Do I still need a second cleanser after this?

Yes, for a full double cleanse. This balm is the oil-based first step meant to lift makeup and sunscreen; a water-based cleanser afterward removes any remaining residue and sweat. This is general guidance rather than a fixed rule, so adjust it based on how your own skin or the product itself responds.

Will this leave an oily residue?

Adding a small amount of water before rinsing emulsifies the balm into a milky texture that rinses cleanly, rather than leaving the oily film a straight oil cleanser can. This is general guidance rather than a fixed rule, so adjust it based on how your own skin or the product itself responds.

Is this gentle enough for sensitive skin?

The formula leans on Niacinamide, Panthenol, Allantoin and Centella Asiatica for calming, which is a supportive base, though anyone with reactive skin should still patch test any new cleanser. This is general guidance rather than a fixed rule, so adjust it based on how your own skin or the product itself responds.

Is this the same formula sold in Korea, or a version made for the US market?

This is TIRTIR's Korean-market formula, sourced and shipped with its original Korean-market packaging and batch coding rather than a separate US-reformulated version. Korean Pharmacy stocks the exact SKU sold through Korean retail rather than a substitute built for US shelves, which is the point of buying from a specialist rather than a general beauty retailer.

How should I store this to keep it in good condition?

Keep the cap or compact closed between uses and store it away from direct sunlight and heat, the same way you would any cosmetic. A cool, dry spot such as a drawer or cabinet keeps the texture and finish consistent for longer than leaving it exposed on a warm windowsill or in a hot car.

TIRTIR

Hydro Boost Enzyme Cleansing Balm 120ml

Name: TIRTIR Hydro Boost Enzyme Cleansing Balm 120ml
Brand: TIRTIR
SKU: 12320970396
Price: 62.5 USD
Availability: InStock

Hydro Boost Enzyme Cleansing Balm, TIRTIR's oil-to-balm cleanser with Niacinamide and Centella Asiatica. It is part of TIRTIR's Korean-market skincare lineup.

No reviews yet

$62.50

120 ml

$52.08 per 100 ml

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

Suited to: Normal to oily skin needing a thorough but gentle cleanseSkin prone to clogged pores or visible textureSensitive skin that reacts to stronger sulfate-based cleansers

Helps with: The first step of a double cleanse to remove makeup and sunscreenSkin that feels stripped after a standard oil cleanserA calming-forward oil cleanse for sensitive or reactive skin

One-time purchase

$62.50

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$56.25

In stock. Arrives in 3 to 7 business days

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How it works

The balm melts from a solid oil base, carried by rice bran, camellia seed and jojoba oils, into a lightweight cleansing oil on contact with warm skin, lifting makeup and sunscreen before the second cleanse. Niacinamide, Allantoin and Panthenol sit in the base for calming, alongside fermented ingredients (Bifida and Lactobacillus ferment filtrates) and Centella Asiatica Extract, so the first cleanse does not strip the skin the way a purely oil-based balm can. It is meant to be rinsed thoroughly with lukewarm water rather than hot, since hot water alone can undercut what a gentler surfactant base is built to avoid. This particular listing is the 120ml size TIRTIR sells for the line, packaged and formulated for the Korean market rather than a separate US release.

Key benefits

Oil-to-balm texture that melts on skin contact
Rice bran, camellia and jojoba oils carry the cleanse
Niacinamide, Allantoin and Panthenol for calming
Fermented ingredients and Centella Asiatica in the base
Sourced with intact Korean-market packaging and batch coding rather than repackaged for a US-only release

How to use

Scoop a small amount with dry fingers or a spatula, warm it between the palms, then massage over dry skin to dissolve makeup and sunscreen. Add a little water to emulsify before rinsing, and follow with a water-based cleanser for the second step.

