The Truth About Pore Strips, Pore Vacuums, and 'Shrinking' Your Pores
You cannot shrink a pore. But you can change how visible it is — and almost everything sold to 'minimize' pores is pulling the wrong lever.
Supporting role for Excess Oiliness
What Makes This Different
It is a foam gel with real calendula petals suspended in it and a declared 7,396 ppm calendula extract, built on a sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate that the brand mitigates more thoroughly than most, with hydroxysultaine, cocoyl glycinate and three glucosides, and then dressed in a fifty-three-ingredient tail of six hyaluronates, four acids, ectoin, vitamin C and a dozen botanicals that read as a serum's list on a rinse-off; fragrance-free and fifteen dollars, it is a good oily-skin foam with a sensitive-skin costume.
IUNIK
IUNIK Calendula Balancing Foam Gel Cleanser Review
Petal-Flecked Foam for Oily Skin
cleanser gel k beauty Paraben Free Vegan Not Cruelty Free
A rich-foaming, fragrance-free gel for oily and combination skin wearing a sensitive-skin costume: real calendula petals and a declared three-quarters of a percent extract over a sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate that the brand mitigates more thoroughly than most, with glycerin, allantoin and panthenol for the rinse and a fifty-three-ingredient tail of acids, hyaluronates, ectoin, vitamin C and a dozen botanicals that belongs on a serum, for fifteen dollars. It cleans well and cheaply and is the wrong wash for the reactive faces the flower attracts; oily skin gets a good deal, and everyone else should read the second line.
Made in South Korea Launched 2025 Best for spring-summer PAO: 12 months
Run it through our tools Clashes with my routine? Pregnancy-safe? Find a cheaper dupe Patch-test it first
Fifteen months on sale since a June 2025 launch and ten reviews at a 4.9 on the brand's store give this cleanser a thin record, and the brand declares its calendula in ppm and publishes no testing; the assessment rests on the fully disclosed fifty-three-ingredient list, the well-documented behaviour of its surfactant class and the leave-on literature on calendula rather than on user experience.
Verdicts All excess oiliness products →All blackheads products →All large pores products →
How well it fits each concern
Verdict by concern tap a concern for the case
Supporting rolefor Excess OilinessIn your profileYou chose · Rinse-off gel: Salicylic Acid gets seconds of contact, so this supports a routine for excess oiliness rather than treating it.
The case for it
- Salicylic Acid, Capryloyl Salicylic Acid, Lactic Acid and Gluconolactone has early or mechanistic evidence for this concern, not trial-backed standing.
- It is in a rinse-off product, so it gets seconds of contact rather than the leave-on exposure the evidence assumes.
- The formula carries none of the triggers this concern is sensitive to.
What would change this: The same active in a leave-on form would be judged on its evidence rather than its contact time.
Same rule for everyone. “Supporting role” is the verdict on 8,197 of 45,024 concern verdicts across the catalog; rule R6 decided 2,017 of them. As of September 25, 2026, engine 5.1.1.
Brand or formulator? Disclose a concentration or correct a fact →
Show the work
- Rule
- R6 — Contact time cannot deliver a leave-on claim; the product is judged on its job (cleansing without aggravating). Explicit exceptions (BPO wash, SA cleanser, medicated shampoos) never reach this rule because their rows set rinse_off_ok. · the full register
- Carrying active
- Salicylic Acid, Capryloyl Salicylic Acid, Lactic Acid and Gluconolactone
- Standing
- plausible — trials support it
- Form
- contact limited — studied range 30%, from the trials on the row; needs leave-on contact; judge it after ~6 weeks
- Tolerability
- gentle
- Row checked
- against its sources on July 17, 2026 (evidence table ev-2026.09-r228)
The studies behind the evidence row
- 30% Supramolecular Salicylic Acid Improved Symptoms and Skin Barrier in Papulopustular Rosacea — Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology — TRUE vehicle (matrix minus SA); investigator-initiated, China Medical University, no declared conflicts (2025), opened July 16, 2026
- Salicylic acid treats acne vulgaris by suppressing AMPK/SREBP1 pathway in sebocytes — Experimental Dermatology — in vitro SEB-1 sebocytes + rabbit ear; NO human data (2019), opened July 16, 2026
- Clinical Efficacy of a Salicylic Acid-Containing Gel on Acne Management and Skin Barrier Function: A 21-Day Prospective Study — Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology — SINGLE-ARM, not an RCT; L'Oréal/CeraVe-employed co-authors testing their own product; EXCLUDED, see notes (2025), opened July 16, 2026
- 30% supramolecular salicylic acid peels effectively treats acne vulgaris and reduces facial sebum — Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology — self-contrast, no control arm; EXCLUDED (2022), opened July 16, 2026
- Efficacy and safety of a facial serum and a mask containing salicylic acid and lipohydroxy acid in acne management: A randomized controlled trial — Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology — randomized, but BOTH arms received the SA serum (mask vs no mask); no vehicle arm; all authors L'Oréal China; EXCLUDED (2023), opened July 16, 2026
Good choicefor BlackheadsIn your profileYou chose · Salicylic Acid is an approved or monograph active for blackheads; this rinse-off gel carries it — short contact still counts for this active, but a leave-on does more.
