Vanishing Pores for Smooth Skin | Medicube Zero Pore Pad 2.0 Review
Medicube is our ever-present overload in Korean beauty; producing exciting new formulas that we are honor-bound to test (and we also really like them). From their brilliant PDRN range to hydrate and glow, to their new Kojic Acid line that exudes radiance – we turned our attention to another famous skincare line; Zero Pore. Designed with careful, balancing extracts – this skincare line promises to refresh and balance skin. So, how do Medicube do it?
Well, let’s turn our attention to the most famous product in this skincare line; the Zero Pore Pad. Reformulated into 2.0 - these beloved toning pads provide a deep hydration and gentle cotton texture that can exfoliate and refresh skin with a single swipe. Delving in to the ingredients list, there are 24 different botanical extracts and ingredients – and a large number of them are ‘astringent.’ What does that mean? Simply put, these are ingredients that ‘tighten’ pores and help them shrink – to create more uniform, refreshed and flawless skin appearance.
These ingredients are balanced with salicylic acid to chemically exfoliate oily skin, as well as hydrating allantoin, sodium hyaluronate and trehalose to refresh and hydrate skin. Overall, this combination of cleansing, astringent extracts and hydration leads to a refreshing formula for success – which is why these toning pads have been excitedly bought throughout the globe. But let’s test it out in-house – is this the secret to poreless perfection? Let’s test it out!
What's In The Bottle?
Panthenol: Helps moisturize and cool irritation and redness to help improve skin barrier health and boost natural immunity.
Salicylic acid: gentle and cooling exfoliating acid (BHA) that helps clear pores and refresh oily skin types.
Trehalose: helps clear away damaged structures from skin barrier and seals in moisture for softer, refreshed and even skin.
Allantoin: boosts cell proliferation and enhances healing effect for improved skin barrier and gentle texture.
Orange/Lemon/Grapefruit/Bergamot Peel Oil: rich in antioxidants and powerful antimicrobial agents that help balance the skin microbiome, inhibit dark spots and boosts a healthy glow.
Rosemary/Eucalyptus/Lavender Oil: cooling anti-inflammatory agent that helps reduce redness, irritation and enhances skin moisture. Astringent oils also reduce pore size by stimulating contraction of skin for tighter, smoother appearance.
Grape/Lime/Lemon/Apple/Orange extract: vitamin-rich fruit extracts that help balance sebum on surface, boost vitamins and enhance natural glow.
Centella asciatica: healing and moisturizing herbal remedy that helps cool redness and irritation, whilst hydrating skin barrier.
Who Should Avoid?
These toning pads are gently formulated but can still be quite abrasive for sensitive skin types. It’s most highly recommended and soothing for oily skin types and acne, to help balance oils whilst keeping moisture high. These pads would not be the ideal product for dry skin types (although the exfoliation can help with dry spots), it’s more likely to dry out skin and increase irritation.
The Results
For oily, acne-prone skin – having a good cleansing routine is a must. And having a good toner is part of this. Medicube has made a variety of great, well-balanced toners (which I’ve tried before with great effect), so I was excited to test out the Zero Pore pads for their benefits to oily skin. On a journey to help balance oils and acne, the Zero Pore pads were an exciting addition to my routine. I used three pads every morning, first as a 5-minute mask over areas of large pores and then gently scrubbed away dead skin cells for a refreshed, hydrated face.
These were an amazing balance of deep moisture, exfoliation and balance of oils and these quickly became the best part of my routine. The only downside is that I was using them at a rapid pace – with a box of 70 pads running out quickly as I generally cleanse twice daily and use my toner the same amount. Toning pads are great for mechanical exfoliation – but in future to better fit my routine – I'd probably purchase the bottle of toner to maximize the benefit. The soft cotton left my skin feeling deeply refreshed with each use and there was an excellent improvement to the oil balance on my face.
After two weeks of use there was an immediate improvement to pore size, exfoliation and general skin texture. The balance of moisture and exfoliation created a lovely glassy effect and improved the hydration of my other skincare products. These pads are well designed and quite addictive to use and I was up to using 5 pads daily, which only gave me 2 weeks of use out of the box.
But, that's my only complaint as otherwise there was great effect, gentle exfoliation and deep relief to oily and irritated skin.
Final Thoughts
For a gentle balance in oily skin, these toning pads are refreshing and light. They would have limited use outside of oily or acne-prone skin and would most likely be drying for dry or sensitive skin types. But, for a refreshing toner pad - these are really high-quality.
Looking for more exciting Medicube products to enjoy? Shop the full range on Arktastic. From PDRN, Azelaic Acid, AGE-R and more - we have it all!
For more exciting skincare reads, check out our blog on the famous skincare device ‘AGE-R Booster Pro.’ Or check out another refreshing toner from Medicube with the Kojic Acid Toner
The Science of Medicube’s AGE-R Booster Pro
Medicube Kojic Acid Resurfacing Toner Review
