It has ingredients that are good for fighting acne, brightening skin, sensitive skin, oily skin, reducing pores and dark spots

Free From

It doesn't contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, fragrances, oils, parabens, silicones or sulfates

Fun facts

COSRX is from South Korea. This product is used in 1154 routines created by our community.

We independently verify ingredients and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Does this product need an update? Let us know.

Ingredient List (10)

Salix Alba Bark Water, Butylene Glycol, Betaine Salicylate, Niacinamide, 1,2-Hexanediol, Arginine, Panthenol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Xanthan Gum, Ethyl Hexanediol

You should know

Here's our breakdown of the notable ingredients, benefits, and concerns we determined from the ingredients in this product. Click any item to learn more.

Notable Ingredients

BHA

Niacinamide

Hyaluronic Acid

Benefits

Good For Oily Skin (2)

Redness Reducing

Reduces Irritation

Reduces Large Pores (2)

Dark Spots

Acne Fighting

Brightening

Concerns

Rosacea

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and view relevant ingredients.

alcohol-free

silicon-free

fragrance-free

sulfate-free

paraben-free

oil-free

fungal-acne safe

reef-safe

eu-allergen-free

vegan

cruelty-free

ph level

4.85

Ingredients Overview

Here's our quick-to-read summary of the ingredients in this product. Keep scrolling if you'd like to learn more about what each ingredient does!

Ingredient

Com. / Irr. Rating

Features

Astringent, Skin Conditioning, Soothing, Tonic

Humectant, Masking, Skin Conditioning, Solvent

1 / 0

Antimicrobial

Smoothing

Skin Conditioning, Solvent

Masking, Skin Conditioning

Skin Conditioning

0 / 0

Humectant, Skin Conditioning

0 / 0

Emulsifying, Emulsion Stabilising, Gel Forming, Skin Conditioning

Solvent

Ingredients Explained

This product contains 10 ingredients. Click on any ingredient to learn more about it

Salix Alba Bark Water

What it does: Astringent, Skin Conditioning, Soothing, Tonic

Community Rating: Liked

Salix Alba Bark Water is created by distilling parts from the white willow tree. The white willow tree is native to Europe and Central Asia.

Salix Alba Bark has often been described as salicylic acid's cousin. This is due to the salicin it contains. However, studies are limited showing salix alba bark to be an effective salicylic acid alternative.

Salicin does have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It has shown to decrease the formation of inflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor-α and nuclear factor-kappa B. Salicin also has a mildly exfoliating effect on the skin.

As an astringent, salix alba bark water helps tighten the skin by drawing water out. This helps reduce the appearance of large pores.

Learn more about Salix Alba Bark Water

Butylene Glycol

What it does: Humectant, Masking, Skin Conditioning, Solvent

Community Rating: Mixed

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.

Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient. It is unlikely to irritate skin, and works well with pretty much all other ingredients.

Betaine Salicylate

What it does: Antimicrobial

Community Rating: Liked

Betaine Salicylate is a salicylic acid alternative. It is created with betaine and salicylic acid.

Betain Salicylate is a keralytic ingredient. This means it breaks down the top layer of skin. Due to its similarity to salicylic acid, it can be considered a BHA alternative.

This ingredient is most effective at a pH range of 3.8-4.2.

Learn more about Betaine Salicylate

Niacinamide

What it does: Smoothing

Community Rating: Loved

Niacinamide has emerged as an all-star ingredient due to its many benefits.

It is known to treat acne by reducing inflammation. It also helps fade dark-spots and strengthen the skin by promoting the growth of the ceramide barrier.

Other benefits include smoothing wrinkles and minimizing redness.

The cherry on top? Niacinamide can also help build keratin, a protein that keeps skin firm.

When incorporating niacinamide into your routine, look out for concentration amounts. Typically, 5% niacinamide provides benefits such as fading dark spots. However, if you have sensitive skin, it is better to begin with a smaller concentration.

Niacinamide can be mixed with other ingredients to boost benefits. For instance, it has shown to be effective when used with copper, folic acid, and zinc to treat acne.

Learn more about Niacinamide

1,2-Hexanediol

What it does: Skin Conditioning, Solvent

Community Rating: Mixed

1,2-Hexanediol is a multi-tasker ingredient. It acts as a preservative to increase shelf-life and can aid other preservatives in preventing microbe growth. 1,2-Hexanediol also helps the skin retain moisture as a humectant.

In products that are water-based, this ingredient can help stabilize perfumes and fragrances. It can also help make the texture of products softer and more smooth.

Arginine

What it does: Masking, Skin Conditioning

Community Rating: Mixed

Arginine is an amino acid that is important for human development. Your body uses is it to produce hair keratin and skin collagen.