The case for it
- Salicylic Acid, Capryloyl Salicylic Acid, Lactic Acid and Gluconolactone is a first-line active — approved, monograph-listed or named in current guidelines — for this concern.
- It is plausibly present at a working level, though the concentration is not declared.
- The formula carries none of the triggers this concern is sensitive to.
What would change this: A declared concentration would move this to a firmer reading of the dose.
Same rule for everyone. “Good choice” is the verdict on 9,564 of 45,024 concern verdicts across the catalog; rule R2r decided 408 of them. As of September 25, 2026, engine 5.1.1.
Brand or formulator? Disclose a concentration or correct a fact →
Show the work
- Rule
- R2r — Rinse-off exceptions (BPO wash, salicylic acid cleanser) deliver a real but smaller effect than the leave-on form; they cap at 'good choice'. Medicated shampoos for scalp concerns are exempt — the shampoo is the treatment form. Editorial decision 2 Sep 2026, pending advisory review. · the full register
- Carrying active
- Salicylic Acid, Capryloyl Salicylic Acid, Lactic Acid and Gluconolactone
- Standing
- first line — a regulator recognises it for this use; trials support it · per 21 CFR § 333.350 - Labeling of acne drug products. (US Code of Federal Regulations (Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School)), opened July 27, 2026
- Form
- plausible — studied range 0.5–2%, from the OTC monograph or label; judge it after ~6 weeks
- Tolerability
- gentle
- Row checked
- against its sources on July 27, 2026 (evidence table ev-2026.09-r228)
The studies behind the evidence row
- OTC monograph, Topical Acne Drug Products — salicylic acid 0.5–2% recognized as an acne treatment active — US Food and Drug Administration
- 2% supramolecular salicylic acid hydrogel vs. adapaline gel in mild to moderate acne vulgaris treatment: A multicenter, randomized, evaluator-blind, parallel-controlled trial — Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology (2024), opened July 17, 2026
Supporting rolefor Large PoresIn your profileYou chose · Rinse-off gel: Salicylic Acid gets seconds of contact, so this supports a routine for large pores rather than treating it.
The case for it
- Salicylic Acid, Capryloyl Salicylic Acid, Lactic Acid and Gluconolactone has been researched for this concern and the evidence does not support it.
- It is in a rinse-off product, so it gets seconds of contact rather than the leave-on exposure the evidence assumes.
- The formula carries none of the triggers this concern is sensitive to.
What would change this: The same active in a leave-on form would be judged on its evidence rather than its contact time.
Same rule for everyone. “Supporting role” is the verdict on 8,197 of 45,024 concern verdicts across the catalog; rule R6 decided 2,017 of them. As of September 25, 2026, engine 5.1.1.
