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 Niacinamide and not three changes at once.

Does this toner pad contain fragrance?

Yes. The ingredient list names Fragrance. 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 toner pad is not the one.

What else is on the list besides Niacinamide?

Adenosine, Sodium DNA and Acetyl Hexapeptide-8. The order they are printed in on this toner pad's panel is the order on the box, so you can see where Niacinamide sits relative to them. Further down the same panel: Copper Tripeptide-1, Dipeptide Diaminobutyroyl Benzylamide Diacetate and Hexapeptide-9.

Dr. Melaxin

Cactox Pore Relief Jelly Toner Pad 170ml/60ea

Name: Dr. Melaxin Cactox Pore Relief Jelly Toner Pad 170ml/60ea
Brand: Dr. Melaxin
SKU: sku-53314228781353
Price: 47.5 USD
Availability: InStock

Dr. Melaxin Cactox Pore Relief Jelly Toner Pad 170ml/ is a toner pad from Dr. Melaxin built around Niacinamide.

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$47.50

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 Niacinamide in a toner padRoutines that want Niacinamide and Adenosine in one stepFilling the toner pad step with a Korean-market formula

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$47.50

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How it works

The Cactox Pore Relief Jelly Toner Pad 170ml/ is a toner pad, used use one pad from it straight after cleansing, morning and evening. The active it is built around is Niacinamide, named sixth on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Adenosine, Sodium DNA and Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, so the active is not the only thing on it worth naming. How much of the Niacinamide stays on the skin, and for how long, is decided by the toner pad format rather than by the list alone. Dr. Melaxin sells this Niacinamide toner pad in Korea, and this is that version.

Key benefits

Niacinamide, the active this toner pad is built around
Adenosine and Sodium DNA on the same list, actives
Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 and Copper Tripeptide-1 on the same list, peptides
Dipeptide Diaminobutyroyl Benzylamide Diacetate and Hexapeptide-9 further down the same list
Nonapeptide-1 and Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12 further down the same list
Niacinamide named sixth on the manufacturer list printed on this page

Key actives

6Niacinamideactive

Niacinamide is vitamin B3, and it is the most studied active in Korean formulation. On this toner pad's own ingredient list it is named sixth.

All products with Niacinamide

19Adenosineactive

Adenosine is a nucleoside that Korea's own cosmetic authority recognises as a wrinkle-care functional ingredient, which is why it appears on so many Korean lists at a low level. It is used for the look of fine lines and is stable and well tolerated. The panel names it nineteenth on this toner pad's list, beside Niacinamide.

All products with Adenosine

35Sodium DNAactive

Sodium DNA is the salt of DNA, in Korean skincare almost always salmon derived, and it is the ingredient behind the PDRN category. It is used as a humectant and for the look of tired skin; the fragments themselves are what the name PDRN refers to. It is named thirty-fifth on this toner pad's list, alongside Niacinamide.

All products with PDRN

48Acetyl Hexapeptide-8peptide

Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 is a six-amino-acid peptide used for the look of expression lines, particularly around the eyes. It is the peptide sold under the name Argireline and is water soluble and stable. The panel names it forty-eighth on this toner pad's list, beside Niacinamide.

All products with Acetyl Hexapeptide-8

49Copper Tripeptide-1peptide

Copper Tripeptide-1 is three amino acids bound to a copper ion, and the classic firming peptide in cosmetic chemistry. It is blue in solution, which is often why a serum carrying it is tinted, and it is used for the look of firmness and fine lines. The panel names it forty-ninth on this toner pad's list, beside Niacinamide.

All products with Copper Tripeptide-1

1 of 3

55 of 59 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.
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.
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.
Glycereth-26 humectant: Glycereth-26 is a modified glycerin that hydrates with far less stickiness than glycerin itself. It is a common way to load water into a formula that has to stay light.
Niacinamide active: Niacinamide is vitamin B3, and it is the most studied active in Korean formulation. It is used at roughly 2 to 5 percent for the look of uneven tone and visible pores, and it is water soluble, stable and comfortable beside almost every other active, which is why it turns up in so many lists.
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.
Glycereth-25 PCA Isostearate emollient: Glycereth-25 PCA Isostearate is a water-dispersible emollient that softens skin and helps oils and water stay mixed. It reads as light rather than rich on the skin.
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.
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.
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.
Xylitol humectant: Xylitol is a sugar alcohol humectant. It holds water in the outer layer of skin and is often paired with anhydroxylitol and xylitylglucoside as a hydration trio.

