How is this toner pad used in a routine?

Take one pad and sweep it evenly across the face, working outward from the center. Follow with the next step of the routine. It works as an early routine step, right after cleansing and before serum.

Is this the same formula sold in Korea?

Yes. MEDIHEAL's Retinol Firming Pad 250ml/60ea is sold here as the Korean-market formula, the same version carried in Korea, with intact Korean-market packaging and batch coding, not a US-shelf reformulation.

Who is this toner pad suited for?

Normal skin, Dry or dehydrated skin are the best fit for this toner pad. Patch test on the inner arm before first full use, as with any new skincare product.

MEDIHEAL

Retinol Firming Pad 250ml/60ea

Name: MEDIHEAL Retinol Firming Pad 250ml/60ea
Brand: MEDIHEAL
SKU: 11639899163
Price: 32.5 USD
Availability: InStock

MEDIHEAL Retinol Firming Pad 250ml/60ea is a formula that names Retinol on its own ingredient panel, sourced as the Korean-market formula.

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$32.50

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

Suited to: Normal skinDry or dehydrated skinCombination skin

Helps with: An early routine toner-pad stepA layered Korean routine

One-time purchase

$32.50

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$29.25

In stock. Arrives in 3 to 7 business days

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Key benefits

Retinol named on this product's own ingredient panel
Adenosine on the same panel, the formula's active
Korean-market formula, with its Korean barcode and batch code intact on the box

Key actives

14Adenosine

Adenosine is a nucleoside that Korea's own cosmetic authority recognises as a wrinkle-care functional ingredient, which is why it appears on so many Korean lists at a low level. It is used for the look of fine lines and is stable and well tolerated.

All products with Adenosine

27Retinol

Retinol is the alcohol form of vitamin A and the strongest retinoid available without a prescription. Skin converts it in two steps to retinoic acid, and it is used at night, at low percentages, for the look of fine lines and rough texture. It can leave skin flaking while it acclimatises.

All products with Retinol

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

14Adenosine27Retinol

14Adenosine
27Retinol

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

Take one pad and sweep it evenly across the face, working outward from the center. Follow with the next step of the routine.

1 of 3

29 of 30 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.
Isopentyldiol solvent: Isopentyldiol is a glycol used as a light solvent and humectant. It thins a formula, keeps extracts dissolved and leaves a dry finish.
Methylpropanediol humectant: Methylpropanediol is a small glycol used to hydrate and to help water-soluble actives penetrate the outer layer of skin more evenly. It leaves almost no tack, which suits watery textures.
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.
C12-14 Alketh-12 emulsifier: C12-14 Alketh-12 is a solubiliser used to keep oils and fragrance dissolved in a water-based formula.
Methyl Gluceth-20 humectant: Methyl Gluceth-20 is a sugar-derived humectant. It holds water in the outer layer of skin and gives a smooth, cushioned slip that plain glycerin does not.
Polyglycerin-3 humectant: Polyglycerin-3 is a short chain of glycerin units used as a gentler, less sticky humectant. It also helps oils and water stay blended.
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.
Caprylyl Glycol preservative booster: Caprylyl Glycol is a glycol that conditions skin and, more importantly, strengthens a preservative system so less of the traditional preservative is needed. It appears in most modern formulas built without parabens.
Diphenylsiloxy Phenyl Trimethicone silicone: Diphenylsiloxy Phenyl Trimethicone is a high-shine silicone used where a formula needs gloss without stickiness.
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.

17 more explained

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.
Adenosine active: Adenosine is a nucleoside that Korea's own cosmetic authority recognises as a wrinkle-care functional ingredient, which is why it appears on so many Korean lists at a low level. It is used for the look of fine lines and is stable and well tolerated.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate emulsifier: Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate is a sugar-derived emulsifier known for a light, non-soapy feel. It builds gel-creams that do not read as rich.
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.
Glyceryl Stearate Se emulsifier: Glyceryl Stearate SE is the self-emulsifying grade, supplied with a little soap already built in so it can hold an emulsion with less help. It thickens and softens like the plain form.
Pogostemon Cablin Oil fragrance component: Patchouli oil, steam distilled from the leaves. It is one of the heaviest, longest lasting aromatic oils and is used to scent a formula and to hold lighter notes in place.
Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil fragrance component: Anthemis Nobilis is Roman chamomile. The flower oil is an essential oil, so it scents a formula as well as conditioning it, and essential oils are the class most likely to bother reactive skin.
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate active: Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate is a water-soluble salt derived from licorice root. It is the licorice fraction Korean formulas use for the look of redness, and it is far more stable in water than the whole extract.
Glycine Soja (soybean) Oil emollient: Soybean Oil is a linoleic-rich plant oil used as an emollient. It also carries soy phytosterols and vitamin E.
Retinol active: Retinol is the alcohol form of vitamin A and the strongest retinoid available without a prescription. Skin converts it in two steps to retinoic acid, and it is used at night, at low percentages, for the look of fine lines and rough texture. It can leave skin flaking while it acclimatises.
Ectoin humectant: Ectoin is a small molecule that microbes in salt flats and hot springs make to survive extreme conditions. In skincare it holds water tightly around itself, which is why it appears in formulas aimed at reactive, easily dehydrated skin.
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5 peptide: Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5 is a fatted three-amino-acid peptide used for the look of firmness and fine lines. The palmitoyl tail is what lets it cross an oily surface.
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.

How it works

Retinol is named on the ingredient panel on this formula. Retinol is the alcohol form of vitamin A and the strongest retinoid available without a prescription. Skin converts it in two steps to retinoic acid, and it is used at night, at low percentages, for the look of fine lines and rough texture. It can leave skin flaking while it acclimatises. On this panel it sits alongside Adenosine. Adenosine is a nucleoside that Korea's own cosmetic authority recognises as a wrinkle-care functional ingredient, which is why it appears on so many Korean lists at a low level. It is used for the look of fine lines and is stable and well tolerated.

Worth knowing

Patch test on the inner arm before first full use, as with any new skincare product.

Complete the routine

This itemMEDIHEAL Retinol Firming Pad 250ml/60ea$32.50
The treatment step of this routineMEDIHEAL Tea Tree Calming Barrier Ampoule 50ml$37.50
Cleanse first, so the next step meets bare skinMEDIHEAL Teatree Trouble Calming Cleanser 120ml$15.00

Total for 3 items$85.00

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MEDIHEAL Retinol Firming Pad 250ml/60ea

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MEDIHEAL, Korean-market original

MEDIHEAL's Retinol Firming Pad 250ml/60ea, sourced for the Korean market.

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.

Vitamin A has a molecular structure that's tiny enough to get into the lower layers of your skin, where it finds and boosts collagen and elastin, which is a protein that strengthens your skin's flexibility.
Wilma Bergfeld, 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