Brand or formulator? Disclose a concentration or correct a fact →
Show the work
- Rule
- R6 — Contact time cannot deliver a leave-on claim; the product is judged on its job (cleansing without aggravating). Explicit exceptions (BPO wash, SA cleanser, medicated shampoos) never reach this rule because their rows set rinse_off_ok. · the full register
- Carrying active
- Salicylic Acid, Capryloyl Salicylic Acid, Lactic Acid and Gluconolactone
- Standing
- none
- Form
- contact limited — studied range 0.5–2%, from the OTC monograph or label; needs leave-on contact; judge it after ~6 weeks
- Tolerability
- gentle
The studies behind the evidence row
- Efficacy and safety of a facial serum and a mask containing salicylic acid and lipohydroxy acid in acne management: A randomized controlled trial — Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology (2023), opened July 16, 2026
- 2% supramolecular salicylic acid hydrogel vs. adapaline gel in mild to moderate acne vulgaris treatment: A multicenter, randomized, evaluator-blind, parallel-controlled trial — Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology (2024), opened July 16, 2026
- Evaluation of 30% supramolecular salicylic acid followed by 1565-nm non-ablative fractional laser on facial acne and subsequent enlarged pores — Lasers in Medical Science (2023), opened July 16, 2026
- The efficacy and adverse effects of treatment options for facial pores: A review article — Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology (2023), opened July 16, 2026
Does the jobDoes what a cleanser is for: puts something back, surfactant mildness. Not measured from the label: pH match to skin.
A verdict is DermApproved’s assessment of how well a product’s ingredients fit a concern — never a claim about what the product treats. Evidence dots and collected reviews sit beside it and are never blended in. Rules 0.5.1 · evidence table ev-2026.09-r228 · how we decide
Assessment
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✓ Dense, creamy, high-volume foam from a gel
- ✓ Olefin sulfonate lead mitigated by four co-surfactants and glycerin
- ✓ Declared calendula extract at 7,396 ppm with visible petals
- ✓ Fragrance-free, alcohol-free, silicone-free and vegan
- ✓ Cleans oily and combination skin thoroughly without squeak
- ✓ Fifteen dollars for 150 ml
Cons
- ✗ Sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate lead is strong for dry and sensitive skin
- ✗ Mugwort, bay and hinoki extracts in the tail are sensitiser notes
- ✗ Fifty-three ingredients, most of them rinsed away
- ✗ Four acids at the tail are label content, not exfoliation
- ✗ Six hyaluronate forms in a rinse-off
- ✗ Fifteen months on sale with ten reviews
Review
Full Review
The petals sell the tube. Real calendula, whole, suspended in a translucent yellow gel, is the kind of detail that makes a cleanser look like a skincare treat, and the brand backs the look with a number, calendula flower extract at 7,396 ppm and petals at 1,000 ppm, roughly three-quarters of a percent of marigold in the gel. Marigold has a genuine literature, wound healing and anti-inflammatory effects in leave-on preparations at higher doses, and a rinse-off at this dose gets a modest soothing note and a colour from it; what it does not get is a gentler surfactant, and the second ingredient in this cleanser is sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate, one of the stronger sulfate-free anionics on the market. The tube is a good oily-skin foam with a flower in it, and the flower should not be mistaken for the formula.
The formulator, to be fair, has done more than most to soften that lead. Cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine at fourth, sodium cocoyl glycinate at fifth, lauryl glucoside at seventh and decyl and coco-glucoside further down are four mitigating co-surfactants where the brand's own family wash uses two, glycerin at third and propylene glycol laurate at eighth cushion the rinse, and the result is a dense, generous foam that cleans oily and combination skin thoroughly and rinses fresh and matte without the squeak a plain olefin sulfonate leaves. Then comes the tail, and it is a long one: a hibiscus ferment, green tea, red pine, mugwort, bay laurel, hinoki, apple, saw palmetto, coffee and tomato extracts, six hyaluronate forms, allantoin, panthenol, ectoin, lactic acid, salicylic acid, gluconolactone, a triglyceride, ascorbic acid, tocopherol, capryloyl salicylic acid and xanthophylls, fifty-three ingredients in a product on the skin for under a minute, of which the glycerin, the allantoin and the panthenol survive the rinse and the rest goes down the drain. Only the two salicylates have any route into a pore, and their positions make that a slight assist on the nose at most. There is no fragrance, alcohol or silicone, and the brand's habit of listing a serum's worth of botanicals on a wash is on full display.
In use it is a pleasure for the skin it suits. A hazelnut of petal-flecked gel foams in wet hands into a dense, creamy lather that a cream cleanser would envy, glides over the face, lifts sunscreen and the day's oil in thirty seconds and rinses completely; oily and combination skin comes out fresh, matte and balanced, which is what the tube means by balancing, and normal skin gets a thorough morning wash. Dry skin feels the olefin sulfonate within a few days of twice-daily use as tightness across the cheeks, sensitive and eczema-prone skin has the surfactant and the mugwort, bay and hinoki extracts to contend with, and the honest routine for both is the brand's centella or beta-glucan cleansers, which are built on isethionate, glycinate and emollients rather than on foam power. The acids at the tail change nothing a user can see, the six hyaluronates change nothing a user can feel, and the calendula is a faint herbal note and a pleasant colour.
