What is Mugwort Soothing Balancing Toner?

It is KUNDAL's toner (200ml). Its own ingredient list names Centella Asiatica Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Extract, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Glycolic Acid, positioned the way the key-actives panel on this page describes, rather than actives assumed from the product name. It is used right after cleansing, to rebalance the skin and prep it for the next step.

How do I use Mugwort Soothing Balancing Toner?

Sweep across a cleansed face and neck with a cotton pad or press in with clean hands, then continue with the rest of the routine without rinsing. Keep the same order every time you use it so you can tell what is actually working, and give a new step a few weeks before judging the result.

Is Mugwort Soothing Balancing Toner the authentic Korean-market formula?

Yes. This listing is KUNDAL's Korean-market formula: the same ingredient list, barcode and batch code as the unit sold on shelves in Korea, rather than a version reformulated for US retail. That is the whole reason to buy a Korean-market brand from a specialist rather than a general retailer.

Who is Mugwort Soothing Balancing Toner suited for?

It suits normal, combination, oily and sensitive skin, and it is not restricted to any one skin tone or age group. As with any new step, patch-test on the inner arm first if you are new to this formula or to KUNDAL.

KUNDAL

Mugwort Soothing Balancing Toner 200ml

Name: KUNDAL Mugwort Soothing Balancing Toner 200ml
Brand: KUNDAL
SKU: 7862595337
Price: 22.5 USD
Availability: InStock

Mugwort Soothing Balancing Toner is KUNDAL's toner (200ml), built around Centella Asiatica Extract and Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Extract. It is used right after cleansing, to rebalance the skin and prep it for the next step. This is the Original Korean Formula, not a version reworked for US retail.

No reviews yet

$22.50

200 ml

$11.25 per 100 ml

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

Suited to: NormalCombinationOilySensitive

Helps with: Reactive, easily irritated skin that needs calmingCongestion, visible pores and rough textureA post-cleanse toning stepPrepping skin for the next layer

One-time purchase

$22.50

SubscribeSave 10%

$20.25

In stock. Arrives in 3 to 7 business days

You’re $100.00 away from free US shipping.

30-day returns
Free US shipping on orders of $100 or more
Tracked delivery to your door

Verified authentic Shipping and returns

How it works

Mugwort Soothing Balancing Toner is a toner from KUNDAL. KUNDAL is a Korean haircare and body-care brand best known for its shampoo lines, sold in a wide range of fragrance variants that share the same wash base. On this jar's own ingredient list, Centella Asiatica Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Extract, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Glycolic Acid, Betaine Salicylate are named directly, which is what the key-actives panel on this page is built from rather than from the product name alone. Centella Asiatica Extract is cica, the calming botanical extract that anchors a huge share of current Korean skincare, and it is why this toner is positioned the way it is. Use it right after cleansing, to rebalance the skin and prep it for the next step; a toner's job is to rebalance the skin's surface so what follows absorbs evenly. KUNDAL sells this as the Korean-market formula, the same one stocked on shelves in Korea rather than a version built for the US market.

Key benefits

Centella Asiatica Extract is named directly on Mugwort Soothing Balancing Toner's own ingredient list
Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Extract is named directly on Mugwort Soothing Balancing Toner's own ingredient list
Houttuynia Cordata Extract is named directly on Mugwort Soothing Balancing Toner's own ingredient list
Mugwort Soothing Balancing Toner fits right after cleansing, to rebalance the skin and prep it for the next step
KUNDAL's Mugwort Soothing Balancing Toner is sold here as the Korean-market formula: sourced as the Korean-market formula rather than a US-shelf reformulation
Mugwort Soothing Balancing Toner keeps the Korean barcode and batch code that print on the unit sold on shelves in Korea

Key actives

7Centella Asiatica Extract

cica, the calming botanical extract that anchors a huge share of current Korean skincare. It sits at position 7 of 37 on this label's own ingredient list. This is read from the manufacturer's own listed order rather than assumed from the product name, which is what separates a genuine formula component from a name-only claim.

All products with Centella Asiatica Extract

8Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Extract

tea tree leaf extract, used for its clean, slightly astringent feel on oily areas. It sits at position 8 of 37 on this label's own ingredient list. This is read from the manufacturer's own listed order rather than assumed from the product name, which is what separates a genuine formula component from a name-only claim.

All products with Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Extract

9Houttuynia Cordata Extract

heartleaf extract, a calming botanical common in Korean formulas for reactive skin. It sits at position 9 of 37 on this label's own ingredient list. This is read from the manufacturer's own listed order rather than assumed from the product name, which is what separates a genuine formula component from a name-only claim.

All products with Houttuynia Cordata Extract

23Glycolic Acid

an AHA exfoliant that works at the skin's surface. It sits at position 23 of 37 on this label's own ingredient list. This is read from the manufacturer's own listed order rather than assumed from the product name, which is what separates a genuine formula component from a name-only claim.

All products with Glycolic Acid

25Betaine Salicylate

a buffered salicylate ester used in Korean formulas for light, low-irritation chemical exfoliation. It sits at position 25 of 37 on this label's own ingredient list. This is read from the manufacturer's own listed order rather than assumed from the product name, which is what separates a genuine formula component from a name-only claim.

