Where does this scalp treatment go in my routine?

On a clean, towel-dried scalp, in the evening. Anything thinner than a scalp treatment 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 Menthol and not three changes at once.

Is this the Korean-market scalp treatment or a US version?

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

Does this scalp treatment contain fragrance?

Yes. The ingredient list names Limonene. 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 scalp treatment is not the one.

What else is on the list besides Menthol?

Lactic Acid, Salicylic Acid and Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract. The order they are printed in on this scalp treatment's panel is the order on the box, so you can see where Menthol sits relative to them. Further down the same panel: Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Extract, Mentha Rotundifolia Leaf Extract and Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Flower Extract.

A'PIEU

MINT SCALP HAIR VINEGAR 200ml

Name: A'PIEU MINT SCALP HAIR VINEGAR 200ml
Brand: A'PIEU
SKU: 4949854084
Price: 12.5 USD
Availability: InStock

A'PIEU MINT SCALP HAIR VINEGAR is a 200ml scalp treatment whose ingredient list carries Menthol alongside Lactic Acid and Salicylic Acid.

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$12.50

200 ml

$6.25 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 Menthol in a scalp treatmentRoutines that want Menthol and Lactic Acid in one stepFilling the scalp treatment step with a Korean-market formulaAnyone who wants the Menthol scalp treatment sold on Korean shelves

In stock. Arrives in 3 to 7 business days

You’re $100.00 away from free US shipping.

30-day returns
Free US shipping on orders of $100 or more
Tracked delivery to your door

Verified authentic Shipping and returns

How it works

The MINT SCALP HAIR VINEGAR is a 200ml scalp treatment, used on a clean, towel-dried scalp, in the evening. The active it is built around is Menthol, named seventeenth on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Lactic Acid, Salicylic Acid and Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract, so the active is not the only thing on it worth naming. How much of the Menthol stays on the skin, and for how long, is decided by the scalp treatment format rather than by the list alone. This is the Original Korean Formula, the scalp treatment A'PIEU sells in Korea, Menthol and all.

Key benefits

Menthol, the active this scalp treatment is built around
Lactic Acid and Salicylic Acid on the same list, exfoliants
Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract and Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Extract on the same list, plant extracts
Mentha Rotundifolia Leaf Extract and Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Flower Extract further down the same list
Viola Mandshurica Flower Extract and Equisetum Arvense Extract further down the same list
Menthol named seventeenth on the manufacturer list printed on this page

How to use

Use this product AM and/or PM, as the its place in a routine. Pat or smooth it on rather than rubbing, and give it a moment to settle before layering the next step.

1 of 2

36 of 39 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.
Alcohol Denat solvent: Alcohol Denat. is ethanol with a bitter additive that makes it undrinkable, which is a tax rule rather than a formulation choice. It behaves like alcohol: a fast-evaporating solvent that gives a weightless finish and can feel drying at higher levels.
Isopentyldiol solvent: Isopentyldiol is a glycol used as a light solvent and humectant. It thins a formula, keeps extracts dissolved and leaves a dry finish.
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.
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.
PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil emulsifier: PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil is a castor-oil-derived solubiliser. It is what keeps fragrance and oil-soluble ingredients dissolved in a watery formula so it stays clear.
Erythritol humectant: Erythritol is a sugar alcohol humectant with a faint cooling feel as it dissolves. It hydrates and helps a formula spread without tack.
Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine surfactant: A conditioning agent that takes on a positive charge in an acidic formula, so it clings to hair. It is used in place of a quaternary conditioner in silicone-free products.
Lactic Acid exfoliant: Lactic Acid is a larger AHA than glycolic, so it works nearer the surface and is easier on skin, and it is a humectant as well as an exfoliant. It is the AHA of choice for dry skin.
Octyldodeceth-16 emulsifier: An ethoxylated branched fatty alcohol. It emulsifies and also gives a formula a soft, cushioned slip.
Sodium Benzoate preservative: Sodium Benzoate is a mild preservative that works only in acidic formulas. It is usually paired with potassium sorbate, and the pair is the standard choice where a brand wants no phenoxyethanol.
Sodium Gluconate chelator: The sodium salt of gluconic acid, used to tie up trace metals so a formula stays stable. It is one of the gentler chelators.

24 more explained

Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil fragrance: Peppermint essential oil. Its menthol content is what produces the cool feeling, and it is a commonly declared fragrance material.
Sodium Lactate humectant: Sodium Lactate is the salt of lactic acid and one of the components of skin's own natural moisturising factor. At the levels used here it is a humectant and buffer rather than an exfoliant.
Menthol active: Menthol is the cooling compound in mint. It acts on the nerve receptor that also answers to cold, which is why skin feels cool without any change in temperature.
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.
Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Extract plant extract: Peppermint leaf extract, the water-based extract rather than the essential oil, so it carries far less menthol. It is used as a refreshing herbal extract.
Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Extract plant extract: Spearmint Extract carries aromatic plant compounds and gives a faint cooling sensation. It also scents a formula.
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.
Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil fragrance component: Eucalyptus Leaf Oil is an essential oil carrying eucalyptol. It scents a formula sharply and gives a cooling sensation.
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.
Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil fragrance component: Tea Tree Leaf Oil is an essential oil from an Australian shrub, carrying terpinen-4-ol. Korean formulas use it in products aimed at blemish-prone skin; it is potent, aromatic, and one of the essential oils most likely to bother reactive skin.
Limonene fragrance component: Limonene is the citrus-peel aromatic. It appears here because EU labelling requires 26 fragrance components to be named individually rather than hidden inside "fragrance", and it is one of 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.
Fructan humectant: Fructan is a chain of fructose units, usually from chicory. It holds water at the surface and forms a light, conditioning film.
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.
Viola Mandshurica Flower Extract plant extract: Viola Mandshurica is Manchurian violet. Its flower extract is used as a conditioning plant extract.
Equisetum Arvense Extract plant extract: Horsetail extract, the plant richest in plant-bound silica. It is used as a conditioning, mineral-bearing 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.
Paeonia Albiflora Root Extract plant extract: White peony root extract, from the same plant also written Paeonia lactiflora. The root is the part used in East Asian herbal practice and carries paeoniflorin and tannins.
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.
Prunus Persica (Peach) Fruit Extract plant extract: Peach Fruit Extract carries fruit sugars, vitamins and mild fruit acids. It is used as a hydrating extract.
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.
Swertia Japonica Extract plant extract: Japanese swertia extract, a bitter herb used in Korean and Japanese scalp formulas. It is a conditioning plant extract.
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.
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.

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

Worth knowing

Patch test this scalp treatment on a small area and wait a day before using it more widely, especially with Menthol on the list.
This list names Limonene, so skip it if fragrance components are something you avoid.
Lactic Acid and Salicylic Acid on this list makes this scalp treatment an exfoliating step, so do not stack it with another one on the same night.

Complete the routine

This itemA'PIEU MINT SCALP HAIR VINEGAR 200ml$12.50
The last step of the morning, over everything elseA'pieu Pure Block Sun Cream Waterproof Sun Cream SPF50/PA+++ 50ml$12.50
Cleanse first, so the next step meets bare skinA'pieu Deep Clean Bubble Foam 200ml$10.00

Total for 3 items$35.00

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A'pieu MINT SCALP HAIR VINEGAR 200ml

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A'PIEU, Korean-market original

The Original Korean Formula scalp treatment from A'PIEU, 200ml formulated with Menthol and Lactic 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