The pH claim on the tube is the one part of the balancing story that holds. Citric acid and tromethamine at the middle of the list buffer the gel to a mildly acidic range, which matters with an olefin sulfonate because the surfactant is harsher at alkaline pH and because an acidic wash leaves the skin's surface closer to where it started; the brand prints no figure, but the buffer pair is the sign of a formulator who set one. It does not make the surfactant mild, and it does make the foam kinder than the same molecule in a cheaper, unbuffered gel.
The brand's list-writing deserves a word, because it is the pattern across its range. IUNIK prints ppm figures that let a buyer see exactly what a headline means, which is admirable, and it also loads its lists with botanical and active tails that belong on leave-on products, which is the opposite habit and one that turns a fifteen-dollar foam into a fifty-three-ingredient document. On a serum that tail is at least in contact with the skin; on a rinse-off it is marketing, and the sensitive-skin buyer who reads calendula and ectoin and six hyaluronates on a cleanser is being invited to expect a gentleness the surfactant does not deliver. The gel has fifteen months of sale and ten reviews on the brand's store, no published testing and a declared calendula dose, and the assessment rests on the list.
Fifteen dollars for 150 ml is about six dollars a month at a hazelnut twice a day, cheap for a fragrance-free foam with a declared botanical dose and a genuinely good lather, and the value is real for oily and combination skin that wants a thorough, unscented wash with a little charm in the tube; the petals and the tail cost nothing, and the calendula oil in the same line makes a sensible first cleanse before it. Dry, sensitive, rosacea-prone and eczema-prone skin should take the brand's gentler cleansers, anyone expecting the acids to exfoliate should buy a leave-on BHA, and anyone who bought it for the flower should enjoy the flower and trust the foam. Petals in the gel, a strong surfactant under them, and a good cheap wash for the skin that can take it.
Formula
Key Ingredients
The hero actives that drive this product's performance.
| Ingredient | Function | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate with Hydroxysultaine, Cocoyl Glycinate and Glucosides | Second, the strong, sulfate-free anionic that gives a gel its rich foam, softened here by cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine fourth, sodium cocoyl glycinate fifth, lauryl glucoside seventh and two more glucosides further down, which is more mitigation than most olefin sulfonate washes bother with; the result is a foam that cleans oily and combination skin thoroughly and rinses less tight than its lead ingredient would alone, and still a wash that dry or reactive faces should treat as an evening cleanser rather than a twice-daily one. | Not yet assessed |
| Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract (7,396 ppm) and Petals (1,000 ppm) (0.74%) | Ninth and tenth, the marigold extract at a declared 7,396 ppm, about three-quarters of a percent, with whole petals at 1,000 ppm suspended in the gel for the look; calendula has a real wound-healing and anti-inflammatory literature in leave-on preparations at higher doses, and in a rinse-off at this dose it is a modest soothing note and the reason the gel is yellow and the tube says balancing. | Not yet assessed |
| Salicylic Acid, Capryloyl Salicylic Acid, Lactic Acid and Gluconolactone | Fortieth, forty-ninth, thirty-ninth and forty-third of fifty-three, a beta hydroxy acid, its lipophilic ester, an alpha hydroxy acid and a polyhydroxy acid, all at the tail of a rinse-off with under a minute of contact, where only the two salicylates have a plausible route into a pore; they let the brand call the gel pore-balancing and contribute a slight keratolytic assist on the nose at most, and the wash is not an exfoliating cleanser in any working sense. | Regulator-approved for Blackheads · emerging certainty |
| Glycerin, Allantoin, Panthenol and Six Hyaluronates | Third, thirty-second, thirty-fifth and scattered through the tail, the humectant and calming set that survives the rinse and keeps the after-feel from squeaking; glycerin at third does most of that work, allantoin and panthenol add a little calm, and the six hyaluronate forms are the brand's count for the label in a product where they are rinsed away. | Not yet assessed |
Ingredient standings describe the active at treatment-level doses and vehicles; this product's own condition grades weigh its actual formula.
Full INCI List
Water, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Acrylates Copolymer, Lauryl Glucoside, Propylene Glycol Laurate, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract (7,396 ppm), Calendula Officinalis Flower (1,000 ppm), Lactobacillus/Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Ferment Filtrate, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Pinus Densiflora Leaf Extract, Artemisia Princeps Leaf Extract, Laurus Nobilis Leaf Extract, Chamaecyparis Obtusa Leaf Extract, Malus Domestica Fruit Extract, Serenoa Serrulata Fruit Extract, Coffea Arabica (Coffee) Seed Extract, Solanum Lycopersicum (Tomato) Fruit Extract, Acacia Senegal Gum, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Decyl Glucoside, Methylpropanediol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Chloride, Coco-Glucoside, Tromethamine, Citric Acid, Allantoin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Panthenol, Pentylene Glycol, Propanediol, Butylene Glycol, Ectoin, Lactic Acid, Salicylic Acid, Glycolipids, Gluconolactone, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sodium Carbonate, Ascorbic Acid, Tocopherol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Capryloyl Salicylic Acid, Xanthophylls, Potassium Hyaluronate, Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate.
✓ Pregnancy Safe ✓ Fragrance Free✓ Alcohol Free✗ Oil Free✓ Silicone Free✓ Paraben Free✓ Sulfate Free✗ Cruelty Free✓ Vegan✗ Fungal Acne Safe
Sodium C14-16 Olefin SulfonateArtemisia Princeps Leaf ExtractLaurus Nobilis Leaf ExtractChamaecyparis Obtusa Leaf Extract
Calendula Officinalis Flower ExtractArtemisia Princeps Leaf Extract
Compatibility
Skin Match
Routine Step
cleanser
Time of Day
AM & PM
Layering Tips
A hazelnut of gel lathered in wet hands and massaged for thirty seconds to a minute, then rinsed, as the morning wash for oily skin or the second step after the brand's calendula cleansing oil at night; dry and sensitive skin should keep it to evenings and use the brand's milder centella or beta-glucan cleansers otherwise. A leave-on BHA does the pore work the tail acids only hint at.
Results Timeline
Thoroughly clean, matte, fresh-feeling skin from the first wash, with the olefin sulfonate doing the work and the glycerin and glucosides keeping the rinse from squeaking; oily skin feels balanced within days and dry skin feels the surfactant within a week of twice-daily use. The calendula soothes slightly during the wash, and the acids at the tail change nothing a user can see; a cleanser changes nothing beyond the rinse.
cleansing-oilsalicylic-acidniacinamidemoisturizer
Planning a combo? Check it against what you already use
Sample AM Routine
- IUNIK Calendula Balancing Foam Gel Cleanser
- Toner
- Moisturizer
- Sunscreen SPF 30+
Sample PM Routine
- Cleansing oil
- IUNIK Calendula Balancing Foam Gel Cleanser
- Leave-on BHA
- Moisturizer
Evidence
Science & Expert Perspective
The Science
The cleanser's behaviour follows its surfactant system. Sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate is a high-foaming anionic with an irritation potential closer to the alkyl sulfates than to amino-acid and glucoside surfactants; the mild-cleansing literature, including a 2004 review in Dermatologic Therapy on the impact of cleansers on the skin barrier, describes how amphoteric and amino-acid co-surfactants, nonionic glucosides and humectants reduce the protein binding and lipid extraction of a strong anionic, and this formula applies that mitigation more thoroughly than most, with cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine, sodium cocoyl glycinate, three glucosides and glycerin. Glycerin, allantoin and panthenol partly survive the rinse and account for the comfortable after-feel on normal skin.
Calendula officinalis has a real but leave-on literature: a 2023 review in Pharmaceuticals summarised its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and wound-healing properties, attributed to triterpenoids, flavonoids and carotenoids, with clinical evidence concentrated in ointments and creams for wounds and radiodermatitis; at a declared 7,396 ppm extract and 1,000 ppm petals in a rinse-off, its contribution is a modest soothing note. The tail of six hyaluronate forms, ectoin, ascorbic acid, tocopherol and a dozen botanical extracts sits at positions and contact times that preclude a measurable effect; salicylic acid and capryloyl salicylic acid are lipophilic enough to enter follicles during the wash at a level that makes them an assist rather than an exfoliant, and lactic acid and gluconolactone are water-soluble and inactive in a rinse-off.
The formula contains no fragrance, alcohol, sulfate or silicone; the olefin sulfonate is the drying agent of note, and calendula, mugwort, bay laurel and hinoki extracts are recognised or occasional sensitisers for the minority reactive to them.
- Cleansing without compromise: the impact of cleansers on the skin barrier and the technology of mild cleansing — Dermatologic Therapy (2004)
- An Updated Review on the Multifaceted Therapeutic Potential of Calendula officinalis L. — Pharmaceuticals (2023)
Dermatologist Perspective
A fragrance-free foaming gel on a mitigated olefin sulfonate is a reasonable daily cleanser for oily, combination and acne-prone skin, and clinicians would regard this one as competent for that group while steering dry, atopic, rosacea-prone and barrier-impaired patients toward a syndet or amino-acid cream wash, since the lead surfactant and the botanical tail are both avoidable risks for reactive skin whatever the calendula on the tube suggests. The calendula would be credited with a modest soothing note at its declared dose, the acids and hyaluronates dismissed as rinse-off label content, and a leave-on salicylic acid recommended for anyone whose goal is pore care; the mugwort, bay and hinoki extracts would be flagged for contact-allergy patients.
Guidance
Usage & Recommendations
How to Use
Wet the face, squeeze a hazelnut of gel into damp hands, work it into a dense foam and massage over the face for thirty seconds to a minute, then rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water. Oily and combination skin can use it morning and night; normal skin once a day; dry skin in the evening only, or not at all. At night it follows the brand's Calendula Complete Cleansing Oil on full-makeup days, and a leave-on BHA afterwards does the pore work the tail acids cannot. Avoid the eye area, and patch-test if sensitised to marigold or mugwort.
Value Assessment
Fifteen dollars for 150 ml works out around six dollars a month at a hazelnut twice a day, cheap for a fragrance-free foam with a declared botanical dose and an unusually good lather, and in line with pharmacy gel cleansers built on the same surfactant; the petals, the six hyaluronates and the botanical tail cost nothing and add nothing beyond charm. For oily and combination skin the value is good, and for dry or sensitive skin the same fifteen dollars buys the brand's centella or beta-glucan cleansers, which suit that skin far better.
Who Should Buy
Oily, combination and normal skin that wants a dense, unscented, thorough foam with a little charm in the tube at a low price, users of the brand's calendula cleansing oil who want its second-cleanse partner, and buyers who enjoy a visible botanical and understand that the foam, not the flower, is doing the cleaning.
Who Should Skip
Dry, sensitive, rosacea-prone, eczema-prone and barrier-impaired skin, for which the olefin sulfonate lead and the mugwort, bay and hinoki extracts are the wrong combination and the brand's gentler cleansers are the right one; anyone expecting the four acids to exfoliate or the six hyaluronates to hydrate in a rinse-off; and anyone sensitised to marigold.
Ready to try IUNIK Calendula Balancing Foam Gel Cleanser?
Buy at Amazon ♥ Details
Product Details
Texture
A translucent, pale yellow gel flecked with calendula petals that works up in wet hands into a dense, creamy, high-volume foam, glides over the face and rinses completely to a clean, fresh, slightly matte finish with no squeak on normal skin.
Scent
Unscented; a faint, clean, herbal-green note from the botanical extracts in the lather, gone after rinsing.
Packaging
A frosted, translucent 150 ml squeeze tube showing the yellow gel and petals, with a white flip cap, the IUNIK wordmark in gold and a yellow label reading Calendula Balancing Foam Gel Cleanser, Calendula Flower Extract, pH Balancing and All Skin Type; it stands on its cap and matches the brand's calendula cleansing oil.
mattenon-greasy
What to Expect on First Use
The first wash is a surprise in the hand, a gel with petals in it that foams like a cream cleanser, dense and generous, and a rinse that leaves oily and combination skin fresh and matte without a squeak; dry skin notices the olefin sulfonate within a few days of twice-daily use as tightness, and reactive skin may feel the mugwort, bay or hinoki. There is nothing to adjust to, and the calendula is a colour and a faint herbal note rather than an event.
How Long It Lasts
About two to three months at a hazelnut twice a day.
