Where does this foam cleanser go in my routine?

As your first step, morning and evening, on a face already wet with lukewarm water. Nothing goes under it: this foam cleanser is the step everything else in the routine lands on top of. 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 Salicylic Acid and not three changes at once.

Does this foam cleanser contain fragrance?

Yes. The ingredient list names Fragrance and Parfum. 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 foam cleanser is not the one.

What else is on the list besides Salicylic Acid?

Zinc PCA, Madecassoside and Glycol Distearate. The order they are printed in on this foam cleanser's panel is the order on the box, so you can see where Salicylic Acid sits relative to them. Further down the same panel: Myristic Acid, Lauric Acid and Palmitic Acid.

innisfree

Volcanic BHA Pore Cleansing Foam 250g

Name: innisfree Volcanic BHA Pore Cleansing Foam 250g
Brand: innisfree
SKU: 9205937264
Price: 22.5 USD
Availability: InStock

Kaolin is sixth on this 250 g cleansing foam's own list, with salicylic acid, zinc PCA, a lactic and glycolic acid copolymer and madecassoside behind it, for oily skin with visible pores around the nose.

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$22.50

250 g

$9.00 per 100 g

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

Suited to: NormalCombinationOily

Helps with: Daily face washingRemoving excess oil and light makeup

One-time purchase

$22.50

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$20.25

In stock. Arrives in 3 to 7 business days

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How it works

The Volcanic BHA Pore Cleansing Foam is a 250g foam cleanser, used as your first step, morning and evening, on a face already wet with lukewarm water. The exfoliant it is built around is Salicylic Acid, named fifteenth on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Zinc PCA, Madecassoside and Glycol Distearate, so the exfoliant is not the only thing on it worth naming. How much of the Salicylic Acid stays on the skin, and for how long, is decided by the foam cleanser format rather than by the list alone. innisfree sells this Salicylic Acid foam cleanser in Korea, and this is that version.

Key benefits

Salicylic Acid, the exfoliant this foam cleanser is built around
Zinc PCA and Madecassoside on the same list, actives
Glycol Distearate on the same list, an emollient
Myristic Acid on the same list, a fatty acid
Lauric Acid and Palmitic Acid further down the same list
Salicylic Acid named fifteenth on the manufacturer list printed on this page

Key actives

3Myristic Acidfatty acid

Myristic Acid is a saturated fatty acid used to thicken and, with a base added, to build the foam in a soap-style cleanser. The panel names it third on this foam cleanser's list, beside Salicylic Acid.

All products with Myristic Acid

10Glycol Distearateemollient

A wax-like ester that thickens a cleanser and gives it a pearly opacity. It also leaves a conditioned feel behind after rinsing. The panel names it tenth on this foam cleanser's list, beside Salicylic Acid.

15Salicylic Acidexfoliant

It loosens the dead cells that block pores and is used for the look of congested, oily skin. It is the entry this foam cleanser is named after, and the list carries it.

All products with Salicylic Acid

18Zinc PCAactive

Zinc PCA pairs zinc with the humectant PCA. It is used in oily and blemish-prone formulas for the look of shine and visible pores, and it hydrates at the same time. It is named eighteenth on this foam cleanser's list, alongside Salicylic Acid.

All products with Zinc PCA

24Madecassosideactive

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. It is named twenty-fourth on this foam cleanser's list, alongside Salicylic Acid.

All products with Madecassoside

1 of 2

22 of 26 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.
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.
Myristic Acid fatty acid: Myristic Acid is a saturated fatty acid used to thicken and, with a base added, to build the foam in a soap-style cleanser.
Lauric Acid fatty acid: Lauric Acid is the coconut fatty acid that gives soap-style cleansers their dense foam. It is not well suited to blemish-prone skin at high levels.
Potassium Hydroxide pH adjuster: Potassium Hydroxide is a strong base used in traces to raise a formula to its target pH. In a soap-style cleanser it also converts fatty acids into the surfactant that does the cleansing.
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.
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.
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.
Lauryl Hydroxysultaine surfactant: Lauryl Hydroxysultaine is a mild secondary surfactant that keeps foaming even in hard water and at low pH.
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.
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.
Lauryl Glucoside surfactant: A sugar surfactant made from glucose and a fatty alcohol. Glucosides carry no charge, which is what makes them mild, and they give a soft low foam.

10 more explained

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.
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.
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.
Zinc Pca active: Zinc PCA pairs zinc with the humectant PCA. It is used in oily and blemish-prone formulas for the look of shine and visible pores, and it hydrates at the same time.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

#14

Fragrance on the list

3Myristic Acid10Glycol Distearate15Salicylic Acid18Zinc PCA24Madecassoside

3Myristic Acid
10Glycol Distearate
15Salicylic Acid
18Zinc PCA
24Madecassoside

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

Work a small amount into a lather with water, massage over damp skin for 30 to 60 seconds, then rinse thoroughly. Use once or twice daily as the first step of the routine.

Worth knowing

Rinse well; a foaming cleanser left on the skin can feel tight and dry.

Complete the routine

This iteminnisfree Volcanic BHA Pore Cleansing Foam 250g$22.50
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$55.00

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innisfree Volcanic BHA Pore Cleansing Foam 250g

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innisfree, Korean-market original

The Original Korean Formula foam cleanser from innisfree, 250g formulated with Salicylic Acid and Zinc PCA, 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
Small, preliminary studies suggest that madecassoside can dial down inflammatory cellular messengers called cytokines, including those that are typically turned on during an acne flare.
Whitney Bowe, MDDermatologist, Byrdie