Where does this shampoo go in my routine?

In place of your usual shampoo, on hair wet all the way through. Anything thinner than a shampoo 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 shampoo contain fragrance?

Yes. The ingredient list names Citronellol, Fragrance, Geraniol and Linalool. 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 shampoo is not the one.

What else is on the list besides Niacinamide?

Salicylic Acid, Biotin and Bifida Ferment Lysate. The order they are printed in on this shampoo's panel is the order on the box, so you can see where Niacinamide sits relative to them. Further down the same panel: Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate, Rice Ferment Filtrate and Ceramide NP.

Growus

Damage Therapy Shampoo 500ml

Name: Growus Damage Therapy Shampoo 500ml
Brand: Growus
SKU: 7000550255
Price: 37.5 USD
Availability: InStock

Growus builds this 500 ml shampoo on disodium laureth sulfosuccinate, sodium cocoyl isethionate and disodium cocoamphodiacetate, with panthenol thirteenth, salicylic acid sixteenth and niacinamide twentieth. Worked into wet hair and rinsed.

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$37.50

500 ml

$7.50 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 Niacinamide in a shampooRoutines that want Niacinamide and Salicylic Acid in one stepFilling the shampoo step with a Korean-market formula

In stock. Arrives in 3 to 7 business days

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Key benefits

Niacinamide, the active this shampoo is built around
Salicylic Acid on the same list, an exfoliant
Biotin on the same list, a vitamin
Bifida Ferment Lysate and Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate on the same list, ferments
Rice Ferment Filtrate and Ceramide NP further down the same list
Phytosphingosine and Collagen Extract further down the same list

Key actives

16Salicylic Acidexfoliant

It loosens the dead cells that block pores and is used for the look of congested, oily skin. It is named sixteenth on this shampoo's list, alongside Niacinamide.

All products with Salicylic Acid

20Niacinamideactive

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

All products with Niacinamide

24Bifida Ferment Lysateferment

Bifida Ferment Lysate is a bifidobacteria ferment with the cells broken open. It is the ingredient behind the first-essence category and is used for the look of tired, reactive skin. The panel names it twenty-fourth on this shampoo's list, beside Niacinamide.

All products with Bifida Ferment Lysate

31Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrateferment

Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate is a brewers yeast ferment filtered clear. It supplies amino acids, B vitamins and sugars, and it is one of the ferments the Korean essence category was built on. The panel names it thirty-first on this shampoo's list, beside Niacinamide.

All products with Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate

50Biotinvitamin

Biotin is vitamin B7. In skincare it is a conditioning vitamin, most often in hair and scalp formulas. The panel names it fiftieth on this shampoo's list, beside Niacinamide.

All products with Biotin

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

Last

Fragrance on the list

16Salicylic Acid20Niacinamide24Bifida Ferment31Saccharomyces Ferment50Biotin

16Salicylic Acid
20Niacinamide
24Bifida Ferment
31Saccharomyces Ferment
50Biotin

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

1 of 3

62 of 64 explained

Water/Aqua/Eau 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.
Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate surfactant: A sulfosuccinate surfactant: milder than a sulfate, with more foam than an amino-acid one. It is often used to soften a sulfate-based cleanser.
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 Cocoyl Isethionate surfactant: Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate is a coconut-derived surfactant that gives a dense, creamy foam while staying mild. It is the usual choice in syndet cleansing bars.
Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate surfactant: Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate is a very mild coconut-derived surfactant used in cleansers for reactive skin and around the eyes.
Lauryl Hydroxysultaine surfactant: Lauryl Hydroxysultaine is a mild secondary surfactant that keeps foaming even in hard water and at low pH.
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.
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.
Polyquaternium-10 film former: A cellulose polymer carrying a positive charge. It deposits from a rinse-off formula onto hair or skin and leaves a smooth, anti-static film.
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.
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.
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.

