IDC Institute Face Cleansing Stick
A face cleanser that contains aha and exfoliants.
Overview
What it is
Face cleanser with 15 ingredients that contains AHA and exfoliants
Cool Features
It is reef safe
Suited For
It has ingredients that are good for dry skin, brightening skin, oily skin, reducing pores, scar healing and better texture
Free From
It doesn't contain any harsh alcohols, oils, parabens, silicones or sulfates
Fun facts
IDC Institute is from Spain.
We independently verify ingredients and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Does this product need an update? Let us know.
What's inside (and what isn't)
Ingredients List
Dive into the full list of ingredients.
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Explained
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 GlycerinSorbitol 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 SorbitolPropylene Glycol is an odorless, colorless liquid. As a humectant, it helps skin retain moisture. It also aids in delivering active ingredients.
Another role of this ingredient is preventing a product from melting or freezing. Propylene glycol also adds antimicrobrial properties to a product, elongating product lifespan.
This ingredient is considered an organic alcohol and commonly added into both cosmetics and foods.
Those with sensitive skin or conditions may develop a rash when using this ingredient.
Learn more about Propylene GlycolWater. 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 WaterStearic 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 AcidMyristic 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 AcidCitric 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 AcidChances 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 ChlorideSodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.
In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.
Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.
"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.
Learn more about Sodium HydroxideParfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give a scent to products.
Also called "fragrance", this ingredient can be a blend of hundreds of chemicals or plant oils. This means every product with "fragrance" or "parfum" in the ingredients list is a different mixture.
For instance, Habanolide is a proprietary trade name for a specific aroma chemical. When used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics, most aroma chemicals fall under the broad labeling category of “FRAGRANCE” or “PARFUM” according to EU and US regulations.
The term 'parfum' or 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term.
For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance by INCI standards.
One example is Calendula flower extract. Calendula is an essential oil that still imparts a scent or 'fragrance'.
Depending on the blend, the ingredients in the mixture can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.
Parfum can also be used to mask or cover an unpleasant scent.
The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.
Learn more about ParfumIllite is an exfoliant.
Geraniol is used to add fragrance/parfum to a product. It is the main component of citronellol. It is a monoterpenoid and an alcohol.
Monoterpenes are naturally found in many parts of different plants.
Geraniol can be found in many essential oils including Rose Oil and Citronella Oil. The scent of Geraniol is often described as "rose-like". Many foods also contain Geraniol for fruit flavoring.
Geraniol can irritate the skin when exposed to air. However, irritation depends on the ability of geraniol to penetrate into the skin. In general, geraniol is not able to penetrate skin easily.
Geraniol is colorless and has low water-solubility. However, it is soluble in common organic solvents.
Like citronellol, it is a natural insect repellent.
2,6-Octadien-1-ol, 3,7-dimethyl-, (2E)-
Learn more about GeraniolCitronellol is used to add fragrance/parfum to a product. It is often derived from plants such as roses. In fact, it can be found in many essential oils including geranium, lavender, neroli, and more. The scent of Citronellol is often described as "fresh, grassy, and citrus-like".
Since the Citronellol molecule is already unstable, Citronellol becomes irritating on the skin when exposed to air.
Citronellol is a modified terpene. Terpenes are unsaturated hydrocarbons found in plants. They make up the primary part of essential oils.
Citronellol is not able to be absorbed into deeper layers of the skin. It has low permeability,
Citronellol is also a natural insect repellent.
Learn more about CitronellolCi 17200 is a synthetic reddish-purple dye.
Ci 14700 is a synthetic red dye.
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Where it's from
IDC Institute is a Spanish brand
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.
Read more about us· Published June 7, 2025 • Added by Elena_840