Medicube
Zero Foam Cleanser$14.11Salicylic Acid Daily Gentle Cleanser
A salicylic acid cleanser mild enough for daily washing, used as the first step morning and evening. 150 ml, and it rinses clean.
No reviews yet150ml
$8.66 per 100 ml
- Korean-market formula
- Ships from California or direct from Korea
- Korean barcode and batch code intact
- Suited to
- TexturedCongestedDryDehydrated
- Helps with
- Rough surface textureDehydrationExcess oilBreakouts and congestion
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Medicube Zero Foam CleanserMedicube
$14.11
$15.29
$42.50
- 30-day returns
- Free US shipping on orders of $100 or more
- Tracked delivery to your door
How it works
A wash-off step has seconds on the skin, so a cleanser with an acid in it is a light daily pass rather than the exfoliating step in a routine. That is the job here: first step, morning and evening, worked into a lather in wet hands before it touches the face. It suits skin that looks congested across the nose and chin and does not get on with a harsh weekly scrub. Rinse with lukewarm water and go straight on to toner while the face is still damp. Keep any leave-on acid as its own separate step, because a rinse-off and a leave-on are doing different amounts of work.
Key benefits
- Salicylic acid is on the list for a gentle, daily-use BHA cleanse.
- Tea tree leaf oil sits alongside willow bark water further down the list.
- A potassium-soap base of myristic and stearic acids builds a creamy lather.
- Formulated for daily use rather than a targeted spot treatment.
Inside the formula
Inside the formula
COSRX Salicylic Acid Daily Gentle Cleanser
Is this cleanser strong enough for acne, or is it just a gentle daily wash?
Salicylic acid appears on the list, positioned among the surfactants rather than near the top, so it contributes a mild exfoliating pass during the brief contact time of a wash. It is meant to complement a leave-on BHA or acne treatment used elsewhere in the routine, not to replace one.
What surfactants make this a gentle cleanser despite carrying salicylic acid?
Sodium methyl cocoyl taurate and cocamidopropyl betaine lead the surfactant portion of the list, both considered mild compared to a sulfate. That base is what keeps the formula wearable daily even with an acid present.
Is willow bark water the same as salicylic acid?
No. Salix alba, willow bark water, appears separately on the list and is the botanical source salicylic acid was originally isolated from, carrying its own natural salicylates. The isolated salicylic acid earlier on the list is the primary exfoliating ingredient; the willow bark water is a secondary, gentler contributor.
Does this cleanser contain tea tree oil?
Yes, melaleuca alternifolia leaf oil appears on the list. Tea tree is a common pairing with salicylic acid in Korean congestion-focused formulas, included here alongside the acid rather than as a substitute for it.
Is this suitable for daily use or occasional use only?
The mild surfactant base and the low position of salicylic acid on the list both support daily use for most skin types. Anyone new to salicylic acid products, or layering this with a leave-on BHA elsewhere, should watch for dryness and adjust frequency if the skin feels tight.
Not on the ingredient list below: fragrance or parfum, denatured or SD alcohol, silicones, parabens, sulfate surfactants, mineral oil or petrolatum and added color.
Full INCI (23): Water, Glycerin, Myristic Acid, Stearic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Lauric Acid, Butylene Glycol, Glycol Distearate, Polysorbate 80, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Salicylic Acid, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Oil, Sodium Chloride, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Water, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ethyl Hexanediol, Citric Acid, Disodium EDTA
Ingredient list read from jolse.com on 9 September 2026.
22 of 23 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Lauric Acid fatty acid
- Lauric Acid is the coconut fatty acid that gives soap-style cleansers their dense foam. It is not well suited to blemish-prone skin at high levels.
- 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.
- Glycol Distearate emollient
- A wax-like ester that thickens a cleanser and gives it a pearly opacity. It also leaves a conditioned feel behind after rinsing.
- Polysorbate 80 emulsifier
- Polysorbate 80 is an emulsifier and solubiliser used to keep oils, fragrance and oil-soluble actives dissolved in water.
- Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate surfactant
- Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate is a mild coconut-derived surfactant known for a rich, creamy lather that rinses without tightness.
- 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.
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine surfactant
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a coconut-derived secondary surfactant. Its job is to boost foam and soften the harshness of the main cleanser rather than to clean on its own.
10 more explained
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Water plant extract
- Willow bark distillate. It is much more dilute than willow bark extract and carries little of the salicin the extract is used for.
- 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.
- Ethyl Hexanediol humectant
- Ethyl Hexanediol is a glycol that hydrates and makes a formula less hospitable to microbes, the same double role 1,2-hexanediol plays.
- 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.
- 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.
- Market
- Korean market, the version sold in Korea
- EAN (barcode)
- 8809416471112
- Made in
- Republic of Korea
- Volume
- 150ml
- Category
- Cleanser / Creamy exfoliating cleanser
- Actives
- Salicylic Acid, Tea Tree
- Ships from
- California or Korea
Orders ship from California or direct from Korea with tracked delivery to your door, and both routes carry the same Korean-market release. Shipping is free on orders of $100 or more. Returns are accepted for 30 days, by mail.
We split shipments free, so one out-of-stock item never holds up the rest of your order.
Where this unit came from
- 1Seoul
Bought as Korean-market stock - 2Barcode
Listed against the Korean barcode on its box - 3California or Korea
Ships to you from either, as the same Korean-market release
We stock the version of a formula that is sold in Korea, not the release a brand prepares for another market under the same name. The barcode in the specification above is the Korean-market one and it is printed on the box you receive.
Every unit keeps its original barcode and batch code intact, so the unit in your hands can be checked against the brand’s own records.
Every order ships from California or direct from Korea, and returns run for 30 days.
Every claim on this page traces to the unit in the box, the barcode, the batch code and the price you can read for yourself.
How to use
- Use the Salicylic Acid Daily Gentle Cleanser as your first step, morning and evening, on a face already wet with lukewarm water.
- A coin-sized amount, worked into a lather between wet palms for twenty seconds, then massaged over the face in small circles.
- Rinse with lukewarm water and go straight to your toner while skin is still damp, then serum and moisturizer as usual.
- Twice a day is the ceiling. Do not use it on the same evening as a leave-on acid or a retinoid, and do not stretch the massage past a minute.
Worth knowing
- This formula carries an active acid, so pairing it with another exfoliant in the same routine is worth spacing out.
Reviews
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COSRX Salicylic Acid Daily Gentle Cleanser
How it felt, how your skin took it, what you layer it with. Straight answers help the next person choose.
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COSRX, Korean-market original
Salicylic acid daily cleanser, 150 ml.
Verify your unit when it arrives
Verify your unit when it arrives
Korean-market stock with the original barcode and batch code intact, exactly as it left Korea.
COSRX verifies units itself. Find the verification page on cosrx.com and enter the batch number and expiration date printed on your unit. Read them off the package rather than from us, which is the point.
Source: COSRX FAQ
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 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
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