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 Allantoin and not three changes at once.

Does this gel cleanser contain fragrance?

Yes. The ingredient list names Fragrance. It sits on the panel printed on this page, so you can read the position for yourself before you buy. If fragrance components are something you avoid, this gel cleanser is not the one.

What else is on the list besides Allantoin?

Succinic Acid, Niacinamide and Glycyrrhizic Acid. The order they are printed in on this gel cleanser's panel is the order on the box, so you can see where Allantoin sits relative to them. Further down the same panel: Capryloyl Salicylic Acid, Mandelic Acid and Gluconolactone.

ACWELL

Licorice pH Balancing Pore Cleansing Gel Foam 160ml

Name: ACWELL Licorice pH Balancing Pore Cleansing Gel Foam 160ml
Brand: ACWELL
SKU: 9780018307
Price: 20.0 USD
Availability: InStock

ACWELL Licorice pH Balancing Pore Cleansing Gel Foam is a 160ml gel cleanser from ACWELL built around Allantoin.

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$20.00

160 ml

$12.50 per 100 ml

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

Suited to: Congested skinUneven textureDehydrated skinSensitive skin

Helps with: Shoppers looking for Allantoin in a gel cleanserRoutines that want Allantoin and Succinic Acid in one stepFilling the gel cleanser step with a Korean-market formula

One-time purchase

$20.00

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$18.00

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How it works

The Licorice pH Balancing Pore Cleansing Gel Foam is a 160ml gel cleanser, used as your first step, morning and evening, on skin wet with lukewarm water. The active it is built around is Allantoin, named fourteenth on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Succinic Acid, Niacinamide and Glycyrrhizic Acid, so the active is not the only thing on it worth naming. How much of the Allantoin stays on the skin, and for how long, is decided by the gel cleanser format rather than by the list alone. ACWELL sells this Allantoin gel cleanser in Korea, and this is that version.

Key benefits

Allantoin, the active this gel cleanser is built around
Succinic Acid, Niacinamide and Glycyrrhizic Acid on the same list, actives
Capryloyl Salicylic Acid on the same list, an exfoliant
Mandelic Acid and Gluconolactone further down the same list
Salicylic Acid and Biotin further down the same list
Allantoin named fourteenth on the manufacturer list printed on this page

How to use

Work a small amount into a lather with water, massage over damp skin for under a minute, then rinse thoroughly. Morning and night.

1 of 5

56 of 65 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.
Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate surfactant: A strong anionic surfactant that foams heavily. It is a sulfate alternative in name but not in strength, and it is more common in shampoos than in facial cleansers.
Lauryl Betaine surfactant: Lauryl Betaine is a secondary surfactant that boosts foam and thickens a cleanser while reducing how stripping the main surfactant feels.
Acrylates Copolymer film former: Acrylates Copolymer is a synthetic polymer that forms a film as the water leaves. It holds a formula in place, controls shine and helps a texture stay put.
Glycerine 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.
Sodium Chloride thickener: Sodium Chloride is salt. In a cleanser it thickens the liquid; in a mask or essence it balances the mineral content of the water phase. It has no active role.
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.
Hexadecene emollient: A light hydrocarbon used as a carrier and spreading agent within a thickener system.
Tetradecene emollient: A light hydrocarbon used as a spreading agent, mostly in the polymer blends that thicken a lotion.
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.
Fragrance fragrance: Fragrance, or Parfum, is a single declaration standing for a whole scent blend, which can be dozens of materials. Regulators allow it as a trade secret, so a list showing only this word does not say what the scent is made of. It is the most common trigger named by people with reactive skin.
Tromethamine pH adjuster: Tromethamine neutralises acidic thickeners such as carbomer so they gel, and holds a formula near skin-friendly pH. It is used at a fraction of a percent.

