Where does this toner pad go in my routine?

Use one pad from it straight after cleansing, morning and evening. Anything thinner than a toner pad 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 Allantoin and not three changes at once.

What else is on the list besides Allantoin?

Acetyl Glucosamine, Gluconolactone and Cyanocobalamin. The order they are printed in on this toner pad's panel is the order on the box, so you can see where Allantoin sits relative to them. Further down the same panel: Tocopherol, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract and Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract.

Anua

Birch Moisture Boosting Pad

Name: Anua Birch Moisture Boosting Pad
Brand: Anua
Price: 20.99 USD
Availability: OutOfStock

White birch sap declared at 70,000 ppm sits second on this pad's own ingredient list, ahead of allantoin and five separate hyaluronate forms, so one swipe from the 130 g tub tones and hydrates in a single step.

Reviewed by Nurcan Saglam, licensed dermo-cosmetic expert (Paris)

No reviews yet

$20.99

130g

$16.15 per 100 g

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 toner padRoutines that want Allantoin and Acetyl Glucosamine in one stepFilling the toner pad step with a Korean-market formula

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Key benefits

Allantoin, the active this toner pad is built around
Acetyl Glucosamine on the same list, an active
Gluconolactone on the same list, an exfoliant
Cyanocobalamin on the same list, a vitamin
Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract and Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract further down the same list
Mentha Rotundifolia Leaf Extract and Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Flower Extract further down the same list

Key actives

6Allantoinactive

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. On this toner pad's own ingredient list it is named sixth.

All products with Allantoin

21Gluconolactoneexfoliant

Gluconolactone is a PHA, the gentlest exfoliant class. The panel names it twenty-first on this toner pad's list, beside Allantoin.

All products with Gluconolactone

42Acetyl Glucosamineactive

Acetyl Glucosamine is the sugar unit hyaluronic acid is built from. It is used as a humectant and, at higher levels, for the look of uneven tone, often paired with niacinamide. It is named forty-second on this toner pad's list, alongside Allantoin.

All products with Acetyl Glucosamine

44Cyanocobalaminvitamin

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. The panel names it forty-fourth on this toner pad's list, beside Allantoin.

All products with Cyanocobalamin

45Tocopherolantioxidant

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. It is named forty-fifth on this toner pad's list, alongside Allantoin.

All products with Tocopherol

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

6Allantoin21Gluconolactone42Acetyl Glucosamine45Tocopherol

6Allantoin
21Gluconolactone
42Acetyl Glucosamine
45Tocopherol

Where each key active sits on the declared ingredient list, by entry number. Position is proportion: the further forward, the larger its share.

1 of 2

Anua Birch Moisture Boosting Pad

47 of 47 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.
Betula Platyphylla Japonica Juice(70,000Ppm) plant extract: Betula Platyphylla Japonica Juice is Asian white birch sap, tapped in spring. It is over 98 percent water with trace minerals and sugars, and Korean formulas use it in place of plain water as a hydrating base.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract plant extract: Cucumber fruit extract, mostly water with sugars and amino acids. It is used as a light hydrating extract with a fresh, cooling character.
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.
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 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.
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.

