Where does this gel cleanser go in my routine?

As your first step, morning and evening, on skin wet with lukewarm water. Nothing goes under it: this gel cleanser is the step everything else in the routine lands on top of. 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.

What else is on the list besides Houttuynia Cordata Extract?

Allantoin, Succinic Acid and Asiaticoside. The order they are printed in on this gel cleanser'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: Madecassic Acid, Asiatic Acid and Beta-Glucan.

Abib

Pore Clay Pack Cleanser Heartleaf Charcoal Foam 120ml

Name: Abib Pore Clay Pack Cleanser Heartleaf Charcoal Foam 120ml
Brand: Abib
SKU: 12108364817
Price: 35.0 USD
Availability: InStock

Abib Pore Clay Pack Cleanser Heartleaf Charcoal Foam is a 120ml gel cleanser from Abib built around Houttuynia Cordata Extract.

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$35.00

120 ml

$29.17 per 100 ml

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

Suited to: Normal skinCombination skinOily skinEveryday cleansing routines

Helps with: Removing the day's buildupA first or second cleanse stepDaily makeup and sunscreen removalA comfortable, non-stripping cleanse

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$35.00

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How it works

The Pore Clay Pack Cleanser Heartleaf Charcoal Foam is a 120ml gel cleanser, used as your first step, morning and evening, on skin wet with lukewarm water. The plant extract it is built around is Houttuynia Cordata Extract, named nineteenth on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Allantoin, Succinic Acid and Asiaticoside, 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 gel cleanser format rather than by the list alone. Abib sells this Houttuynia Cordata Extract gel cleanser in Korea, and this is that version.

Key benefits

Houttuynia Cordata Extract, the plant extract this gel cleanser is built around
Allantoin, Succinic Acid, Asiaticoside and Madecassic Acid on the same list, actives
Asiatic Acid and Beta-Glucan further down the same list
Laminaria Japonica Extract and Eclipta Prostrata Extract further down the same list
Houttuynia Cordata Extract named nineteenth on the manufacturer list printed on this page

How to use

Use it by working it into damp skin and rinsing thoroughly, working it into the skin in the position this cleanser occupies in a full routine, and following up with the next step once it has settled.

1 of 3

54 of 56 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.
Kaolin absorbent: Kaolin is white clay, the mildest of the cosmetic clays. It absorbs oil and lifts loose debris from the surface without stripping, which is why it is the clay used on drier skin.
Bentonite absorbent: Bentonite is a volcanic clay that swells in water. It absorbs oil, thickens a mask, and holds pigments and powders evenly suspended.
Myristic Acid fatty acid: Myristic Acid is a saturated fatty acid used to thicken and, with a base added, to build the foam in a soap-style cleanser.
Methylpropanediol humectant: Methylpropanediol is a small glycol used to hydrate and to help water-soluble actives penetrate the outer layer of skin more evenly. It leaves almost no tack, which suits watery textures.
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.
Zea Mays (Corn) Starch absorbent: Corn Starch absorbs oil and moisture and gives a soft, matte finish. It also thickens a formula.
Potassium Hydroxide pH adjuster: Potassium Hydroxide is a strong base used in traces to raise a formula to its target pH. In a soap-style cleanser it also converts fatty acids into the surfactant that does the cleansing.
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.
Glyceryl Stearate emulsifier: Glyceryl Stearate is glycerin joined to stearic acid, and one of the most used emulsifiers in skincare. It holds oil and water together and thickens the result, and it softens skin at the same time.
Cellulose absorbent: Cellulose is plant fibre. In a formula it thickens, absorbs oil and, in a sheet mask, is often the fabric itself.

