Versus

Celimax Ji Woo Gae Cica BHA Acne Foam Cleansing Versus SKIN1004 Poremizing Deep Cleansing Foam

Face Cleanser
Face Cleanser
Korean Brand South Korea
Korean Brand South Korea

Updated on November 07, 2024

Overview

What they are

These products are both reef safe face cleansers. They have a total of 25 ingredients in common

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for dry skin, brightening skin and sensitive skin

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, parabens, silicones or sulfates

What's Inside

They both contain oils

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that needs an update? Let us know.

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and see relevant ingredients

About this product

About this product

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

found in both products
Ji Woo Gae Cica BHA Acne Foam Cleansing
Poremizing Deep Cleansing Foam

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Skin Conditioning, Solvent

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water
Cleansing, Emulsifying

Myristic Acid is a saturated fatty acid. It is naturally found in milk fat. Other sources include palm oil, coconut oil, and butter fat.

Myristic Acid is an emulsifer and cleanser. As an emulsifer, it stabilizes a product by preventing ingredients from separating. Myristic Acid helps clean your skin by acting as a surfactant. It tends to gather oil and dirt on your skin to be easily rinsed away.

One study from 2021 found Myristic Acid to have anti-inflammatory properties.

Learn more about Myristic Acid
Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting

Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.

A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.

As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.

Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.

Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.

In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.

This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

Learn more about Glycerin

Potassium hydroxide is commonly known as caustic potash. It is used to fix the pH of a product or as a cleaning agent in soap. In cleansers, it is used for the saponification of oils.

Sapnification is the process of creating fatty acid metal salts from triglycerides and a strong base. During this process, Potassium Hydroxide is used up and is not present in the final product.

Using high concentrations of Potassium Hydroxide have shown to irritate the skin.

Learn more about Potassium Hydroxide
Cleansing, Emulsifying, Emulsion Stabilising

Stearic Acid is a fatty acid. It is an emollient, emulsifier, and texture enhancer.

As an emollient, stearic acid helps soften skin. It aids the skin's protective barrier by preventing water loss. It also provides a gentle cleansing effect without stripping away natural oils.

Stearic acid may also be used to enhance the texture of products. It can add volume and stabilize ingredients such as water and oil. This can help water and oil ingredients from separating.

Sources of stearic acid include animal or vegetable fats/oils such as coconut or shea. It can be naturally found in butter, cocoa butter, shea butter, vegetable fats, and animal tallow.

This ingredient may not be Malassezia folliculitis, or fungal-acne safe.

Learn more about Stearic Acid
Emollient, Emulsifying

Glyceryl Stearate is a mix of glycerin and stearic acid.

It is used to stabilize the mixing of water and oil ingredients. By preventing these ingredients from separating, it can help elongate shelf life. It can also help thicken the product's texture.

As an emollient, it helps soften skin and supports barrier-replenishing ingredients.

In cosmetics, Glyceryl Stearate is often made from vegetable oils or synthetically produced.

This ingredient may not be fungal-acne safe

Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.

Learn more about Glyceryl Stearate
Solvent

Propanediol is an all-star ingredient. It softens, hydrates, and smooths the skin. 

It’s often used to:

Propanediol is not likely to cause sensitivity and considered safe to use. It is derived from corn or petroleum with a clear color and no scent.

Learn more about Propanediol
Emollient, Emulsifying

Palmitic Acid is a fatty acid found in our skin. In cosmetics, it is usually derived from palm oil. It is a cleanser, emollient, and emulsifier.

As an emollient, it helps hydrate the skin. The emulsifying properties keep ingredients together in a product.

Palmitic Acid may not be fungal-acne safe.

Learn more about Palmitic Acid

Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.

This ingredient is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.

Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.

While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.

Learn more about Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing, Foaming

Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate is a cleansing agent made from a mixture of long chain sulfonate salts. It can also help produce foam.

This ingredient may be drying. We recommend speaking with a professional if you have concerns.

Preservative

This ingredient is a preservative and inhibits the growth of fungi, certain bacteria, yeast, and mold.

It is the potassium salt of benzoic acid.

Potassium benzoate works best in products with a low pH level (below 4.5).

Learn more about Potassium Benzoate
Humectant, Masking, Skin Conditioning

Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:

  • It is a solvent, meaning that it helps to dissolve other ingredients. This also enhances the absorption of the product into one's skin.
  • It is a humectant, which means that it helps attract moisture into the skin.
  • It helps improve product application.
  • It has mild preservative properties.

Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.

Masking

Chances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt.

This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.

You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.

There is much debate on whether this ingredient is comedogenic. The short answer - comedogenic ratings don't tell the whole story. Learn more about comegodenic ratings here.

The concensus about this ingredient causing acne seems to be divided. Research is needed to understand if this ingredient does cause acne.

Scrubs may use salt as the primary exfoliating ingredient.

Learn more about Sodium Chloride
Humectant, Masking, Skin Conditioning

Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol. It is a hydrating and moisturizing agent created from the reduction process of glucose.

Most sorbitol is usually made from potato starch. It is also found in fruits such as apples and pears.

As a humectant, Sorbitol helps draw water to the skin. This helps keep the skin hydrated. Sorbitol also helps create a thicker texture in products. You might find sorbitol in your toothpaste and other gels.

It is a non-irritating ingredient that is great for those with dry skin.

