Is Bija Cica Balm EX an all-over moisturizer?

No, it is a balm built for spot use on rough or dry patches rather than an everyday all-over cream. Use your regular moisturizer for the rest of the face.

Last, after the rest of your routine, directly on the area that needs it. Nothing else absorbs well once this balm is on top. That holds true whichever size or variant of this product you buy, so the same placement in a routine and the same answer apply across the line.

How much should I use?

A small amount on a fingertip is enough to cover a spot; press it in rather than rubbing it across a wider area. That holds true whichever size or variant of this product you buy, so the same placement in a routine and the same answer apply across the line.

Either, depending on when the dry patch needs attention. Many people reserve it for night since the heavier texture sits under a pillow less noticeably than under makeup. That holds true whichever size or variant of this product you buy, so the same placement in a routine and the same answer apply across the line.

Yes, on the same rough patch until it improves, then scale back to using it only when that area feels dry again. That holds true whichever size or variant of this product you buy, so the same placement in a routine and the same answer apply across the line.

innisfree

Bija Cica Balm EX 40ml

Name: innisfree Bija Cica Balm EX 40ml
Brand: innisfree
SKU: 8273830517
Price: 37.5 USD
Availability: InStock

innisfree's Bija Cica Balm EX is a thick spot-balm, pressed onto rough or flaky patches as the last step of a routine rather than spread across the whole face.

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$37.50

40 ml

$93.75 per 100 ml

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

Suited to: drynormalcombination

Helps with: rough or flaky patchesa heavier spot balm rather than an all-over creamthe last step over a targeted area

One-time purchase

$37.50

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$33.75

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How it works

Bija Cica Balm EX is a balm, a thicker, more occlusive texture than a lotion or a standard cream. It is meant for targeted use on rough or troubled patches rather than as an all-over daily moisturizer. The heavier base sits on the surface and slows moisture loss from the skin underneath it. Because a little covers a small area completely, it is used as a spot step rather than spread across the whole face. It goes on last, over any other skincare in the same area, since nothing absorbs well once this balm is on top of it.

Key benefits

What it is: a 40ml balm from innisfree, for the spot care step.
On the ingredient list: Glycerin, Squalane, Panthenol, confirmed on this product's own manufacturer list rather than assumed from the category.
Fits into the routine: melts on contact and sits over the area as an occlusive layer.
Original Korean Formula: the version sold on Korean shelves, not a US reformulation.

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

1 of 2

25 of 26 explained

Water(Aqua) 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.
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.
Cyclopentasiloxane silicone: Cyclopentasiloxane is a volatile silicone: it spreads a formula thin and smooth then evaporates, leaving no residue. It is the silicone behind a dry, powdery primer finish.
Squalane emollient: Squalane is the stable, saturated version of squalene, a lipid human skin already makes. It is a light emollient that absorbs quickly, does not oxidise, and is one of the few oils widely considered safe for blemish-prone skin. Most cosmetic squalane is now from sugarcane or olive rather than shark.
Cyclohexasiloxane silicone: Cyclohexasiloxane is a volatile silicone used for a light, fast-spreading feel that leaves nothing behind.
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.
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.
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.
C12-16 Alcohols fatty alcohol: C12-16 Alcohols is a blend of medium-chain fatty alcohols used to thicken and stabilise an emulsion.
Polysorbate 60 emulsifier: Polysorbate 60 is a water-loving emulsifier used with a fatty co-emulsifier to build stable lotions and creams.
Diisostearyl Malate emollient: Diisostearyl Malate is a thick, glossy ester used to hold pigment in suspension and give a cushioned shine. It is the standard emollient in lip products.

13 more explained

Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer thickener: This is the thickener behind most gel-cream textures. It builds a soft, bouncy gel that collapses to a light fluid as it is rubbed in.
Palmitic Acid fatty acid: Palmitic Acid is a saturated fatty acid present in skin's own lipids. It thickens a formula, stabilises the emulsion and softens skin.
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer thickener: This is a carbomer relative with fatty side chains, so it thickens and stabilises an emulsion at the same time. It gives a light gel-cream body rather than a heavy one.
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.
Tromethamine pH adjuster: Tromethamine neutralises acidic thickeners such as carbomer so they gel, and holds a formula near skin-friendly pH. It is used at a fraction of a percent.
Cetearyl Glucoside emulsifier: Cetearyl Glucoside is a sugar-derived emulsifier used to hold oil and water together in creams with a light finish.
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.
Sorbitan Isostearate emulsifier: Sorbitan Isostearate is a mild emulsifier that holds water into oil, the direction a cleansing balm or an oil-based cream needs.
Madecassoside active: Madecassoside is the centella triterpene most associated with the look of redness, and the one brands lead with in cica products. It is water soluble and stable, so it appears in essences as readily as in creams.
Asiaticoside active: Asiaticoside is one of the four active triterpenes isolated from centella and the most studied of them. Korean formulas name it separately when they want to show which fraction of the plant they standardised.
Madecassic Acid active: Madecassic Acid is the fourth centella triterpene. A list that names all four is telling you the extract was standardised rather than simply pressed, which is the difference between a cica claim and a cica formula.
Asiatic Acid active: Asiatic Acid is the third of centella's four triterpenes and the aglycone form, meaning it has no attached sugar. It is oil soluble, so it turns up in cica creams and balms more than in watery layers.
Glucose humectant: Glucose is a simple sugar used as a humectant and as food for the ferment ingredients in the same formula. It hydrates mildly and adds a soft slip.

How to use

Use it as a spot treatment on dry or rough patches, after your regular routine. Take a small amount on a fingertip and press it directly onto the area rather than spreading it across the whole face.

Worth knowing

Use it on the specific rough patch rather than the whole face, since the texture is thicker than a daily moisturizer.
Patch test on the inner arm first if this is the first product from the line you have tried.

Complete the routine

This iteminnisfree Bija Cica Balm EX 40ml$37.50
From the same Korean-market lineinnisfree My Hair Recipe Strength Shampoo 330ml$17.50
The treatment step of this routineinnisfree My Hair Recipe Strength Tonic Essence 100ml$15.00

Total for 3 items$70.00

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innisfree, Korean-market original

Bija Cica Balm EX 40ml from innisfree: a balm in the Original Korean Formula, not the US-shelf version.

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