Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Blackhead Out Balm Review

Blackheads, they have always been one of my biggest skincare woes. Hence my hands automatically reach out to anything that says “blackhead removing/removal….” My last experience with one such product was devastating. It is an universally loved product, but didn’t work on me, instead aggravated my blackhead problem to a different level. (Read about the product and full experience HERE). After that incident, I promised not to go for any random blackhead removing product. But as soon as I saw this Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Blackhead Out Balm gracing the racks of the newly opened Innisfree store (Read about the new store HERE), I knew I had to try this.

 

PRODUCT OVERVIEW

 

WHAT IS IT?
An oil cleansing balm formulated with Jeju volcanic clusters which dissolves and removes impurities.
 

CLAIMS, INGREDIENTS, PRICE, QUANTITY, etc

PRICE:-
450 INR for 30ml

 

AVAILABILITY:-
Innisfree stores across the country, Nykaa and Amazon.

 

PACKAGING:-
The product comes in a brown colored tub with a screw cap. The tub further comes housed in a cardboard box which has all the necessary information like ingredients, direction to use, product claims, MRP, exp date, etc. The tub is compact and travel friendly. I wish it came with a spatula, so that we didn’t have to dig our fingers into the product, in the middle of the cleaning process, if needed. That’s kind of unhygienic.

TEXTURE:-
The product looks and feels like Vicks Vaporub. The texture is soft, balmy. It is opaque and solid in the tub, but melts and turns oily the moment you start to roll it onto the skin. Don’t get scared when I say oily, you can easily get rid of the grease with a cleanser. Fragrance is mild, nothing that disturbs my sensitive nose.

HOW TO USE:-
Before cleansing, apply an appropriate amount onto where blackheads are concentrated. Use fingertips to massage for 3-5 minutes and use cleansing foam or lukewarm water to rinse off afterwards.

MY EXPERIENCE:-
I have been using this balm for quite some time now, almost 2-3 times a week. The formula is supposed to loosen your blackheads and remove them. But this product does nothing to your blackheads. For the first time when I used this, I messaged for a good 3-5 minutes and then washed with cleansing foam and lukewarm water, diligently following all the instructions. But my nose was same as before. The second time, I took steam before using this. Messaged for about 10 minutes and finally could feel one or two grits on my finger. After washing, my nose still looked the same.
I tried incorporating this in my Fiddy’s Pore Cleansing Method (Read about the method HERE), but the results were still unsatisfactory.

Now you may ask why I still keep on using this. Well, because I have spent 450 rupees on it and money doesn’t grow on trees. The only good thing it does, it leaves skin feeling soft and smooth. So now, instead of wasting 10-15 minutes rigorously massaging in a hope to make this thing work on blackheads, I just spend 1-2 minutes thrice a week and the result is super soft and smooth skin.

 

So, in a nutshell, this product is an utter waste of money, time and efforts. It is quite disheartening to see your smug blackheads still there in full glory, unmoved by all your efforts. The most it does is, it soften the skin texture, again which you can achieve with any other cleansing balm or oil or exfoliator. For blackhead removal, there are strips and masks available in the market, which works better on removing blackheads, or at least in reducing their appearance. Hence, I wouldn’t repurchase this, nor would recommend this to others. But if you don’t have very stubborn blackheads and just want a smoother skin, then you can go for this.

 

RATING:-
I hate bashing products, but this is a dud.
2/5