1 of 3

36 of 36 explained

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.
Peg-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate emulsifier: A nonionic emulsifier built on glycerin and branched fatty acids. Cleansing oils and balms use it so they emulsify the moment water is added.
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.
Peg-10 Isostearate emulsifier: A nonionic emulsifier made by attaching a short polyethylene glycol chain to a branched fatty acid. It keeps oil dispersed in water.
Synthetic Wax occlusive: Synthetic Wax is a purpose-built hydrocarbon wax used to structure balms and sticks. It is odourless and does not oxidise, unlike most natural waxes.
Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil emollient: Rice Bran Oil is pressed from the bran left over from milling rice. It carries vitamin E and a group of rice-specific antioxidants, and it is a light emollient.
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.
Tocopheryl Acetate antioxidant: Tocopheryl Acetate is a stable vitamin E ester that skin converts to tocopherol. It is used as an antioxidant and a light emollient and holds up better than plain vitamin E in a formula.
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.
Camellia Sinensis Seed Oil emollient: Oil pressed from tea seeds. It is high in oleic acid, carries some of the antioxidants of the tea plant, and is lighter in feel than most oleic oils.
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.
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.

24 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.
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.
Niacinamide active: Niacinamide is vitamin B3, and it is the most studied active in Korean formulation. It is used at roughly 2 to 5 percent for the look of uneven tone and visible pores, and it is water soluble, stable and comfortable beside almost every other active, which is why it turns up in so many lists.
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.
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.
Tocopherol antioxidant: Tocopherol is vitamin E. It is an oil-soluble antioxidant that protects the oils in a formula from going rancid and works on skin as an emollient, and it is regularly paired with vitamin C because each keeps the other going for longer.
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.
Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract plant extract: Witch hazel extract, the classic astringent plant. Its tannins bind to surface proteins, which is the tightening feel a toner built on it gives.
Bifida Ferment Filtrate ferment: Bifida Ferment Filtrate is the liquid strained off a bifidobacteria culture, with the cells filtered out. It is the fraction the first-essence category is built on and is used for the look of tired, reactive skin.
Lactococcus Ferment Lysate ferment: Lactococcus Ferment Lysate is a lactic-culture ferment with the bacterial cells broken open, so their contents are in the formula too. It is used as a conditioning ferment in barrier-focused products.
Bifida Ferment Lysate ferment: Bifida Ferment Lysate is a bifidobacteria ferment with the cells broken open. It is the ingredient behind the first-essence category and is used for the look of tired, reactive skin.
Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate ferment: Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate is the ferment with the bacterial cells broken open, so their contents are in the formula too. It is a conditioning ferment used in barrier-focused products.
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.
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.
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.
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract plant extract: Camellia Sinensis is the tea plant. Green tea leaf extract carries catechins, among the most studied plant antioxidants, and is used for the look of redness and oily shine.
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.
Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Extract plant extract: Lavender extract, the water-soluble fraction rather than the essential oil. It is used as a conditioning extract and carries a light lavender scent.
Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Extract plant extract: Rosemary extract with the plant part unstated. Rosemary carries rosmarinic and carnosic acid, and it is also used to keep the oils in a formula from going rancid.
Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Extract plant extract: Jasmine extract, from the flower. It is used as a conditioning plant extract and contributes its own scent.
Anthemis Nobilis (Chamomile) Flower Extract plant extract: Roman chamomile flower extract. It carries flavonoids and is one of the classic plant ingredients in formulas aimed at the look of reddened skin.
Monarda Didyma Leaf Extract plant extract: Bee balm leaf extract, a mint family plant. The leaf carries aromatic terpenes and flavonoids and is used as a conditioning botanical with a faint scent.
Protease active: Protease is an enzyme that breaks down protein. In a cleanser or peel it loosens the protein bonds holding dead surface cells together, which is a gentler route to smoothness than an acid or a scrub.

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

Worth knowing

Avoid combining a clay or acid cleanser with a strong exfoliating treatment on the same day.
Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm rather than hot water, which helps avoid stripping the skin further.

Complete the routine

This itemTIRTIR Hydro Boost Enzyme Cleansing Balm 120ml$62.50
Cleanse first, so the next step meets bare skinTIRTIR Milk Creamy Foam Cleanser 90g$42.50
The treatment step of this routineTIRTIR ICE-COOLING WATER DROP SERUM 30ml$57.50

Total for 3 items$162.50

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TIRTIR Hydro Boost Enzyme Cleansing Balm 120ml

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TIRTIR, Korean-market original

The first cleanse, without the strip.

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