44 more explained

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.
Capryloyl Salicylic Acid exfoliant: Capryloyl Salicylic Acid is salicylic acid with a fatty tail, sometimes sold as LHA. It stays nearer the surface than salicylic acid and works at a higher pH, so it exfoliates more evenly and more gently.
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.
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.
Malt Extract plant extract: Malt Extract comes from sprouted barley and carries sugars, amino acids and B vitamins. It is used as a conditioning, hydrating extract.
Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Flower Extract plant extract: Evening Primrose Flower Extract is used as a conditioning plant extract. The seed oil of the same plant is the better known part, and it is a different ingredient.
Pinus Palustris Leaf Extract plant extract: Pinus Palustris is longleaf pine. Its needle extract carries plant antioxidants and appears in Korean formulas alongside other conifer extracts.
Pueraria Lobata Root Extract plant extract: Pueraria Lobata is kudzu. Its root extract carries isoflavones, plant compounds structurally similar to oestrogen, and Korean formulas use it for the look of thinning, less resilient skin.
Ulmus Davidiana Root Extract plant extract: Ulmus Davidiana is Japanese elm, whose inner bark yields a naturally slippery mucilage. Korean formulas use the root extract for that cushioned feel and for the look of reactive skin.
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.
Citric Acid pH adjuster: Citric Acid is used in tiny amounts to bring a formula to the pH its actives need, not as an exfoliant at that level. It is an AHA, so at much higher concentrations it can also exfoliate.
Mandelic Acid exfoliant: Mandelic Acid is an AHA with a molecule roughly twice the size of glycolic, so it penetrates more slowly and evenly. It is the AHA used where a formula has to suit darker or easily reactive skin.
Propanediol humectant: Propanediol is a plant-derived glycol used in place of propylene glycol. It hydrates, carries actives into solution, and gives a lighter, less sticky slip than glycerin at the same strength.
Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate emulsifier: Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate is a sugar-derived emulsifier and solubiliser, mild enough to be a standard choice in Korean essences. It dissolves small amounts of oil into water without any tightening feel.
Phosphatidylcholine emulsifier: Phosphatidylcholine is the main phospholipid in lecithin and in cell membranes. It emulsifies and forms the liposome walls a formula uses to carry an active.
Gluconolactone exfoliant: Gluconolactone is a PHA, the gentlest exfoliant class. Its molecule is too large to penetrate quickly, so it smooths the surface without the sting of an AHA, and it is a humectant at the same time.
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.
Salicylic Acid exfoliant: Salicylic Acid is a BHA, and the only common exfoliant that is oil soluble, so it can work inside a pore rather than only on the surface. It loosens the dead cells that block pores and is used for the look of congested, oily skin.
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.
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.
Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract plant extract: Papaya fruit extract. The fruit is where the enzyme papain comes from, and the extract is used both as a conditioning extract and in gentle enzyme formulas.
Prunus Mume Fruit Extract plant extract: Korean plum extract, from the fruit used to make maesil syrup. It is acidic and carries organic acids and polyphenols.
Malus Domestica Fruit Extract plant extract: Apple fruit extract, carrying malic acid, sugars and polyphenols. It is used as a conditioning extract and a mild source of fruit acid.
Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Extract plant extract: Grape Fruit Extract carries polyphenols and fruit acids. It is used as an antioxidant plant extract.
Decyl Glucoside surfactant: Decyl Glucoside is a sugar and coconut-derived surfactant, one of the mildest cleansers available. It produces a soft, low foam and rinses without stripping.
Tremella Fuciformis (Mushroom) Extract plant extract: Tremella Fuciformis is snow mushroom. Its polysaccharide holds even more water than hyaluronic acid for its weight, which is why it appears in hydrating Korean formulas as a plant alternative.
Artemisia Annua Extract plant extract: Artemisia Annua is sweet wormwood, a mugwort relative. Its extract is used in Korean formulas for the look of reactive 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.
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.
Niacinamide active: Niacinamide is vitamin B3, and it is the most studied active in Korean formulation. It is used at roughly 2 to 5 percent for the look of uneven tone and visible pores, and it is water soluble, stable and comfortable beside almost every other active, which is why it turns up in so many lists.
Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate antioxidant: Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate is a water-soluble, stable vitamin C salt. It works at near-neutral pH, so it appears in formulas aimed at skin that pure ascorbic acid leaves stinging.
Glycyrrhizic Acid active: Glycyrrhizic Acid is the sweet-tasting saponin that gives licorice root its flavour. It is the licorice fraction used for the look of reddened 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.
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.
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.
Ascorbic Acid antioxidant: Ascorbic Acid is pure vitamin C, the most researched form and also the least stable: it needs a low pH and airtight packaging to stay active. It is an antioxidant used for the look of dullness and uneven tone.
Biotin vitamin: Biotin is vitamin B7. In skincare it is a conditioning vitamin, most often in hair and scalp formulas.
Cyanocobalamin vitamin: Cyanocobalamin is vitamin B12, and it is a deep pink-red, which is why a formula carrying it often has a colour nobody added on purpose. It is used as a conditioning vitamin.
Folic Acid vitamin: Folic Acid is vitamin B9. It is used in a formula as a conditioning vitamin, usually as part of a B-complex blend.
Pyridoxine vitamin: Pyridoxine is vitamin B6. In a formula it is a conditioning vitamin, most often in B-complex blends and scalp products.
Riboflavin vitamin: Riboflavin is vitamin B2, and it is a strong yellow, so a formula carrying it often has a colour nobody added on purpose.
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.
Thiamine Hcl vitamin: Thiamine is vitamin B1, supplied as its hydrochloride salt so it dissolves in water. It is a conditioning vitamin and usually appears as part of a B-complex.
Potassium Hyaluronate humectant: Potassium Hyaluronate is another salt of hyaluronic acid, used for the same reason as the sodium form: it dissolves easily and holds a large amount of water in the outer layer of skin.

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

#12

Fragrance on the list

Worth knowing

Patch test this gel cleanser on a small area and wait a day before using it more widely, especially with Allantoin on the list.
This list names Fragrance, so skip it if fragrance components are something you avoid.
Citric Acid and Gluconolactone on this list makes this gel cleanser an exfoliating step, so do not stack it with another one on the same night.

Complete the routine

This itemACWELL Licorice pH Balancing Pore Cleansing Gel Foam 160ml$20.00
Seal the routine in as the last stepacwell Aqua Clinity Cream (Original) 50ml$42.50
Prep after cleansing, before the treatment stepacwell Licorice pH Balancing Essence Mist 100ml$40.00

Total for 3 items$102.50

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acwell Licorice pH Balancing Pore Cleansing Gel Foam 160ml

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ACWELL, Korean-market original

The Original Korean Formula gel cleanser from ACWELL, 160ml formulated with Allantoin and Succinic Acid, 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