulas built for easily reddened skin, and its work is done by four triterpenes: asiaticoside, madecassoside, asiatic acid and madecassic acid.
Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid humectant: Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid is hyaluronic acid cut into much shorter fragments. The smaller the fragment, the further into the outer layer it can settle, which is why serums stack several sizes together instead of using one.
Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract plant extract: Scutellaria Baicalensis is Chinese skullcap. Its root extract carries baicalin, a well studied plant antioxidant, and it is used for the look of redness.

11 more explained

Gaultheria Procumbens (Wintergreen) Leaf Extract plant extract: Wintergreen leaf extract. The plant naturally carries methyl salicylate, which is where its sharp minty scent comes from.
Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract plant extract: Honeysuckle flower extract, the geumeunhwa of Korean herbal practice. It resists microbes as well as conditioning, so it often doubles as part of a preservative system.
Betaine humectant: Betaine is a sugar-beet-derived humectant that cells use to hold water. In a formula it hydrates and takes the edge off cleansers and acids, which is why it often appears alongside them.
1,2-Hexanediol humectant: 1,2-Hexanediol is a glycol used for two reasons: it holds water like glycerin, and it makes a formula harder for microbes to live in, so less traditional preservative is needed. Korean formulas use it heavily for that second reason.
Panthenol humectant: Panthenol is pro-vitamin B5: skin converts it to pantothenic acid. It is a humectant that holds water and leaves skin feeling soft and less tight, and it is one of the ingredients formulators reach for when a formula also contains something harsh.
Ethylhexylglycerin preservative booster: Ethylhexylglycerin softens skin and boosts a preservative system, which is why it is nearly always sitting beside phenoxyethanol or 1,2-hexanediol. It also cuts down the odour bacteria produce, so it turns up in deodorising products.
Octanediol preservative booster: A glycol that hydrates and, like the other longer-chain glycols, makes a formula less hospitable to microbes so the preservative system can be lighter.
Tocopherol antioxidant: Tocopherol is vitamin E. It is an oil-soluble antioxidant that protects the oils in a formula from going rancid and works on skin as an emollient, and it is regularly paired with vitamin C because each keeps the other going for longer.
Biosaccharide Gum-4 polysaccharide: A fermentation made sugar polymer, from the same family as Biosaccharide Gum-1 but a different sugar composition. It holds water and leaves a smooth, non-tacky film.
Disodium EDTA chelator: EDTA is a chelator: it locks up trace metal ions from water and packaging that would otherwise turn a formula cloudy, off-colour or rancid. It does nothing to skin and appears at a fraction of a percent.
Xanthan Gum thickener: Xanthan Gum is a polysaccharide made by fermenting sugar. It thickens a watery formula into a gel and holds the whole thing in suspension so nothing separates. Too much of it and a serum turns stringy, which is why it appears in fractions of a percent.

How to use

Apply it within a minute of cleansing so the surface is still wet and will take the water in.
Pour a generous amount into damp palms and press it over the face and neck in two passes.
Move on to serum and cream while the skin still feels tacky rather than waiting for it to dry.
Do not wipe it on with a dry cotton pad, since the cotton takes a share of the dose and drags on skin that already flushes.

Worth knowing

Patch test this toner on a small area and wait a day before using it more widely, especially with Houttuynia Cordata Extract on the list.
Introduce this toner on its own for the first week, so anything your skin does is traceable to the Houttuynia Cordata Extract rather than to three changes at once.

Complete the routine

This itemAbib Heartleaf calming toner Skin booster 200ml$27.50
From the same Korean-market lineAbib Heartleaf Calming Trial Kit$15.29
Seal the routine in as the last stepAbib Glutathiosome Cream Vita Tube 75ml$50.00

Total for 3 items$92.79

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Abib Heartleaf calming toner Skin booster 200ml

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Abib, Korean-market original

The Original Korean Formula toner from Abib, 200ml formulated with Houttuynia Cordata Extract and Bifida Ferment Lysate, shipped from California or direct from Korea.

Verify your unit when it arrives

Korean-market stock with the original barcode and batch code intact, exactly as it left Korea.

On the unit itself

The Korean-market barcode, unaltered from the retail package.
The manufacturer’s batch code, exactly as the maker printed it.

정품Genuine article, Korean-market stock

What professionals say

What skin-care professionals say about skin care, quoted from the medical sources linked beside each.

Your skin barrier is basically your outer layer of the skin.
Melissa Piliang, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic
Pretty much every step of a Korean skin care routine is going to have some component of hydration.
Alok Vij, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic