Where does this gel cleanser go in my routine?

As your first step, morning and evening, on skin wet with lukewarm water. Nothing goes under it: this gel 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 Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract and not three changes at once.

Is this the Korean-market gel cleanser or a US version?

The Korean-market one, Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract and all. We match this gel cleanser to its Korean barcode before it reaches the shelf, which is the check that tells you which market release you are holding.

What else is on the list besides Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract?

Hibiscus Esculentus Fruit Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Root Extract and Undaria Pinnatifida Extract. The order they are printed in on this gel cleanser's panel is the order on the box, so you can see where Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract sits relative to them. Further down the same panel: Laminaria Japonica Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract and Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Extract.

Isntree

Yam Root Vegan pH-balancing Cleanser 120ml

Name: Isntree Yam Root Vegan pH-balancing Cleanser 120ml
Brand: Isntree
SKU: 12765454481
Price: 32.5 USD
Availability: InStock

Isntree Yam Root Vegan pH-balancing Cleanser is a 120ml gel cleanser from Isntree built around Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract.

Reviewed by Nurcan Saglam, licensed dermo-cosmetic expert (Paris)

No reviews yet

$32.50

120 ml

$27.08 per 100 ml

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 Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract in a gel cleanserRoutines that want Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract and Hibiscus Esculentus Fruit Extract in one stepFilling the gel cleanser step with a Korean-market formulaAnyone who wants the Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract gel cleanser sold on Korean shelves

One-time purchase

$32.50

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How it works

The Yam Root Vegan pH-balancing Cleanser is a 120ml gel cleanser, used as your first step, morning and evening, on skin wet with lukewarm water. The plant extract it is built around is Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract, named fifteenth on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Hibiscus Esculentus Fruit Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Root Extract and Undaria Pinnatifida Extract, so the plant extract is not the only thing on it worth naming. How much of the Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract stays on the skin, and for how long, is decided by the gel cleanser format rather than by the list alone. This is the Original Korean Formula, the gel cleanser Isntree sells in Korea, Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract and all.

Key benefits

Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract, the plant extract this gel cleanser is built around
Hibiscus Esculentus Fruit Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Root Extract, Undaria Pinnatifida Extract and Laminaria Japonica Extract on the same list, plant extracts
Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract and Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Extract further down the same list
Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract and Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Seed Extract further down the same list
Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract named fifteenth on the manufacturer list printed on this page
The Korean-market release of this gel cleanser, confirmed against its Korean barcode

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

1 of 4

27 of 27 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.
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.
Ethylhexyl Palmitate emollient: Ethylhexyl Palmitate is a palm-derived ester used as a light emollient and a solvent for pigment. It gives a smooth, non-greasy slip.
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.
Polyglyceryl-10 Myristate emulsifier: Polyglyceryl-10 Myristate is a mild sugar-derived emulsifier used to keep oil dispersed in a watery formula.
Arachidyl Alcohol fatty alcohol: Arachidyl Alcohol is a long-chain fatty alcohol used as a thickener and emollient, usually alongside behenyl alcohol.
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.
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.
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.
Behenyl Alcohol fatty alcohol: Behenyl Alcohol is a long-chain fatty alcohol used to thicken and stabilise a cream. It gives a richer, more velvety body than cetyl alcohol.
Arachidyl Glucoside emulsifier: Arachidyl Glucoside is a sugar-derived co-emulsifier, usually supplied with arachidyl and behenyl alcohols as a plant-based cream base.
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.

15 more explained

Coco-glucoside surfactant: Coco-Glucoside is a mild sugar-derived surfactant used in gentle cleansers, usually with a second surfactant to build foam.
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.
Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract plant extract: Dioscorea Japonica is Japanese wild yam, whose root is naturally slippery with mucilage. Its extract hydrates and leaves a cushioned feel.
Hibiscus Esculentus Fruit Extract plant extract: Hibiscus Esculentus is okra, whose fruit is thick with mucilage. Its extract hydrates and gives a cushioned, slippery feel.
Nelumbo Nucifera Root Extract plant extract: Lotus root extract. The root is starchy and mucilaginous, so the extract hydrates and leaves a soft, cushioned feel.
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.
Glycine Max (Soybean) Seed Extract plant extract: Soybean Seed Extract carries isoflavones, plant sterols and soy proteins. It is used as a conditioning antioxidant extract.
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Extract plant extract: Coconut fruit extract, carrying sugars, amino acids and minerals from the flesh and water. It is a conditioning, water-holding extract.
Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract plant extract: Rice Extract is the anchor of the Korean rice-skincare category. It carries starches, amino acids and ferulic acid, and it is used for the look of dullness and for a soft, blurred finish.
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Seed Extract plant extract: Sweet almond seed extract, the water-soluble fraction rather than the pressed oil. It carries proteins and sugars and is used as a conditioning extract.
Avena Sativa (Oat) Meal Extract plant extract: Oatmeal extract, carrying the beta-glucan, starch and avenanthramides oats are used for. It is one of the standard additions to a formula built for easily bothered 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.
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.
Sodium Polyacrylate thickener: Sodium Polyacrylate is a polymer that absorbs many times its weight in water. It thickens a formula and holds water in a gel against the skin.

How to use

Wet the face first, then work a small amount into a light lather in your palms.
Massage it over the face for about thirty seconds, spending most of that on the nose and chin.
Rinse with lukewarm water and move to your toner within a minute, while the skin is damp.
Do not use hot water, since heat rather than the cleanser is what leaves a face feeling tight.

Worth knowing

Patch test this gel cleanser on a small area and wait a day before using it more widely, especially with Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract on the list.
Introduce this gel cleanser on its own for the first week, so anything your skin does is traceable to the Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract rather than to three changes at once.

Complete the routine

This itemIsntree Yam Root Vegan pH-balancing Cleanser 120ml$32.50
The treatment step of this routineIsntree TW-REAL BIFIDA Ampoule 50ml$37.50
Seal the routine in as the last stepIsntree C-Niacin Toning Cream 50ml$22.50

Total for 3 items$92.50

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Isntree Yam Root Vegan pH-balancing Cleanser 120ml

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Isntree, Korean-market original

The Original Korean Formula gel cleanser from Isntree, 120ml formulated with Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract and Hibiscus Esculentus Fruit Extract, 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 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