Korean court women during the Joseon dynasty are said to have used the milky water left over from washing rice as a cleanser and brightener. Whether the historical accuracy holds up to scholarly scrutiny is debatable, but the ingredient science behind rice's skincare benefits is not. Beauty of Joseon's Radiance Cleansing Balm takes this traditional ingredient and builds a modern double-cleanse product around it — then, after its initial launch, went back and made it better by stripping out the ingredients that didn't belong.
The reformulated version is a meaningful improvement over the original. Gone are the beeswax (replaced with synthetic wax for a vegan formula), the artificial fragrance, and the essential oils that had no business being in a product marketed for sensitive skin. What remains is a streamlined formula centered on three forms of rice: bran oil for emollient cleansing, seed water for hydration, and extract for brightening. It's the kind of reformulation that suggests a brand actually listening to its community rather than just repackaging.
The texture is what first sold this product to the K-beauty faithful. It's a firm sherbet that yields immediately under warm fingertips, melting into a silky oil that has just the right amount of slip. You can feel it working — not in an aggressive, tingling way, but in the satisfying sensation of waterproof mascara and stubborn sunscreen dissolving under gentle circular motions. Add water, and the oil transforms into a milky emulsion that rinses clean without the greasy aftermath that plagues cheaper cleansing balms.
Sea buckthorn oil is the ingredient that gives this balm its personality. Most cleansing balms use neutral oils — sunflower, mineral, jojoba — that dissolve makeup without contributing much else. Sea buckthorn oil brings omega-7 fatty acids (palmitoleic acid), which actively support skin barrier function, along with carotenoids that give the balm its distinctive warm golden tint. The antioxidant profile means the cleansing step isn't just removing things from your skin — it's mildly protective while it does so.
The lactobacillus/soybean ferment extract is an interesting inclusion for a rinse-off product. Fermented soybean contains isoflavones and amino acids in smaller, more bioavailable forms than unfermented soy. Whether these compounds have enough skin contact time during a cleansing step to deliver meaningful benefits is debatable — the balm is on your face for perhaps ninety seconds to two minutes. But the inclusion signals formulation thoughtfulness, and the soybean ferment contributes to the formula's overall skin-conditioning feel. Coix lacryma-jobi — Job's tears, a grain with its own long history in hanbang herbal tradition — sits alongside the rice trio, keeping the whole formula on-theme for a brand Sumin Lee founded in 2016 explicitly around Joseon-era ingredient lore. Details like that are why the ingredient list reads like a thesis statement rather than a parts bin.
Oat meal extract provides the soothing backbone. For anyone whose skin tends to react to the cleansing step — getting red, tight, or irritated — the anti-inflammatory beta-glucans in oat extract help buffer that response. This is particularly noticeable compared to cleansing balms that use only emollients without soothing agents; the post-cleanse skin feel is genuinely softer and calmer. Technique determines most of the experience. Start with dry hands and a dry face — water on the skin prevents the oils from properly grabbing makeup — scoop a grape-sized amount, and give the massage a full sixty to ninety seconds, lingering wherever your sunscreen is thickest. Only then add lukewarm water to trigger the milky emulsion. Rushed, the balm underperforms; done properly, it's the most pleasant two minutes in the routine.
The trade-offs are few but worth noting. The jar packaging, while attractive, requires dipping your fingers or a spatula into the product with each use — less hygienic than a tube or pump, though the included spatula mitigates this. The formula can soften noticeably in warm environments, which affects the satisfying sherbet texture that is part of the product's appeal. And if you skip the second cleanser step, a slight film can remain that may not agree with acne-prone skin over time.
PEG-20 glyceryl triisostearate and PEG-10 isostearate serve as the emulsifying agents that allow the balm to rinse clean with water. PEGs are a point of contention in the clean beauty community, though cosmetic chemists generally consider them safe at these concentrations. If you strictly avoid PEGs, this product won't work for you — but cosmetically, they're the reason the balm emulsifies so cleanly instead of leaving an oily residue. The community numbers back the reformulation's success: around 4,000 reviews averaging 4.7, with users consistently citing the effortless removal of waterproof makeup, the soft non-stripped after-feel, and the sherbet texture as reasons to repurchase. The recurring complaints match the trade-offs above almost line for line — the film without a second cleanse, the jar hygiene, the warm-weather softening — plus occasional reports of a mild breakout adjustment period in the first week or two.
At $19 for 100ml, this sits in the sweet spot of K-beauty cleansing balms. It undercuts most of the big-name K-beauty cleansing balms by several dollars while offering a more interesting ingredient profile. The price recently dropped from its original MSRP on several retailers, making the per-ounce cost even more competitive. An 80ml size exists for the commitment-averse, the frosted Joseon-inspired jar looks properly elegant on a shelf, and the formula is pregnancy-safe.
This is the kind of product that converts people to double cleansing. The experience is pleasant enough that the extra step feels like a ritual rather than a burden, and the results — skin that's genuinely clean but still hydrated — demonstrate why two gentler cleansing steps outperform one aggressive one.