All products with Betaine Salicylate

1 of 4

33 of 36 explained

Artemisia Capillaris Extract plant extract: Artemisia Capillaris is a mugwort species used in Korean and Chinese traditional practice. Its extract is used for the look of reddened, reactive skin.
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.
Dipropylene Glycol humectant: Dipropylene Glycol is a glycol used as a solvent and a light humectant. Its main job is keeping the rest of the formula dissolved and the texture fluid rather than adding hydration of its own.
Pentylene Glycol humectant: Pentylene Glycol hydrates and, like the other longer-chain glycols, makes a formula less hospitable to microbes so the preservative system can be lighter. It also improves how evenly a product spreads.
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.
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.
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.
Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Extract plant extract: Tea Tree Leaf Extract is the water-based extract rather than the essential oil, so it is far milder and much less aromatic. It is used in formulas for blemish-prone skin.
Houttuynia Cordata Extract plant extract: Houttuynia Cordata is heartleaf, and it is one of the two or three anchor plants of Korean calming skincare. Its extract carries quercitrin and other flavonoids and is used for the look of redness and blemish-prone skin.
Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Extract plant extract: Cocoa Extract carries polyphenols and a little caffeine. It is used as an antioxidant plant extract and gives a faint warm tint.
Ulmus Davidiana Root Extract plant extract: Ulmus Davidiana is Japanese elm, whose inner bark yields a naturally slippery mucilage. Korean formulas use the root extract for that cushioned feel and for the look of reactive skin.
Amaranthus Caudatus Seed Extract plant extract: Amaranth seed extract, carrying squalene, sterols and peptides. It is used as a conditioning extract.

21 more explained

Cryptomeria Japonica Leaf Extract plant extract: Cryptomeria Japonica is Japanese cedar. Its leaf extract is used as an aromatic antioxidant plant extract.
Nelumbo Nucifera Leaf Extract plant extract: Nelumbo Nucifera is the sacred lotus. Its leaf extract carries flavonoids and is used as a conditioning antioxidant extract.
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.
Octyldodeceth-16 emulsifier: An ethoxylated branched fatty alcohol. It emulsifies and also gives a formula a soft, cushioned slip.
C12-14 Alketh-12 emulsifier: C12-14 Alketh-12 is a solubiliser used to keep oils and fragrance dissolved in a water-based formula.
Sodium Citrate pH adjuster: Sodium Citrate is the salt of citric acid, used as a buffer: it holds a formula at a steady pH rather than pushing it in one direction. It is also a mild chelator.
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.
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.
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.
Glycolic Acid exfoliant: Glycolic Acid is the smallest AHA, which is why it is also the most penetrating and the most likely to sting. It loosens the bonds between dead surface cells and is used for the look of dullness and rough texture.
Gluconolactone exfoliant: Gluconolactone is a PHA, the gentlest exfoliant class. Its molecule is too large to penetrate quickly, so it smooths the surface without the sting of an AHA, and it is a humectant at the same time.
Betaine Salicylate exfoliant: Betaine Salicylate is a gentler salicylic derivative. Korean formulas use it at around 2 to 4 percent, which is roughly comparable to a low-strength salicylic acid, and it is easier on the skin barrier.
Capryloyl Salicylic Acid exfoliant: Capryloyl Salicylic Acid is salicylic acid with a fatty tail, sometimes sold as LHA. It stays nearer the surface than salicylic acid and works at a higher pH, so it exfoliates more evenly and more gently.
Dextrin thickener: Dextrin is a starch fragment used to thicken and to give a formula a light, powdery finish. It is also a common carrier for powdered extracts.
Hexylene Glycol solvent: Hexylene Glycol is a solvent and light humectant. It keeps ingredients that resist water in solution and thins a formula so it spreads evenly.
Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate ferment: Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate is a brewers yeast ferment filtered clear. It supplies amino acids, B vitamins and sugars, and it is one of the ferments the Korean essence category was built on.
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.
Hydroxyacetophenone preservative booster: Hydroxyacetophenone is an antioxidant that also strengthens a preservative system, so a formula needs less traditional preservative. Korean formulas pair it with 1,2-hexanediol constantly.
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.
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.

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

7Centella Asiatica9Houttuynia Cordata23Glycolic Acid25Betaine Salicylate

7Centella Asiatica
9Houttuynia Cordata
23Glycolic Acid
25Betaine Salicylate

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

Sweep across a cleansed face and neck with a cotton pad or press in with clean hands, then continue with the rest of the routine without rinsing.

Worth knowing

New to this formula or to the brand: patch-test on the inner arm and wait a day before applying it to the face.
Discontinue use and rinse the area with water if redness, itching or irritation develops.

Complete the routine

This itemKUNDAL Mugwort Soothing Balancing Toner 200ml$22.50
From the same Korean-market lineKUNDAL HAIR LOSS RELIEF SHAMPOO Intensive Scalp Care with Caffeine 500ml #WHITE MUSK$30.00
Prep after cleansing, before the treatment stepKUNDAL Mugwort Soothing Clear Pad 120ml(60EA)$25.00

Total for 3 items$77.50

Reviews

No reviews yet. Tell us how much you love the product!

Write a review

KUNDAL Mugwort Soothing Balancing Toner 200ml

How it felt, how your skin took it, what you layer it with. Straight answers help the next person choose.

Read every customer review

KUNDAL, Korean-market original

Mugwort Soothing Balancing Toner, 200ml, KUNDAL's toner with Centella Asiatica Extract and Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Extract.

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.

Centella can make your skin appear more hydrated, plumper and healthier.
Samantha Stein, PA-CDermatology physician assistant, Cleveland Clinic
I think it's fair to say I've seen lots of patients use tea tree oil for a variety of skin issues. It's a natural remedy that is known to help.
Simon Hodes, MB ChBFamily physician, Cleveland Clinic

1 more professional perspective

Its potential for skincare is promoted because of its anti-inflammatory (think blemishes, rashes, eczema) and hydrating properties.
Michele Koo, MDPlastic surgeon, PureWow