Where does this cream go in my routine?

As the last skincare step, morning and evening, over serum. Anything thinner than a cream 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 Allantoin and not three changes at once.

Is this the Korean-market cream or a US version?

The Korean-market one, Allantoin and all. We match this cream to its Korean barcode before it reaches the shelf, which is the check that tells you which market release you are holding.

Does this cream contain fragrance?

Yes. The ingredient list names Citral, Limonene 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 cream is not the one.

What else is on the list besides Allantoin?

Ceramide NP, Centella Asiatica Extract and Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract. The order they are printed in on this cream's panel is the order on the box, so you can see where Allantoin sits relative to them. Further down the same panel: Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Cinnamomum Cassia Bark Extract and Origanum Vulgare Leaf Extract.

isoi

ATO Calming Cream 130ml

Name: isoi ATO Calming Cream 130ml
Brand: isoi
SKU: 4715340002
Price: 50.0 USD
Availability: InStock

Four plant oils sit in the top seven of this 130 ml isoi cream: macadamia, jojoba, meadowfoam and olive, with ceramide NP fourteenth and shea butter eighteenth. A rich last step for dry, easily irritated skin. Korean-market formula.

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$50.00

130 ml

$38.46 per 100 ml

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

Suited to: Dry skinCompromised barrierDehydrated skinSensitive skin

Helps with: Shoppers looking for Allantoin in a creamRoutines that want Allantoin and Ceramide NP in one stepFilling the cream step with a Korean-market formulaAnyone who wants the Allantoin cream sold on Korean shelves

One-time purchase

$50.00

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$45.00

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How it works

The ATO Calming Cream is a 130ml cream, used as the last skincare step, morning and evening, over serum. The active it is built around is Allantoin, named thirty-third on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Ceramide NP, Centella Asiatica Extract and Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, so the active is not the only thing on it worth naming. How much of the Allantoin stays on the skin, and for how long, is decided by the cream format rather than by the list alone. This is the Original Korean Formula, the cream isoi sells in Korea, Allantoin and all.

Key benefits

Allantoin, the active this cream is built around
Ceramide NP on the same list, a barrier lipid
Centella Asiatica Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract and Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract on the same list, plant extracts
Cinnamomum Cassia Bark Extract and Origanum Vulgare Leaf Extract further down the same list
Chamaecyparis Obtusa Leaf Extract and Portulaca Oleracea Extract further down the same list
Allantoin named thirty-third on the manufacturer list printed on this page

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

1 of 2

54 of 55 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.
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.
Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil emollient: Macadamia Seed Oil is unusually high in palmitoleic acid, a fatty acid that human sebum also contains, which is why it absorbs faster than most nut oils. It is a cushioning emollient for dry skin.
Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil emollient: Jojoba Oil is a liquid wax rather than a true oil, and its structure is close to human sebum, which is why it absorbs so readily. It is an emollient that leaves a soft, non-greasy finish.
Cetyl Ethylhexanoate emollient: Cetyl Ethylhexanoate is a synthetic ester used as a dry-feeling emollient. It spreads easily, leaves a silky rather than oily finish, and helps disperse pigments and UV filters evenly.
Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil emollient: Meadowfoam Seed Oil is over 95 percent long-chain fatty acids, which makes it exceptionally stable against going rancid. It is an emollient that leaves a soft, sealed feel.
Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil emollient: Olive Fruit Oil is high in oleic acid and plant sterols. It is a rich emollient that suits dry skin and is heavy enough that blemish-prone skin often does not get on with it.
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.
Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate emollient: A thick, cushioned ester that gives lip and balm formulas their gloss and their cling. It is heavy enough to stay where it is put.
Betaine humectant: Betaine is a sugar-beet-derived humectant that cells use to hold water. In a formula it hydrates and takes the edge off cleansers and acids, which is why it often appears alongside them.
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.
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.

