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 Benzyl Salicylate, Citronellol, Farnesol and Fragrance. They sit 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?

Allantoin, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate and Retinyl Palmitate. 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: Salicylic Acid, Lactic Acid and Thiamine HCl.

Dr.FORHAIR

Phyto Fresh Scalp Scaler 200ml

Name: Dr.FORHAIR Phyto Fresh Scalp Scaler 200ml
Brand: Dr.FORHAIR
SKU: 6372058328
Price: 37.5 USD
Availability: InStock

Mild taurate and betaine surfactants carry the top of this 200 ml scaler, with menthol tenth and salicylic acid, peppermint and mentha arvensis oils clustered just past twenty.

No reviews yet

$37.50

200 ml

$18.75 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 Allantoin 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 Phyto Fresh Scalp Scaler is a 200ml scalp treatment, used on a clean, towel-dried scalp, in the evening. The active it is built around is Menthol, named tenth on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Allantoin, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate and Retinyl Palmitate, 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 Dr.FORHAIR sells in Korea, Menthol and all.

Key benefits

Menthol, the active this scalp treatment is built around
Allantoin, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate and Retinyl Palmitate on the same list, actives
Salicylic Acid on the same list, an exfoliant
Lactic Acid and Thiamine HCl further down the same list
Riboflavin and Pantothenic Acid further down the same list
Menthol named tenth on the manufacturer list printed on this page

How to use

Use it as the pre-wash scalp step, worked into a dry or damp scalp before shampooing, to lift residue before the wash.

1 of 3

71 of 79 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 Methyl Cocoyl Taurate surfactant: Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate is a mild coconut-derived surfactant known for a rich, creamy lather that rinses without tightness.
Cocamide Methyl Mea surfactant: A coconut derived amide used as a foam booster and thickener in cleansers. It builds a denser lather and adds body to a surfactant blend.
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.
Coco-Betaine surfactant: Coco-Betaine is a coconut-derived secondary surfactant used to build foam and make a cleanser milder.
Alcohol solvent: Alcohol here means ethanol. It dissolves ingredients water cannot, evaporates fast so a formula sets quickly and does not feel heavy, and thins texture. In quantity it can leave dry or reactive skin feeling tight, which is why many Korean formulas avoid it and some deliberately use it for a fast, weightless finish.
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.
Sodium Polyacrylate thickener: Sodium Polyacrylate is a polymer that absorbs many times its weight in water. It thickens a formula and holds water in a gel against the skin.
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.
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.
Polysorbate 20 emulsifier: Polysorbate 20 is a solubiliser: it dissolves small amounts of oil or fragrance into a watery formula so nothing separates or floats.
Ethylhexyl Stearate emollient: Ethylhexyl Stearate is an ester emollient with a slightly richer feel than the palmitate. It softens skin and helps a formula spread evenly.

