What is the innisfree Black Volcanic PHA Pore Cleansing Oil 200ml?

It is a 200ml cleansing oil, the first step of an evening double cleanse, massaged onto a dry face with dry hands. Water is added at the end to turn it milky so it rinses off cleanly. A water based cleanser follows rather than replacing it.

Do I use the cleansing oil before or after my normal cleanser?

Before. It is the first half of a double cleanse, applied to a dry face to dissolve sunscreen, makeup and the day's oil. A foaming or gel cleanser follows it to handle everything water soluble. Doing it in the other order wastes both.

Will it clog my pores or leave a film?

A film is what happens when an oil is rinsed off without being emulsified first, which is the most common mistake with this format. Add water, keep massaging until it turns milky, then rinse thoroughly and follow with a water based cleanser. Done that way the face should feel clean rather than coated.

Can I use it in the morning too?

Most people do not need to, since there is no makeup or sunscreen to remove after a night's sleep. A splash of water or a gentle cleanser is usually enough in the morning. Keeping the oil for the evening also makes the 200ml last a good deal longer.

Is this the authentic Korean-market formula?

Yes. We stock the version sold on Korean shelves rather than one reworked for US retail, and the 200ml arrives with Korean primary packaging and the barcode intact so you can check it against the brand yourself.

innisfree

Black Volcanic PHA Pore Cleansing Oil 200ml

Name: innisfree Black Volcanic PHA Pore Cleansing Oil 200ml
Brand: innisfree
SKU: 13654350956
Price: 27.5 USD
Availability: InStock

A 200ml cleansing oil for the first half of an evening double cleanse, aimed at people watching the look of pores on the nose and chin.

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$27.50

200 ml

$13.75 per 100 ml

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

Suited to: Normal skinCombination skinOily skinDry skin

Helps with: The look of poresRemoving makeup and the day's sunscreenThe first step of a double cleanseThe nose and chin

One-time purchase

$27.50

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$24.75

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How it works

This is step one of an evening cleanse: an oil applied to a dry face that dissolves what a water based cleanser leaves behind. Working on dry skin with dry hands is not a detail, it is how the method works, since water first makes the oil slide rather than dissolve. Adding water at the end turns it milky, and that emulsion is what carries everything off the face down the sink. A foaming cleanser afterwards finishes the job, which is why the two are a pair rather than alternatives. Because the interest here is the nose and chin, the minute of massage is better spent there than spread evenly across the whole face.

Key benefits

What it is: cleansing oil, 200ml, used the first step of an evening cleanse, on a dry face.
Texture: an oil that emulsifies with water and rinses clean.
Aimed at: the look of pores, removing makeup and the day's sunscreen, the first step of a double cleanse.
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 4

35 of 42 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.
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.
Silica absorbent: Silica is finely milled mineral, essentially very pure sand. It absorbs oil, stops powders clumping and soft-focuses the look of pores and fine lines.
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.
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.
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride emollient: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride is the light fraction of coconut oil, with the heavy parts removed. It is the workhorse emollient of modern formulas: it softens skin, dissolves oil-soluble actives and absorbs without the greasy weight of a whole plant oil.
Polyvinyl Alcohol film former: Polyvinyl Alcohol is the polymer behind peel-off masks: it dries into a continuous film that lifts away in one piece.
Bentonite absorbent: Bentonite is a volcanic clay that swells in water. It absorbs oil, thickens a mask, and holds pigments and powders evenly suspended.
Kaolin absorbent: Kaolin is white clay, the mildest of the cosmetic clays. It absorbs oil and lifts loose debris from the surface without stripping, which is why it is the clay used on drier skin.
Glyceryl Stearate emulsifier: Glyceryl Stearate is glycerin joined to stearic acid, and one of the most used emulsifiers in skincare. It holds oil and water together and thickens the result, and it softens skin at the same time.
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.
PVP film former: PVP is polyvinylpyrrolidone, a water-soluble polymer that dries into a clear flexible film. It holds pigment or hair in place and washes off with water.

23 more explained

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.
PEG-100 Stearate emulsifier: PEG-100 Stearate is a water-loving emulsifier almost always paired with glyceryl stearate. Together they form the standard cream base of the last fifty years.
Polysorbate 60 emulsifier: Polysorbate 60 is a water-loving emulsifier used with a fatty co-emulsifier to build stable lotions and creams.
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.
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.
Iron Oxide Black colorant: Iron Oxides are mineral pigments in red, yellow and black, and the three are blended to make every skin-tone shade in a tinted product. They are inert and sit on the surface.
Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil occlusive: Plant oil hardened by hydrogenation. It behaves as a soft solid, so it gives balms and sticks their body and slows water loss from the surface.
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.
Sorbitan Stearate emulsifier: Sorbitan Stearate is a mild emulsifier and thickener used to hold oil and water together in creams.
Zea Mays (corn) Starch absorbent: Corn Starch absorbs oil and moisture and gives a soft, matte finish. It also thickens a formula.
Polyacrylate-13 thickener: Polyacrylate-13 is a pre-neutralised thickener that gels instantly and holds an emulsion together, so a formula can be built without heat.
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.
Mannitol humectant: Mannitol is a sugar alcohol used as a humectant and antioxidant. It hydrates and helps stabilise the rest of the formula against oxidation.
Microcrystalline Cellulose absorbent: Microcrystalline Cellulose is purified cellulose ground fine. It thickens, holds powders in suspension and gives a soft, matte feel.
Sodium Metaphosphate chelator: A phosphate salt that ties up metal ions in water. It also stops the calcium and magnesium in hard water from flattening a cleanser foam.
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.
Polyisobutene film former: Polyisobutene is a synthetic polymer that forms a flexible, water-resistant film. It gives gloss and holds a formula in place, which is why it appears in lip products and long-wear textures.
Menthoxypropanediol humectant: Menthoxypropanediol is menthol joined to a glycol. It hydrates and gives a long, low cooling feel rather than the sharp hit of menthol itself.
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.
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.
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.
Lecithin emulsifier: Lecithin is a soy or sunflower-derived phospholipid, the same class of molecule cell membranes are built from. It emulsifies oil into water and is the basis of the liposomes formulators use to carry actives.
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.

How to use

Start with a dry face and dry hands, which is the condition the whole method depends on.
Work it over the face for around a minute, concentrating on the nose, jawline and hairline.
Wet the hands and keep going until the oil turns milky, then rinse it away with lukewarm water.
Never use it on a wet face, and always follow with a water based cleanser rather than stopping here.

Worth knowing

Emulsify with water before rinsing, or a film is left behind.
Keep it out of the eyes, and rinse immediately if any gets in.
Follow it with a water based cleanser rather than stopping at this step.

Complete the routine

This iteminnisfree Black Volcanic PHA Pore Cleansing Oil 200ml$27.50
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$60.00

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innisfree Black Volcanic PHA Pore Cleansing Oil 200ml

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innisfree, Korean-market original

A 200ml cleansing oil for the first step of an evening cleanse, stocked in the Original Korean Formula.

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