42 more explained

Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate surfactant: An amino-acid surfactant built from coconut fatty acids and glycine. Amino-acid surfactants clean at a pH close to the pH of skin itself, which is why low-pH Korean cleansers are built on them.
Charcoal Powder absorbent: Activated charcoal, a very porous carbon powder. Its surface binds oil and pigment, and it is what makes a mask or cleanser black.
Palmitic Acid fatty acid: Palmitic Acid is a saturated fatty acid present in skin's own lipids. It thickens a formula, stabilises the emulsion and softens skin.
Stearic Acid fatty acid: Stearic Acid is a saturated fatty acid from plant fats, and one of the three lipid classes skin's own barrier is built from. In a formula it thickens, stabilises the emulsion and can be turned into a soap-style cleanser by adding a base.
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate thickener: A refined clay mineral used to thicken water and hold powders and pigments suspended so a formula does not separate.
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.
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.
Hydroxyacetophenone preservative booster: Hydroxyacetophenone is an antioxidant that also strengthens a preservative system, so a formula needs less traditional preservative. Korean formulas pair it with 1,2-hexanediol constantly.
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.
Dipropylene Glycol humectant: Dipropylene Glycol is a glycol used as a solvent and a light humectant. Its main job is keeping the rest of the formula dissolved and the texture fluid rather than adding hydration of its own.
Chromium Oxide Greens colorant: Chromium Oxide Greens is a dull green mineral pigment. It is inert, sits on the surface, and is used in small amounts to correct the look of redness in a tinted product.
Agar thickener: Agar is a seaweed polysaccharide that sets into a firm gel. It is the gelling agent behind jelly masks and thick sleeping packs.
Sodium Phytate chelator: Sodium Phytate is a rice-derived chelator used in place of EDTA. It ties up trace metals so the formula stays stable and its colour and scent hold.
Laminaria Japonica Extract plant extract: Laminaria Japonica is kombu kelp. Its extract carries alginates, minerals and iodine, and it is used as a hydrating, mineral-rich ingredient.
Eclipta Prostrata Leaf Extract plant extract: Eclipta Prostrata is false daisy, long used in Ayurvedic and East Asian practice. Its extract is used as a conditioning plant extract, most often in scalp and hair formulas.
Chondrus Crispus Extract plant extract: Chondrus Crispus is Irish moss, a red seaweed. It is loaded with carrageenan, so it hydrates and thickens at once, and it leaves a cushioned, slippery film.
Fructooligosaccharides humectant: Fructooligosaccharides are short fructose chains used as humectants and as food for the skin's own resident microbes.
Beta-Glucan polysaccharide: Beta-Glucan is a polysaccharide from oats or yeast. It holds a large amount of water, forms a soothing film, and is one of the ingredients formulators reach for in products aimed at reactive skin.
Hydrogenated Lecithin emulsifier: Hydrogenated Lecithin is lecithin with its unsaturated bonds filled in, which makes it far more stable. It emulsifies and is the standard shell for the liposomes that carry actives into the outer layer of skin.
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.
Allantoin active: Allantoin is a comfrey-derived compound used to condition skin and soften the outer layer so it feels smoother. It is one of the standard additions to a formula built for easily irritated skin.
4-Terpineol fragrance component: A terpene alcohol, and the main constituent of tea tree oil. On a label it is an aromatic plant constituent rather than a functional ingredient.
Succinic Acid active: Succinic Acid is a small organic acid used for the look of blemish-prone skin and as a pH adjuster. It is far milder than an AHA at the levels used here.
Canadian Colloidal Clay absorbent: A fine mineral clay sold by its place of origin rather than its mineral name. Like the other cosmetic clays it absorbs oil and thickens a mask.
Illite absorbent: Illite is a clay, often sold as French green clay. It takes up oil and water, which is why it appears in wash-off masks and powder cleansers.
Asiaticoside active: Asiaticoside is one of the four active triterpenes isolated from centella and the most studied of them. Korean formulas name it separately when they want to show which fraction of the plant they standardised.
Madecassic Acid active: Madecassic Acid is the fourth centella triterpene. A list that names all four is telling you the extract was standardised rather than simply pressed, which is the difference between a cica claim and a cica formula.
Asiatic Acid active: Asiatic Acid is the third of centella's four triterpenes and the aglycone form, meaning it has no attached sugar. It is oil soluble, so it turns up in cica creams and balms more than in watery layers.
Montmorillonite absorbent: A swelling clay that takes up many times its own weight in water. It absorbs oil in a mask and thickens an oil phase in a stick.
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.
Hyaluronic Acid humectant: Hyaluronic Acid is a sugar chain the body already makes, and one gram of it can hold several litres of water. In a formula it is a humectant that pulls water to the surface of skin and holds it in a film, which is what makes skin look plumper while it is there.
Diospyros Kaki Leaf Extract plant extract: Diospyros Kaki is the persimmon tree. Its leaf extract carries tannins and vitamin C and is used as an antioxidant extract.
Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Extract plant extract: Grape Fruit Extract carries polyphenols and fruit acids. It is used as an antioxidant plant extract.
Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Flower Extract plant extract: Safflower Flower Extract is a traditional East Asian dye and skincare plant. It is used as a conditioning antioxidant extract and can tint a formula.
Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract plant extract: Polygonum Cuspidatum is Japanese knotweed, the main commercial source of resveratrol. Its root extract is used as an antioxidant plant extract.
Coffea Arabica (Coffee) Seed Extract plant extract: Coffee Seed Extract carries caffeine and chlorogenic acid. It is used as an antioxidant extract and, in eye and body formulas, for the look of puffiness.
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract plant extract: Camellia Sinensis is the tea plant. Green tea leaf extract carries catechins, among the most studied plant antioxidants, and is used for the look of redness and oily shine.
Castanea Crenata (Chestnut) Shell Extract plant extract: Chestnut Shell Extract carries tannins and is used as an antioxidant plant extract, most often in formulas aimed at visible pores.
Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract plant extract: Zanthoxylum Piperitum is Korean pepper. Its fruit extract is used as a conditioning plant extract and is often paired with pulsatilla and usnea in Korean formulas.
Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer humectant: Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer is hyaluronic acid linked into a mesh. It holds water in a soft gel on the surface rather than sinking in, and it releases that water slowly through the day.
Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate humectant: Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate carries a positive charge, and skin carries a slight negative one, so it is attracted to the surface and stays through rinsing. It is the hyaluronic used where a formula gets washed off.
Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate humectant: Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate is hyaluronic acid modified to be part oil-loving, so it clings to skin instead of rinsing away. Formulators call it the one that stays put.

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

Worth knowing

Patch test on a small area before full-face use if you have known sensitivities.
Discontinue use if irritation, redness, or discomfort develops.

Complete the routine

This itemAbib Pore Clay Pack Cleanser Heartleaf Charcoal Foam 120ml$35.00
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$100.29

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Abib Pore Clay Pack Cleanser Heartleaf Charcoal Foam 120ml

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Abib, Korean-market original

The Original Korean Formula gel cleanser from Abib, 120ml formulated with Houttuynia Cordata Extract and Allantoin, 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