Best Season
spring summer
Background
The Story Behind This Product
IUNIK built its Calendula line on a cleansing oil and added this foam gel in June 2025 as its second-cleanse partner, sold as a double-cleansing duo, taking the whole-petal format that Korean calendula toners popularised into a foam; the brand's habit of long botanical tails and declared ppm figures is on full display, and the gel launched on the brand's US store at fifteen dollars for 150 ml.
About IUNIK Emerging Brand (2–5 years)
IUNIK launched in 2017 as a Korean indie brand built on extract-heavy, minimal formulas with a following on r/AsianBeauty, and sells through its own US-facing store, Amazon, YesStyle and iHerb; its Calendula line pairs a cleansing oil with this June 2025 foam gel. The brand publishes full ingredient lists with ppm figures and no clinical testing, and this list carries the brand's typical long botanical tail.
Brand founded: 2017 · Product launched: 2025
Myth vs. Reality
Common Myths
Myth
Visible calendula petals make this a calming cleanser for sensitive skin.
Reality
The petals are a look, the extract is a declared three-quarters of a percent in a rinse-off, and the wash is built on sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate, one of the stronger sulfate-free surfactants, with mugwort, bay and hinoki extracts in the tail; it is a good foam for oily and combination skin and a poor choice for reactive or eczema-prone faces, whatever the flower suggests. The brand's centella and beta-glucan cleansers are its gentle ones.
Myth
Salicylic acid, lactic acid and gluconolactone make this a pore-exfoliating cleanser.
Reality
The four acids sit at thirty-ninth to forty-ninth of fifty-three ingredients in a wash that is on the skin for under a minute; only the two salicylates have any route into a pore, and their contribution is a slight assist on the nose at most. The pore-balancing on the tube is the foam's thorough cleansing, and a leave-on BHA does the real work.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the IUNIK Calendula Balancing Foam Gel Cleanser good for sensitive skin?
Not especially; it is fragrance-free and carries allantoin, panthenol and a declared three-quarters of a percent calendula, but its lead surfactant is sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate, one of the stronger sulfate-free anionics, and its tail includes mugwort, bay and hinoki extracts. Oily and combination skin suits it; sensitive and dry faces do better with the brand's centella or beta-glucan cleansers.
How much calendula is in the IUNIK Calendula Foam Gel Cleanser?
The brand declares calendula flower extract at 7,396 ppm, about 0.74 percent, plus whole petals at 1,000 ppm suspended in the gel; that is a modest soothing note in a rinse-off and the source of the yellow colour and the flecks.
Does the IUNIK Calendula Balancing Foam Gel Cleanser exfoliate?
Only nominally: salicylic acid, capryloyl salicylic acid, lactic acid and gluconolactone sit at the tail of a fifty-three-ingredient list in a wash rinsed within a minute, and only the salicylates could reach a pore at all. It is a thorough foam rather than an exfoliating cleanser, and a leave-on BHA does the pore work.
Does the IUNIK Calendula Foam Gel Cleanser remove makeup?
Sunscreen and light makeup, yes, through its rich olefin sulfonate foam; a full face of long-wear makeup is better taken off with the brand's Calendula Complete Cleansing Oil first, which is how the brand sells the pair as a double-cleansing duo.
How does the IUNIK Calendula Foam Gel differ from the Centella Mild Cleansing Foam?
The calendula gel is the brand's rich-foaming oily-skin wash on an olefin sulfonate; the centella mild foam is a gentler syndet cream on isethionate and glycinate for normal and combination skin. Oily skin takes the calendula, and anyone who finds it tight takes the centella.
How much does the IUNIK Calendula Balancing Foam Gel Cleanser cost?
Fifteen dollars for a 150 ml tube on the brand's US store, cheap for a fragrance-free foam with a declared botanical dose; a hazelnut twice a day lasts two to three months.
Reviews
What Reviewers Tend to Say
Recurring themes our editors read across retailer reviews of this product — summaries in our words, not quotations, and not a substitute for your own patch test.
Rich, dense foam from a gel
Visible calendula petals
Fragrance-free with a faint herbal note
Fifteen dollars for 150 ml
Few reviews yet
Olefin sulfonate lead is strong for dry skin
Fifty-three ingredients in a rinse-off
Acids and hyaluronates at the tail are label content