As a cosmetic ingredient, Arginine has antioxidant properties and can also help repair damaged skin. This ingredient is derived either synthetically or from animals.

Arginine isn't fungal acne safe when used in the presence of other lipids (fats, fatty acids, oils, esters, etc). Oils and fats occur naturally within the skin, so take caution when using Arginine if you're prone to fungal acne.

Learn more about Arginine

Panthenol

What it does: Skin Conditioning

Community Rating: Loved

Panthenol (also referred to as pro-vitamin B5) is a common ingredient that helps hydrate and soothe the skin.

lt is a humectant, meaning that it helps the skin attract and retain moisture.

Another benefit is the anti-inflammatory abilities. This means that it's great for sensitive, irritation-prone skin.

Once oxidized, panthenol converts to pantothenic acid. Panthothenic acid is found in all living cells.

Learn more about Panthenol

Sodium Hyaluronate

What it does: Humectant, Skin Conditioning

Community Rating: Loved

Sodium Hyaluronate is hyaluronic acid's salt form. It is commonly derived from the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid.

Like hyaluronic acid, it is great at holding water and acts as a humectant. This makes it a great skin hydrating ingredient.

Sodium Hyaluronate is naturally occurring in our bodies and is mostly found in eye fluid and joints.

These are some other common types of Hyaluronic Acid:

Learn more about Sodium Hyaluronate

Xanthan Gum

What it does: Emulsifying, Emulsion Stabilising, Gel Forming, Skin Conditioning

Community Rating: Disliked

Xanthan gum is used as a stabilizer and thickener within cosmetic products. It helps give products a sticky, thick feeling - preventing them from being too runny.

On the technical side of things, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide - a combination consisting of multiple sugar molecules bonded together.

Xanthan gum is a pretty common and great ingredient. It is a natural, non-toxic, non-irritating ingredient that is also commonly used in food products.

Learn more about Xanthan Gum

Ethyl Hexanediol

What it does: Solvent

Community Rating: Liked

Ethyl Hexanediol is an aliphatic alcohol. It is a solvent.

Solvents are used to keep ingredients together in a product. They can help dissolve ingredients to stable bases or help evenly distribute ingredients throughout the product.

Embed Ingredients

Here's what our community thinks of the 10 ingredients in this product ✨

60% are loved or liked

30% have mixed ratings

10% are disliked or very disliked

0% have no rating yet

When to use

We've created a guide with info on when you should use COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid. We've also included some recommended products to use it with, as well as some routine inspiration!

Read our guide on when to use BHA Blackhead Power Liquid ->

Verified by SkinSort

We're dedicated to providing you with the most up-to-date and science-backed ingredient info out there.

The data we've presented on this page has been verified by a member of the SkinSort Team.

Top Reviews

View all 24

Review by tsmeu

Dec 21, 2023

This was only the second BHA product that I ever tried and got this because I just don't enjoy the skin feel of the Paula's Choice 2% BHA liquid (which I used on/off for years), and this was recommended by fiddysnails who has a similar skin type and concerns to mine. I do like that this leaves no residue but I just don't find this to be very effective.

I have dry combo skin and very rarely deal with breakouts - the only reason I use BHA is to help keep the pores on my nose and chin clear of sebacious filaments. I also use peptides in my routine so I don't want a BHA that I need to use every day, as I haven't been able to find conclusive information on whether acids really make peptides less effective and for now choose to use them on alternate days. I find that this product when used every other day just isn't enough to keep my pores clear of gunk. Maybe my skin just responds better to salicylic acid than to betaine salicylate which this uses.

Light

No Scent

Doesn't Work

Like review

3 likes

Review by sword

Dec 20, 2023

Gently Exfoliates
I decided to try a leave-on exfoliator rather than an exfoliating cleanser because I noticed I kept getting irritation from exfoliating cleansers. This Cosrx one is really gentle and pleasant. It takes a few minutes for it to absorb into my skin, but afterwards I get very little irritation and my skin texture and pore appearance have definitely improved.

Great Value

Light

No Scent

Works Well

Like review

3 likes

Latest Reviews

View all 24

Review by OralCigarette

Apr 22, 2024

Really wanted to like this product as it was highly recommended to me but it was just very underwhelming and honestly did not have that much of an effect on my skin to the point where I wouldn't have noticed a difference if you removed...

Only reason I'm giving it an extra star is because it didn't break me out or anything bad like that, it just seemed to be ineffective for me personally and could be a HG for others

Absorbs Well

No Scent

Doesn't Work

Like review

Review by Hi.juyeo_on

Apr 20, 2024

I love it! I use it when i’m breaking out on my nose and chin as well as on just very specific pimples. I don’t use it every week just once in a while as i have sensitive skin but when i really need it i use it once a week and it doesn’t...

Great Value

Works Well

Like review

1 like