Sorbitol is a prebiotic. It helps promote the growth of healthy bacteria on your skin. The bacteria on your skin form a microbiome. This microbiome helps protect your skin from infection and harmful bacteria.

Learn more about Sorbitol

Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer is a synthetic polymer. It is used to thicken and improve the texture of products. Due to its properties, it can prevent water and oil ingredients from separating.

Emollient, Emulsifying, Emulsion Stabilising

Cetearyl alcohol is a mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is mainly used as an emulsifier. Emulsifiers help prevent the separation of oils and products. Due to its composition, it can also be used to thicken a product or help create foam.

Cetearyl alcohol is an emollient. Emollients help soothe and hydrate the skin by trapping moisture.

Studies show Cetearyl alcohol is non-toxic and non-irritating. The FDA allows products labeled "alcohol-free" to have fatty alcohols.

This ingredient is usually derived from plant oils such as palm, vegetable, or coconut oils. There is debate on whether this ingredient will cause acne.

Due to the fatty acid base, this ingredient may not be Malassezia folliculitis safe.

Learn more about Cetearyl Alcohol

Disodium EDTA plays a role in making products more stable by aiding other preservatives.

It is a chelating agent, meaning it neutralizes metal ions that may be found in a product.

Disodium EDTA is a salt of edetic acid and is found to be safe in cosmetic ingredients.

Learn more about Disodium EDTA
Emollient, Masking, Skin Conditioning

Hydrogenated Polydecene is an emollient. It creates a non-occlusive film on the skin that offers extra protection for your skin barrier.

The texture of Hydrogenated Polydecene ranges from light and silky to rich.

Hydrogenated Polydecene is the end compound of controlled hydrogenation of Polydecene.

Learn more about Hydrogenated Polydecene
Cleansing, Emulsifying

Arachidic Acid is a fatty acid naturally found in peanut oil and cocoa butter. Like other fatty acids, arachidic acid moisturizes the skin.

Synthetically created arachidic acid comes from linoleic acid.

This ingredient may not be safe for Malassezia Folliculitis, or fungal acne.

Learn more about Arachidic Acid
Cleansing, Emulsifying

Lauric Acid is a fatty acid or lipid. About half of fatty acids in coconut oil is lauric acid.

This ingredient helps hydrate and sooth skin. As a humectant, it helps trap moisture. It also aids in cleaning and enhancing the texture of products.

Lauric acid may not be Malassezia folliculitis, or fungal acne, safe.

Learn more about Lauric Acid
Skin Conditioning, Solvent

1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse. 

It is a:

  • Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
  • Emollient, helping to soften skin
  • Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
  • Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives 
Buffering, Masking

Sodium Citrate is the sodium salts of citric acid. In skincare, it is used to alter pH levels and acts as a preservative.

Its main functions are to maintain the pH of a product and neutralize metal ions.

The acidity of our skin is maintained by our glands and skin biome; normal pH level of skin is slightly acidic (~4.75-5.5).

Being slightly acidic allows our skin to create an "acid mantle". This acid mantle is a thin barrier that protects our skin from bacteria and contaminants.

Learn more about Sodium Citrate
Cleansing, Skin Conditioning, Smoothing

Centella Asiatica Extract (Centella) is derived from an herb native to Southeast Asia. It is famous for its anti-inflammatory and soothing properties.

Centella is rich in antioxidants and amino acids, such as Madecassic Acid and Asiaticoside.

Studies show the compounds in centella help with:

The combination of all these properties makes centella effective at soothing, hydrating, and protecting the skin.

Other great components of centella include Vitamin A, vitamin C, several B vitamins, and Asiatic Acid.

Fun fact: Centella has been used as a medicine and in food for many centuries. As a medicine, it is used to treat burns, scratches, and wounds.

Learn more about Centella Asiatica Extract
Emollient, Emulsifying

Oleic Acid is an Omega-9 fatty acid. It can be found in many plant oils such as avocado and marula oils.

This ingredient is used to enhance the texture of products and as a cleansing agent.

Oleic Acid may not be fungal acne safe.

Learn more about Oleic Acid
Buffering, Masking

Citric Acid is an AHA derived from citrus fruits (think oranges, lemons, and limes!).

As an AHA, Citric Acid removes the top layer of skin cells from the newer layer of skin underneath. This helps skin to remove dark spots and even out skin tone.

If you spot Citric Acid near the end of an ingredient list, it's likely there as a pH adjuster rather than an active ingredient.

Read more about some other popular AHA's here:

Learn more about Citric Acid

When to use

4 Routines
50% use in am
50% use in pm
100% use every day
216 Routines
40% use in am
59% use in pm
92% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->

Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

Celimax Ji Woo Gae Cica BHA Acne Foam Cleansing 36 ingredients

Ji Woo Gae Cica BHA Acne Foam Cleansing hasn't been rated yet.
Rate it now

SKIN1004 Poremizing Deep Cleansing Foam 42 ingredients

2.8 /5
from 4 ratings
Irritating (1) Strong Scent (1)
courtneyhall2's avatar

Courtney

10 days ago
Review

Smell is pretty unpleasant. This cleanser can sometimes help, but also can irritate my skin & leave it red after use. It doesn’t feel the most gentle on the skin compared to other cleansers. Doesn’t leave my skin feeling too smooth or moisturized either :( On a positive note, it does lather really well!

#irritating
#strong scent