50 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.
Arginine amino acid: Arginine is an amino acid that does two jobs here: it holds water in the outer layer of skin, and it neutralises acidic gelling agents, which is why it often stands in for a synthetic pH adjuster.
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.
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.
Sea Water mineral: Sea Water is filtered and desalinated seawater used in place of plain water. It carries magnesium, calcium and potassium, so it brings the mineral balance of the base closer to skin's own.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Glyceryl Caprylate emulsifier: Glyceryl Caprylate is a mild emulsifier that also makes a formula less hospitable to microbes, so it is often part of a preservative-free system.
Bifida Ferment Lysate ferment: Bifida Ferment Lysate is a bifidobacteria ferment with the cells broken open. It is the ingredient behind the first-essence category and is used for the look of tired, reactive skin.
Collagen Extract protein: Collagen Extract is a collagen-bearing extract, usually from fish skin or scales. In a formula it works as a humectant and a smoothing film rather than as a source of new collagen.
Milk Protein Extract protein: Milk Protein Extract supplies milk proteins and the lactose alongside them. It is used as a conditioning, water-holding ingredient.
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.
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.
Lactobacillus/Eriodictyon Californicum Ferment Extract ferment: Yerba santa fermented with lactobacillus, then extracted. The plant carries flavonoids and resins, and fermentation makes them more water soluble.
Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate ferment: Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate is a brewers yeast ferment filtered clear. It supplies amino acids, B vitamins and sugars, and it is one of the ferments the Korean essence category was built on.
Saccharomyces/Coix Lacryma-Jobi Ma-Yuen Seed Ferment Filtrate ferment: Job's tears, the yulmu of Korean grain tea, fermented with yeast and strained. It supplies sugars and amino acids and is used as a conditioning ferment.
Saccharomyces/Rice Ferment Filtrate ferment: Rice fermented with yeast and then strained, the same process behind sake and its lees. It carries amino acids and sugars and is the classic rice ferment of Korean and Japanese formulas.
Hizikia Fusiforme Extract plant extract: Tot, a Korean brown seaweed eaten as a side dish. Its extract is mineral rich and used as a hydrating marine ingredient.
Pearl Extract protein: Pearl Extract is ground pearl treated so its calcium carbonate and protein fractions disperse. It is used as a mineral-and-protein conditioning ingredient with a faint light-scattering effect.
Ceratonia Siliqua (Carob) Fruit Extract plant extract: Carob fruit extract, carrying sugars, tannins and polyphenols. It is used as a conditioning extract, and the seed of the same tree gives carob gum.
Camellia Japonica Leaf Extract plant extract: The leaf extract of the Korean camellia, the same plant as the seed oil pressed on Jeju. It is used as a conditioning antioxidant extract.
Diospyros Kaki Fruit Extract plant extract: Persimmon fruit extract. It carries tannins, sugars and vitamin C, and it is used as an antioxidant, conditioning extract.
Spirulina Platensis Extract plant extract: Spirulina is a blue-green microalga, unusually high in protein. Its extract carries amino acids and the blue pigment phycocyanin, which can tint a formula.
Undaria Pinnatifida Extract plant extract: Extract of the brown seaweed Korean cooking calls miyeok. It carries fucoidan and alginates, both strong water-holding polysaccharides.
Laminaria Japonica Extract plant extract: Laminaria Japonica is kombu kelp. Its extract carries alginates, minerals and iodine, and it is used as a hydrating, mineral-rich ingredient.
Enteromorpha Compressa Extract plant extract: Green laver, the parae of Korean cooking. Its extract is a mineral-rich, hydrating seaweed ingredient.
Gelidium Cartilagineum Extract plant extract: A red seaweed extract from the genus agar is made from. It thickens and hydrates and leaves a cushioned film.
Hydrolyzed Collagen protein: Hydrolyzed Collagen is collagen broken into fragments small enough to dissolve in water. It cannot become collagen in skin; what it does is hold water at the surface and leave a smooth, conditioned film.
Hydrolyzed Soy Protein protein: Hydrolyzed Soy Protein is soy protein cut into water-soluble fragments. It conditions the surface and holds water, and it is one of the most used plant proteins in cosmetics.
Hydrolyzed Keratin protein: Hydrolyzed Keratin is keratin, the protein hair and nails are built from, cut into fragments small enough to dissolve. In a formula it is a humectant and a smoothing film former.
Hydrolyzed Corn Protein protein: Hydrolyzed Corn Protein is corn protein cut into small soluble pieces. On a label it usually sits with two or three other plant proteins, because each brings a different amino acid balance.
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein protein: Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein is wheat protein broken into fragments small enough to dissolve in water. It holds water at the surface and leaves a smooth film, which is why it is as common in hair products as in skincare.
Biotin vitamin: Biotin is vitamin B7. In skincare it is a conditioning vitamin, most often in hair and scalp formulas.
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.
Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil emollient: Sunflower Seed Oil is high in linoleic acid, the fatty acid dry and blemish-prone skin is often short of. It is a light, non-fragrant emollient and one of the better tolerated plant oils.
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.
Collagen Amino Acids amino acid: Collagen Amino Acids are collagen broken all the way down to its individual amino acids. At that size they act as humectants, the same job skin's own amino acids do.
Collagen protein: Collagen is the structural protein that makes up most of the dermis. Applied on top it is far too large to enter skin, so in a formula it works as a humectant and a smoothing film former.
Zinc Hydrolyzed Collagen protein: Short-chain collagen fragments paired with zinc. It works as a humectant and delivers the trace mineral with it.
Soluble Collagen protein: Soluble Collagen is collagen kept in its intact triple-helix form and dissolved rather than cut up. It sits on the surface as a water-holding film.
Sodium Soy Hydrolyzed Collagen protein: Soy protein and collagen broken into fragments and salted, so the pair dissolves in water. It works as a humectant and a smoothing film.
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.
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.
Fragrance/Parfum 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.
Citronellol fragrance component: Citronellol is a rose-geranium aromatic and one of the 26 fragrance components EU labelling names individually.
Geraniol fragrance component: Geraniol is a rose-scented aromatic found in geranium and citronella oils. It is one of the 26 declarable fragrance components.
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.

How it works

The Damage Therapy Shampoo is a 500ml shampoo, used in place of your usual shampoo, on hair wet all the way through. The active it is built around is Niacinamide, named twentieth on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Salicylic Acid, Biotin and Bifida Ferment Lysate, 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 shampoo format rather than by the list alone. Growus sells this Niacinamide shampoo in Korea, and this is that version.

How to use

Work into wet hair and scalp, lather, and rinse thoroughly. Use as the first step of a normal hair-washing routine, followed by conditioner if using one.

Worth knowing

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

Complete the routine

This itemGrowus Damage Therapy Shampoo 500ml$37.50
From the same Korean-market lineGROWUS Sea Salt Therapy Scalp Scaler 120g$32.50

Total for 2 items$70.00

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GROWUS Damage Therapy Shampoo 500ml

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Growus, Korean-market original

The Original Korean Formula shampoo from Growus, 500ml formulated with Niacinamide and Salicylic 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 the key actives in this formula, quoted from the medical sources linked beside each.

BHAs like salicylic acid get really deep into the pores, whereas the water-soluble ones don't go as deep.
Samantha Stein, PA-CDermatology physician assistant, Cleveland Clinic
We find biotin to be very helpful for hair disorders. It also makes nails thicker, and oral biotin is exceedingly safe.
Wilma Bergfeld, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic

1 more professional perspective

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