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 Ascorbic Acid and not three changes at once.

Is this the Korean-market gel cleanser or a US version?

The Korean-market one, Ascorbic Acid and all. We match this gel cleanser 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 Ascorbic Acid?

Ceramide EOP, Ceramide NS and Ceramide NP. The order they are printed in on this gel cleanser's panel is the order on the box, so you can see where Ascorbic Acid sits relative to them. Further down the same panel: Ceramide AS, Ceramide AP and Phytosphingosine.

Celimax

Dual Barrier Mild Gel Cleanser 200ml

Name: Celimax Dual Barrier Mild Gel Cleanser 200ml
Brand: Celimax
SKU: 6004454600
Price: 20.0 USD
Availability: InStock

Five ceramides and Phytosphingosine sit on this cleanser's list, which is unusual, behind coco-betaine and Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate. 200 ml, worked into damp skin as the only cleanse or the second one. Korean-market formula.

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$20.00

200 ml

$10.00 per 100 ml

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

Suited to: Congested skinUneven textureDry skinCompromised barrier

Helps with: Shoppers looking for Ascorbic Acid in a gel cleanserRoutines that want Ascorbic Acid and Ceramide EOP in one stepFilling the gel cleanser step with a Korean-market formulaAnyone who wants the Ascorbic Acid gel cleanser sold on Korean shelves

One-time purchase

$20.00

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$18.00

In stock. Arrives in 3 to 7 business days

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How it works

The Dual Barrier Mild Gel Cleanser is a 200ml gel cleanser, used as your first step, morning and evening, on skin wet with lukewarm water. The antioxidant it is built around is Ascorbic Acid, named fifteenth on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Ceramide EOP, Ceramide NS and Ceramide NP, so the antioxidant is not the only thing on it worth naming. How much of the Ascorbic Acid stays on the skin, and for how long, is decided by the gel cleanser format rather than by the list alone. This is the Original Korean Formula, the gel cleanser Celimax sells in Korea, Ascorbic Acid and all.

Key benefits

Ascorbic Acid, the antioxidant this gel cleanser is built around
Ceramide EOP, Ceramide NS, Ceramide NP and Ceramide AS on the same list, barrier lipids
Ceramide AP and Phytosphingosine further down the same list
Cholesterol further down the same list
Ascorbic Acid named fifteenth on the manufacturer list printed on this page
The Korean-market release of this gel cleanser, confirmed against its Korean barcode

How to use

Massage over damp skin in circular motions for thirty to sixty seconds, working up a light lather if the formula foams, then rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water.

1 of 5

27 of 29 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.
Coco-Betaine surfactant: Coco-Betaine is a coconut-derived secondary surfactant used to build foam and make a cleanser milder.
Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate surfactant: Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate is a very mild coconut-derived surfactant used in cleansers for reactive skin and around the eyes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ceramide EOP barrier lipid: Ceramide EOP is the ceramide with the longest tail, and in skin it acts as the rivet holding the lipid layers together. It is the third member of the standard cosmetic ceramide trio.
Ceramide NS barrier lipid: Ceramide NS is another of the ceramides skin makes for itself. It is used alongside NP and AP so a formula supplies a mixture rather than a single lipid.
Ceramide NP barrier lipid: Ceramide NP is the most used cosmetic ceramide, the same class of lipid that makes up roughly half the mortar between cells in the outer layer of skin. Added to a cream it slots into that structure, which is why ceramide formulas feel less leaky rather than merely greasy.
Ceramide AS barrier lipid: Ceramide AS is a further member of the same lipid family. Its presence usually signals a formula built around a full ceramide profile rather than a single headline one.

15 more explained

Ceramide AP barrier lipid: Ceramide AP is a second cosmetic ceramide, distinguished by an extra hydroxyl group. Formulas that name several ceramides are copying the mix skin actually holds rather than relying on one.
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.
Phytosphingosine barrier lipid: Phytosphingosine is the backbone every ceramide is built on, and skin uses it in its own lipid layer. In a formula it works with ceramides and cholesterol and also keeps the product stable against microbes.
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.
Cetearyl Alcohol fatty alcohol: Cetearyl Alcohol is a waxy solid, not the drying kind of alcohol. It is a blend of cetyl and stearyl alcohols used to thicken a cream and keep oil and water from separating, and it softens skin as it does so.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Hexylene Glycol solvent: Hexylene Glycol is a solvent and light humectant. It keeps ingredients that resist water in solution and thins a formula so it spreads evenly.
Cholesterol barrier lipid: Cholesterol is the third of the three lipids the outer layer of skin is built from, with ceramides and fatty acids. Formulas that carry all three are following the ratio skin itself holds.
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.
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.
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.

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No 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 Ascorbic Acid on the list.
Introduce this gel cleanser on its own for the first week, so anything your skin does is traceable to the Ascorbic Acid rather than to three changes at once.

Complete the routine

This itemCelimax Dual Barrier Mild Gel Cleanser 200ml$20.00
Cleanse first, so the next step meets bare skincelimax Derma Nature Fresh Blackhead Jojoba Cleansing Oil 150ml$27.50
An as-needed step, in place of the prep layercelimax JI WOO GAE Heartleaf BHA Peeling Pad 50P$22.50

Total for 3 items$70.00

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celimax Dual Barrier Mild Gel Cleanser 200ml

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Celimax, Korean-market original

The Original Korean Formula gel cleanser from Celimax, 200ml formulated with Ascorbic Acid and Ceramide EOP, 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