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innisfree Volcanic BHA Pore Cleansing Foam

Ingredient analysis and how the ad lines read

Product photo of innisfree Volcanic BHA Pore Cleansing Foam

Read on 2026-09-08

What is this product?

Reach for this if you want a cheap, genuinely strong degreasing wash for oily or acne-prone skin, and skip it if you came for the BHA in its name. It is a Korean foam cleanser sold in 80g, 150g and 250g, and it carries a real Korean functional-cosmetic registration for acne relief (number 2023011322) with 살리실릭애씨드 printed at 5,000ppm, the notified level for that function. The catch is the vehicle: its 26-item statutory list runs four free fatty acids plus 포타슘하이드록사이드, which is an in-situ saponified soap and therefore an alkaline base, and salicylic acid needs to stay un-ionised at low pH to exfoliate. No pH is published on any surface, so the acid is disclosed, quantified and hard to credit as doing much in a wash rinsed off within a minute. Best for oily, acne-prone and sunscreen-heavy routines; caution for sensitive, dry or barrier-impaired skin and for anyone reactive to fragrance, since 향료 is declared.

What makes it different?

Three things set it apart on this shelf. It is one of the few mass-market foam cleansers carrying a Korean functional-cosmetic registration number for acne relief on its own page, with the notified active printed at the notified concentration rather than gestured at. It discloses ppm figures for both of its named actives, 살리실릭애씨드 at 5,000ppm and 화산재 at 1,073ppm, which turns the usual volcanic-ash marketing into a quantity a reader can weigh, and reveals the ash to be present at roughly a tenth of a percent. And the brand cites named-institution testing with a sample size and a date attached, which is rare in this category, though the strongest of those numbers was measured on artificial leather rather than skin.

What is in it?

The full ingredient list as the brand publishes it, in the printed order. Each name links to what we know about that ingredient.

This brand publishes its ingredient list in Korean only. Names below are the matching INCI names from the Korean Cosmetic Association ingredient dictionary, except 3 with no dictionary entry, left in Korean.

Key ingredientWorth a closer look

Ingredients with no mark are ones we found nothing notable about, and when marks overlap on one ingredient we show the caution first.

We could not place these in the list above: 글리세릴스테아레이트, 글라이콜다이스테아레이트, 카올린, 살리실릭애씨드(5,000ppm)

Did the ad claims hold up?

We checked 8 lines this product advertises against the ingredient list and public documents. One of them holds up. The rest are only partly right or have nothing behind them.

Claims translated from Korean, originals preserved.

backed by evidence1

  • Functional cosmetic for acne-prone skin relief 2023011322
    Korean original

    여드름성 피부 완화 기능성 화장품 2023011322

likely, not proven2

  • The hot cost-effective cleansing foam recognized by the Korea Consumer Agency
    Korean original

    한국 소비자원에서 인정한 화제의 가성비 클렌징폼

  • With dense, creamy fresh cream foam, gentle and clean pore cleansing in every corner.
    Korean original

    쫀쫀하고 크리미한 생크림 거품으로 구석구석 부드럽고 깨끗한 모공 클렌징

partly backed1

  • Actual test results confirmed 94% improvement in fine dust cleansing effect (IEC Korea Co., Ltd., 2021. 10. 25, 33 adults)
    Korean original

    실제 시험 결과 미세먼지 세정 94% 개선 효과 확인(아이이씨코리아(주), 2021. 10. 25, 성인 33명)

overstated ad line3

  • BHA (salicylic acid 5,000ppm): pore impurity care (dissolves sebum inside pores), dead skin and sebum care
    Korean original

    BHA(살리실릭애씨드 5,000ppm): 모공 속 노폐물 케어(모공 안쪽의 피지를 녹임), 각질 및 피지 케어

  • Acne-prone skin relief functional completion, all hypoallergenic tests completed, so even sensitive skin can use with confidence.
    Korean original

    여드름성 피부 완화 기능성 완료, 하이포 알러제닉 테스트를 모두 완료하여 민감한 피부도 안심하고 사용

  • Confirmed strong SPF cleansing power by removing 100% or more of sunscreen (in-vitro test, no difference before and after product application and removal on artificial leather)
    Korean original

    자외선 차단제 100% 이상 제거로 강력한 SPF 세정력을 확인했습니다(in-vitro 시험, 인조피혁에서 제품 도포 및 제거 후 시험 전후 차이 없음)

no evidence1

  • Vegan certification
    Korean original

    비건 인증

Each line is quoted as the brand published it, and each one was read on its own against the ingredient list and the documents the brand publishes.

How we read these lines

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Products we read alongside this one.

Which articles cover it?

Articles on this site that write about this product.