43 more explained

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.
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.
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.
Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract plant extract: Gardenia Fruit Extract is the traditional East Asian yellow dye plant. In skincare it is used as an antioxidant extract, and it can tint a formula.
Dextrin thickener: Dextrin is a starch fragment used to thicken and to give a formula a light, powdery finish. It is also a common carrier for powdered extracts.
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.
Adenosine active: Adenosine is a nucleoside that Korea's own cosmetic authority recognises as a wrinkle-care functional ingredient, which is why it appears on so many Korean lists at a low level. It is used for the look of fine lines and is stable and well tolerated.
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.
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.
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.
Punica Granatum Extract plant extract: Pomegranate fruit extract, carrying ellagic acid and punicalagins. It is used as a plant antioxidant.
Lactobacillus Ferment ferment: Lactobacillus Ferment is the liquid left after lactobacillus bacteria have fermented a plant or milk substrate. It carries the small molecules the fermentation produced, including lactic acid and amino acids, and is used for the look of dull, uneven skin.
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.
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.
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.
Tannic Acid plant extract: Tannic Acid is the tannin fraction of plants such as oak and tea. It binds to proteins on the surface, which is what gives a tannin its tightening, astringent feel.
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.
Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Extract plant extract: Lemon fruit extract, carrying citric acid, sugars and flavonoids. It is the water-based fruit extract rather than the peel oil, so it brings the fruit acids without the aromatic terpenes.
Opuntia Ficus-Indica Stem Extract plant extract: Prickly pear cactus stem extract, from the pad rather than the fruit. The pad is full of mucilage, so the extract hydrates and leaves a cushioned feel.
Sodium DNA active: Sodium DNA is the salt of DNA, in Korean skincare almost always salmon derived, and it is the ingredient behind the PDRN category. It is used as a humectant and for the look of tired skin; the fragments themselves are what the name PDRN refers to.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract plant extract: Aloe Leaf Extract is mostly water with polysaccharides, amino acids and mild plant acids. It hydrates and leaves a light, cooling film, which is why it is the default after-sun ingredient.
Actinidia Chinensis (Kiwi) Fruit Extract plant extract: Kiwi fruit extract, high in vitamin C and fruit acids. It is used as a conditioning antioxidant extract.
Brassica Oleracea Acephala Leaf Extract plant extract: Kale leaf extract, carrying carotenoids, vitamin C and glucosinolates. It is used as a plant antioxidant.
Malus Domestica Fruit Extract plant extract: Apple fruit extract, carrying malic acid, sugars and polyphenols. It is used as a conditioning extract and a mild source of fruit acid.
Bioflavonoids antioxidant: Bioflavonoids is a collective declaration for the flavonoid fraction of a plant extract, usually citrus. It names a class of plant antioxidants rather than one compound.
Dimethylsilanol Hyaluronate humectant: Dimethylsilanol Hyaluronate is hyaluronic acid joined to a silicon-based group. It hydrates and leaves a smoother, silkier finish than hyaluronic acid alone.
Apium Graveolens (Celery) Extract plant extract: Celery extract, carrying flavonoids, minerals and plant acids. It is used as a light conditioning extract.
Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) Extract plant extract: Broccoli extract, carrying sulforaphane and vitamin C. It is used as a plant antioxidant.
Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate humectant: Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate carries a positive charge, and skin carries a slight negative one, so it is attracted to the surface and stays through rinsing. It is the hyaluronic used where a formula gets washed off.
Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate humectant: Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate is hyaluronic acid modified to be part oil-loving, so it clings to skin instead of rinsing away. Formulators call it the one that stays put.
Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 peptide: Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 is a six-amino-acid peptide used for the look of expression lines, particularly around the eyes. It is the peptide sold under the name Argireline and is water soluble and stable.
Copper Tripeptide-1 peptide: Copper Tripeptide-1 is three amino acids bound to a copper ion, and the classic firming peptide in cosmetic chemistry. It is blue in solution, which is often why a serum carrying it is tinted, and it is used for the look of firmness and fine lines.
Dipeptide Diaminobutyroyl Benzylamide Diacetate peptide: This is a two-amino-acid peptide, sold as Syn-Ake, used for the look of expression lines. Its structure was modelled on a component of snake venom, though nothing of the venom itself is in it.
Hexapeptide-9 peptide: Hexapeptide-9 is a six-amino-acid peptide used for the look of firmness and elasticity. It is water soluble and appears in peptide blends rather than alone.
Nonapeptide-1 peptide: Nonapeptide-1 is a nine-amino-acid peptide used for the look of uneven tone rather than for firmness, which makes it unusual among cosmetic peptides.
Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12 peptide: Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12 is a fatted six-amino-acid peptide used for the look of firmness, usually as part of a multi-peptide blend.
Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 peptide: Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 is the five-amino-acid peptide originally sold as Matrixyl. It is used for the look of fine lines and is one of the longest-standing cosmetic peptides.
Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7 peptide: Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7 is a four-amino-acid peptide with a fatty tail, used for the look of fine lines. With palmitoyl tripeptide-1 it forms the pairing sold as Matrixyl 3000.
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 peptide: Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 is a short peptide with a fatty tail added so it can travel through the oily outer layer of skin. It is used for the look of firmness and is almost always paired with palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7.
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5 peptide: Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5 is a fatted three-amino-acid peptide used for the look of firmness and fine lines. The palmitoyl tail is what lets it cross an oily surface.
Pentapeptide-3 peptide: Pentapeptide-3 is a five-amino-acid peptide used for the look of expression lines. It is water soluble and is supplied as one part of a peptide blend rather than alone.
Tripeptide-1 peptide: Tripeptide-1 is the copper-free version of the classic three-amino-acid peptide. It is used for the look of firmness in formulas that avoid copper's blue tint.