42 more explained

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.
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.
Arachidyl Alcohol fatty alcohol: Arachidyl Alcohol is a long-chain fatty alcohol used as a thickener and emollient, usually alongside behenyl alcohol.
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.
Shea Butter emollient: Shea Butter is the fat pressed from the shea nut, rich in oleic and stearic acids and unsaponifiable plant sterols. It is a heavy emollient and partial occlusive, which is why it sits in balms and night creams rather than in essences.
Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower/Leaf Extract plant extract: German chamomile, taken from flower and leaf together. It carries bisabolol and the blue azulenes and is used for the look of reactive, reddened skin.
Centella Asiatica Extract plant extract: Centella Asiatica is the plant behind the whole cica category, sold as gotu kola or Madagascar centella. Its extract is the anchor of Korean formulas built for easily reddened skin, and its work is done by four triterpenes: asiaticoside, madecassoside, asiatic acid and madecassic acid.
Borago Officinalis (Borage) Seed Oil emollient: Borage seed oil, the richest common plant source of gamma linolenic acid. It is a light emollient oil, and the high polyunsaturate level makes it quick to oxidise once opened.
Camellia Japonica Seed Oil emollient: Camellia Seed Oil is the traditional Korean and Japanese hair and skin oil, high in oleic acid. It is a light emollient that absorbs quickly for its richness.
Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil emollient: Argan Oil is pressed from the argan kernel and is rich in oleic and linoleic acids plus vitamin E. It is a medium-weight emollient that absorbs reasonably fast.
Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil emollient: Evening primrose oil, the main plant source of gamma-linolenic acid. It absorbs fast and oxidises fast, so formulas pair it with an antioxidant.
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.
Sodium Hyaluronate humectant: Sodium Hyaluronate is the salt of hyaluronic acid, and it is what most products labelled hyaluronic actually contain. The salt dissolves more readily and the molecule is smaller, so it sits in the outer layer of skin rather than only on top of it.
Calendula Officinalis (Pot Marigold) Flower Extract plant extract: Marigold flower extract, one of the oldest plant ingredients used for the look of reddened, easily bothered skin. It carries carotenoids and flavonoids.
Lactobacillus/Soybean Ferment Extract ferment: This is soybean fermented by lactobacillus. The fermentation breaks soy proteins into smaller pieces, which is what makes the extract easier for a formula to carry.
Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract plant extract: Willow Bark Extract carries salicin, the plant compound salicylic acid is related to. The two are not interchangeable: willow bark is a mild clarifying extract, not a BHA exfoliant at the levels used in cosmetics.
Cinnamomum Cassia Bark Extract plant extract: Cassia cinnamon bark extract, a traditional herbal ingredient carrying cinnamaldehyde and tannins. It is used in warming, antioxidant-rich blends.
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.
Allantoin active: Allantoin is a comfrey-derived compound used to condition skin and soften the outer layer so it feels smoother. It is one of the standard additions to a formula built for easily irritated skin.
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.
Origanum Vulgare Leaf Extract plant extract: Oregano leaf extract, rich in the phenols carvacrol and thymol. It is used as an antioxidant plant extract and brings its own herbal scent with it.
Chamaecyparis Obtusa Leaf Extract plant extract: Chamaecyparis Obtusa is hinoki cypress. Its leaf extract carries aromatic plant compounds and is used in Korean formulas aimed at oily, congested skin.
Portulaca Oleracea Extract plant extract: Portulaca Oleracea is purslane. Its extract is unusually high in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants for a plant, and Korean formulas use it for the look of reddened, reactive skin.
Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil fragrance component: Bergamot Fruit Oil is a citrus essential oil and the top note of eau de cologne. It scents a formula; citrus oils are the aromatic class most likely to bother reactive skin.
Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil fragrance component: Grapefruit Peel Oil is a citrus essential oil rich in limonene. It scents a formula and belongs to the aromatic class reactive skin often avoids.
Castanea Crenata Shell Extract plant extract: Chestnut Shell Extract carries tannins and is used as an antioxidant plant extract, most often in formulas aimed at visible pores.
Malpighia Glabra (Acerola) Fruit Extract plant extract: Acerola cherry extract, from the species also written Malpighia emarginata. The fruit is unusually high in vitamin C, and the extract is used as an antioxidant botanical.
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.
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.
Corchorus Olitorius Leaf Extract plant extract: Jute mallow leaf extract. The leaf is notably mucilaginous, so the extract holds water and gives a slippery feel.
Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) Extract plant extract: Broccoli extract, carrying sulforaphane and vitamin C. It is used as a plant antioxidant.
Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract plant extract: Rosemary Leaf Extract carries rosmarinic and carnosic acids, both effective antioxidants. It is often there to keep the oils in a formula from going rancid.
Bambusa Vulgaris Water plant extract: Bamboo water, the sap or leaf distillate of bamboo, used in place of plain water. It carries silica and minerals and is a dilute base ingredient.
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.
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.
Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract plant extract: Scutellaria Baicalensis is Chinese skullcap. Its root extract carries baicalin, a well studied plant antioxidant, and it is used for the look of redness.
Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract plant extract: Paeonia Suffruticosa is tree peony, a long-standing East Asian medicinal plant. Its root extract carries paeoniflorin and is used for the look of reddened skin.
Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract plant extract: Licorice Root Extract carries glabridin and liquiritin. It is one of the classic plant ingredients used for the look of uneven tone and redness, and it appears in almost every brightening formula that avoids synthetic actives.
Limonene fragrance component: Limonene is the citrus-peel aromatic. It appears here because EU labelling requires 26 fragrance components to be named individually rather than hidden inside "fragrance", and it is one of them.
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.
Citral fragrance component: Citral is a sharp lemon aromatic found in lemongrass and citrus oils. It is one of the 26 fragrance components EU labelling requires to be named.

How to use

Apply as the last step of your routine, morning and night, smoothing over the face and neck until absorbed.

Worth knowing

Patch test this cream on a small area and wait a day before using it more widely, especially with Allantoin on the list.
This list names Citral, Limonene and Linalool, so skip it if fragrance components are something you avoid.

Complete the routine

This itemisoi ATO Calming Cream 130ml$50.00
The treatment step of this routineisoi Bulgarian Rose Blemish Care Spot 25ml$45.00
Seal the routine in as the last stepisoi Bulgarian Rose Intensive Treatment Lotion 90ml$95.00

Total for 3 items$190.00

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isoi, Korean-market original

The Original Korean Formula cream from isoi, 130ml formulated with Allantoin and Ceramide NP, 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