59 more explained

Carbomer thickener: Carbomer is a synthetic polymer that only gels once a base neutralises it, which is why arginine or tromethamine sits nearby on the list. It gives the clear, non-stringy gel texture a xanthan formula cannot reach.
Coconut Acid fatty acid: Coconut Acid is the mixed fatty acids of coconut oil. Combined with an alkali in the same formula it forms the soap that does the cleansing.
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.
Panthenol humectant: Panthenol is pro-vitamin B5: skin converts it to pantothenic acid. It is a humectant that holds water and leaves skin feeling soft and less tight, and it is one of the ingredients formulators reach for when a formula also contains something harsh.
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.
Trideceth-6 emulsifier: Trideceth-6 is a solubiliser used to dissolve fragrance and oil-soluble ingredients into a watery formula so it stays clear.
Tocopheryl Acetate antioxidant: Tocopheryl Acetate is a stable vitamin E ester that skin converts to tocopherol. It is used as an antioxidant and a light emollient and holds up better than plain vitamin E in a formula.
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) Oil fragrance: Peppermint essential oil. Its menthol content is what produces the cool feeling, and it is a commonly declared fragrance material.
Mentha Arvensis Leaf Oil fragrance: Cornmint oil, the main commercial source of menthol. It smells and feels close to peppermint.
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate active: Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate is a water-soluble salt derived from licorice root. It is the licorice fraction Korean formulas use for the look of redness, and it is far more stable in water than the whole extract.
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.
Trehalose humectant: Trehalose is a sugar that some desert plants use to survive drying out. In skincare it is a humectant that holds water in the outer layer and helps a formula feel comfortable rather than tight.
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride film former: Guar gum given a positive charge so it clings to hair and skin through a rinse. It is the plant-derived conditioning polymer in most sulfate-free shampoos.
Bambusa Vulgaris Water plant extract: Bamboo water, the sap or leaf distillate of bamboo, used in place of plain water. It carries silica and minerals and is a dilute base ingredient.
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.
Saponaria Officinalis Leaf Extract plant extract: Soapwort leaf extract. It is naturally rich in saponins, so it foams a little and works as a very mild plant cleanser.
Sapindus Trifoliatus Fruit Extract surfactant: Soapnut fruit extract. The shell is high in saponins, plant compounds that foam in water, so the extract is used as a mild botanical cleansing agent.
Moringa Oleifera Seed Extract plant extract: Moringa seed extract. The seed is best known for its oil and for the cationic peptides used to clarify water, and in a formula the extract is a conditioning botanical.
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.
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.
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.
Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower/Leaf Extract plant extract: German chamomile, taken from flower and leaf together. It carries bisabolol and the blue azulenes and is used for the look of reactive, reddened skin.
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.
Origanum Vulgare Leaf Extract plant extract: Oregano leaf extract, rich in the phenols carvacrol and thymol. It is used as an antioxidant plant extract and brings its own herbal scent with it.
Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Extract plant extract: Spearmint Extract carries aromatic plant compounds and gives a faint cooling sensation. It also scents a formula.
Melissa Officinalis Extract plant extract: Lemon balm extract, a mint-family herb rich in rosmarinic acid. It is used as an antioxidant conditioning extract with a light lemon scent.
Camellia Japonica Flower Extract plant extract: Camellia Japonica Flower Extract comes from the flower of the Korean camellia. It is used as a conditioning, hydrating extract.
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.
Beta-Glucan polysaccharide: Beta-Glucan is a polysaccharide from oats or yeast. It holds a large amount of water, forms a soothing film, and is one of the ingredients formulators reach for in products aimed at reactive 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.
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.
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.
Potassium Sorbate preservative: Potassium Sorbate is a preservative that holds off yeast and mould in acidic formulas. It is almost always used with sodium benzoate, because neither covers the whole range of microbes alone.
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.
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.
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.
Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower Extract plant extract: Lavender Flower Extract is the water-based extract rather than the essential oil, so it is much milder and less aromatic.
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.
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.
Retinyl Palmitate active: Retinyl Palmitate is retinol bound to a fatty acid. It is the mildest common retinoid because skin has to make three conversions before it becomes active, which also makes it the least likely to cause flaking.
Pantothenic Acid vitamin: Pantothenic Acid is vitamin B5, the form skin converts panthenol into. It is used as a conditioning humectant that leaves skin feeling soft rather than tight.
Niacin vitamin: Niacin is the acid form of vitamin B3. It is the same vitamin as niacinamide in a different chemical form, and it is used at very low levels 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.
Biotin vitamin: Biotin is vitamin B7. In skincare it is a conditioning vitamin, most often in hair and scalp formulas.
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.
Algin thickener: Algin is a brown-seaweed polysaccharide. It thickens, forms a film, and sets into a rubbery gel when calcium is added, which is how a peel-off modelling mask works.
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.
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.
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.
Phenoxyethanol preservative: Phenoxyethanol is the most widely used cosmetic preservative outside the paraben family. It keeps a water-containing formula from growing bacteria and mould, and is capped at one percent in most markets, so it always sits low on a list.
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.
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.
Linalool fragrance component: Linalool is a floral aromatic found in lavender, bergamot and coriander. It is one of the 26 fragrance components EU labelling requires to be declared by name.
Benzyl Salicylate fragrance component: Benzyl Salicylate is a faint floral aromatic that also holds a fragrance on skin longer. It is one of the 26 fragrance components EU labelling requires to be named.
Hydroxycitronellal fragrance component: Hydroxycitronellal is a soft lily-of-the-valley aromatic. It is one of the 26 declarable fragrance components.
Geraniol fragrance component: Geraniol is a rose-scented aromatic found in geranium and citronella oils. It is one of the 26 declarable fragrance components.
Citronellol fragrance component: Citronellol is a rose-geranium aromatic and one of the 26 fragrance components EU labelling names individually.

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

Last

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 Benzyl Salicylate, Citronellol and Farnesol, so skip it if fragrance components are something you avoid.
Retinyl is on this list, so keep this scalp treatment to the evening and build the nights up slowly rather than starting nightly.
Citric Acid and Lactic 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 itemDr.FORHAIR Phyto Fresh Scalp Scaler 200ml$37.50
From the same Korean-market lineDr.FORHAIR Phyto Therapy Shampoo 500ml$32.50
The treatment step of this routineDr.FORHAIR Perfect Lash Serum 8ml$32.50

Total for 3 items$102.50

Reviews

No reviews yet. Tell us how much you love the product!

Write a review

Dr.FORHAIR Phyto Fresh Scalp Scaler 200ml

How it felt, how your skin took it, what you layer it with. Straight answers help the next person choose.

Read every customer review

We’re on gram!

Creators trying on authentic Korean skincare routines and products from us.

Watch on YouTube
Rating a shelf of Dr. Althea products one by one.
Jasmine Loo · YouTube
Watch on YouTube
Two hydrating serums side by side, IUNIK and Dr. Althea.
Kristin · YouTube
Watch on YouTube
A walk through the Dr. Althea serum lineup and who each one suits.
auraofmahmuda · YouTube
Watch on YouTube
A blunt first take on the Dr. Althea range.
Lexi Chang · YouTube
Watch on YouTube
A first look at the viral 345 Relief Cream before buying.
Shelley Nayak · YouTube
Watch on YouTube
A first try of the Dr. Althea serum on camera.
Hannah Ziad · YouTube

Dr.FORHAIR, Korean-market original

The Original Korean Formula scalp treatment from Dr.FORHAIR, 200ml formulated with Menthol and Allantoin, 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