35 more explained

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.
Mentha Rotundifolia Leaf Extract plant extract: Apple mint leaf extract, a softer-scented mint than peppermint. It is used as a conditioning extract with a faint cooling character.
Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Flower/Leaf Extract plant extract: Thyme flower and leaf extract, carrying the phenols thymol and carvacrol along with rosmarinic acid. It is used as an antioxidant herbal extract.
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.
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.
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.
Chlorella Vulgaris Extract plant extract: Chlorella Vulgaris is a freshwater green algae. Its extract carries proteins, chlorophyll and amino acids and is used as a conditioning ingredient.
Melia Azadirachta Branch/Leaf Extract plant extract: Neem branch and leaf extract. The leaf carries the limonoids and flavonoids neem is used for, and the extract is a conditioning botanical.
Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract plant extract: Melia Azadirachta is neem. Its leaf and flower extracts are long-standing Ayurvedic ingredients, and Korean formulas use them in products aimed at the look of congested, blemish-prone skin.
Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract plant extract: Coccinia Indica is ivy gourd. Its fruit extract is used as a conditioning, hydrating plant extract in Korean formulas.
Althaea Rosea Flower Extract plant extract: Althaea Rosea is hollyhock, a mallow relative rich in mucilage. Its flower extract hydrates and leaves a cushioned, slippery feel.
Aloe Barbadensis Flower Extract plant extract: Aloe Flower Extract comes from the flower rather than the leaf gel. It is used as a conditioning plant extract.
Solanum Melongena (Eggplant) Fruit Extract plant extract: Eggplant Fruit Extract carries nasunin, the antioxidant pigment in aubergine skin. It is used as an antioxidant plant extract.
Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract plant extract: Ocimum Sanctum is holy basil, or tulsi. Its leaf extract carries plant antioxidants and is used in formulas built for the look of stressed, reactive skin.
Corallina Officinalis Extract plant extract: Corallina Officinalis is coral seaweed, which holds calcium and magnesium in its structure. Its extract is used as a mineral-rich conditioning ingredient.
Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract plant extract: Turmeric Root Extract carries curcuminoids, well studied plant antioxidants. It is used for the look of dullness and uneven tone, and it tints a formula faintly yellow.
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.
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.
Glucose humectant: Glucose is a simple sugar used as a humectant and as food for the ferment ingredients in the same formula. It hydrates mildly and adds a soft slip.
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.
Caprylyl Glycol preservative booster: Caprylyl Glycol is a glycol that conditions skin and, more importantly, strengthens a preservative system so less of the traditional preservative is needed. It appears in most modern formulas built without parabens.
Fructooligosaccharides humectant: Fructooligosaccharides are short fructose chains used as humectants and as food for the skin's own resident microbes.
Fructose humectant: Fructose is a simple sugar used as a light humectant. It holds water in the outer layer and often arrives as part of a fruit or honey extract.
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.
Glyceryl Caprylate emulsifier: Glyceryl Caprylate is a mild emulsifier that also makes a formula less hospitable to microbes, so it is often part of a preservative-free system.
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.
Acetyl Glucosamine active: Acetyl Glucosamine is the sugar unit hyaluronic acid is built from. It is used as a humectant and, at higher levels, for the look of uneven tone, often paired with niacinamide.
Sodium Citrate pH adjuster: Sodium Citrate is the salt of citric acid, used as a buffer: it holds a formula at a steady pH rather than pushing it in one direction. It is also a mild chelator.
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.
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.
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.
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.

How it works

The Birch Moisture Boosting Pad is a 130g toner pad, used use one pad from it straight after cleansing, morning and evening. The active it is built around is Allantoin, named sixth on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Acetyl Glucosamine, Gluconolactone and Cyanocobalamin, 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 toner pad format rather than by the list alone. Anua sells this Allantoin toner pad in Korea, and this is that version.

How to use

Use one pad from the Birch Moisture Boosting Pad straight after cleansing, morning and evening.
Sweep the textured side outward across the face, then press the smooth side over anywhere that felt tight.
It replaces the toner step, so serum and moisturizer follow it in the usual order while skin is still damp.
One pad a session, twice a day. Do not go back over the same area again and again; a soaked pad is an application tool, not a scrub.

Worth knowing

Patch test this toner pad on a small area and wait a day before using it more widely, especially with Allantoin on the list.
Gluconolactone on this list makes this toner pad an exfoliating step, so do not stack it with another one on the same night.

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Anua Birch Moisture Boosting Pad

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Anua, Korean-market original

The Original Korean Formula toner pad from Anua, 130g formulated with Allantoin and Acetyl Glucosamine, 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.

Anua uses a holographic QR seal that only the HiddenTag app can read. Install HiddenTag from your phone’s app store and scan the seal on the box. A camera app alone will not resolve it.

Source: Anua packaging, HiddenTag scheme

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 the key actives in this formula, quoted from the medical sources linked beside each.

Allantoin can tone down the dryness of the individual cells. It increases the water content of the skin, which means it helps to hydrate and moisturize.
Wilma Bergfeld, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic
People with dry, flaky skin are more likely to see a benefit from using vitamin E because it enhances moisturization.
Amy Kassouf, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic

1 more professional perspective

This means that gluconolactone acts as an exfoliating acid, but also as a moisturizer. It has moisturizing, soothing, and lightening properties, working well on dry skin.
Paola PeruginiPhD, Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology