OBgE Blackhead Scrub Balm

What is this product?

A low-pH-style wash-off scrub balm built on a mild isethionate surfactant base with heartleaf and green tea powders for physical scrubbing, salicylic acid and gluconolactone for chemical exfoliation, and tea tree oil plus many hydrating extracts toward the end. A reasonable pick for oily, congested skin that wants exfoliation with some soothing, but the removal and pore claims have no disclosed test data behind them.

What makes it different?

The base is Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, a relatively mild surfactant, rather than a soap or harsh anionic system, and physical exfoliation comes from actual powders (heartleaf, green tea, tea tree leaf) rather than plastic beads. Chemical exfoliation is layered in via gluconolactone at position 14 and salicylic acid at position 18. The later part of the list adds two ferments and at least seven forms or derivatives of hyaluronic acid, which is unusual breadth for a scrub product, and tea tree oil provides the aromatic character instead of added fragrance.

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 2 with no dictionary entry, left in Korean.

Key ingredient

• Water
• Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
• Glycerin
• Sodium Stearate
• Butylene Glycol
• Propylene Glycol
• Coco-Betaine
• Houttuynia Cordata Powder
• Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil
• 1,2-Hexanediol
• Caprylyl Glycol
• Illicium Verum (Anise) Fruit Extract
• Camellia Sinensis Leaf Powder
• Gluconolactone
• 티트리잎가루
• Disodium EDTA
• Citric Acid
• Salicylic Acid
• Camellia Sinensis Seed Oil
• Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil
• Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil
• Aureobasidium Pullulans Ferment
• Saccharomyces Ferment
• Hyaluronic Acid
• Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid
• Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate
• Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate
• Pentylene Glycol
• Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Extract
• Asparagus Cochinchinensis Root Extract
• Nelumbo Nucifera Leaf Extract
• Artemisia Princeps Leaf Extract
• Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer
• Sodium Hyaluronate
• Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate
• Cryptomeria Japonica Leaf Extract
• Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract
• Centella Asiatica Leaf Extract
• Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Leaf Water
• Lepidium Meyenii Root Extract
• 락토바실러스발효용해여과물
• Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract

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: 티트리잎오일, 녹차씨오일, 호호바씨오일, 올리브오일

Did the ad claims hold up?

We checked 6 lines this product advertises against the ingredient list and public documents. None of them hold up on their own. They are partly right at best.

Claims translated from Korean, originals preserved.

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