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

#20

Fragrance on the list

6Niacinamide19Adenosine35Sodium DNA48Acetyl Hexapeptide-8

6Niacinamide
19Adenosine
35Sodium DNA
48Acetyl Hexapeptide-8

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

How to use

Use it by sweeping it over the face after cleansing, by hand or with a cotton pad, working it into the skin in the position this toner occupies in a full routine, and following up with the next step once it has settled.

Worth knowing

Patch test this toner pad on a small area and wait a day before using it more widely, especially with Niacinamide on the list.
This list names Fragrance, so skip it if fragrance components are something you avoid.

Complete the routine

This itemDr. Melaxin Cactox Pore Relief Jelly Toner Pad 170ml/60ea$47.50
Seal the routine in as the last stepDr.Melaxin Cactox Pore Relief Dual Capsule Cream 65g$75.00
From the same Korean-market lineDr.Melaxin Cactox 3-Step Nose Pore Pack 3P$32.50

Total for 3 items$155.00

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Dr.Melaxin Cactox Pore Relief Jelly Toner Pad 170ml/60ea

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Dr. Melaxin, Korean-market original

The Original Korean Formula toner pad from Dr. Melaxin, formulated with Niacinamide and Adenosine, 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 the key actives in this formula, quoted from the medical sources linked beside each.

Peptides can be anti-inflammatory, and chronic inflammation damages the tissue in your skin.
Wilma Bergfeld, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic
Niacinamide helps reduce the appearance of pores in a few ways. By strengthening the skin barrier and improving elasticity, pores appear less noticeable and more even.
Ashlyn YankeAesthetician, Cleveland Clinic

1 more professional perspective

It's still a very new ingredient in the field of regenerative medicine.
Catherine ChangBeverly Hills board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon, Harper's Bazaar