Best Korean cleansing oils and balms

By Hannah Reid · Published September 2026 · 7 min read · How we rank

If you wear sunscreen, your evening wash has a harder job than it looks. Sunscreen is made to stay put through sweat and water, and so is long-wear makeup, so a foam or gel on its own leaves some of it behind. A first cleanse deals with that: an oil or balm you massage over dry skin, which loosens the layer, then turns milky and washes away when you add water. Below are the three Korean picks I'd choose from — a solid balm for most skin, a light liquid oil for skin that runs oily, and a fragrance-free oil for skin that reacts. All three get sunscreen off. Which one you'll keep using depends on your skin type and on how much mess you can stand at the sink.

Best overall

Banila Co

Clean It Zero Original Cleansing Balm

4.3

A solid balm that turns to oil on warm skin, takes sunscreen and makeup with it, and washes away without a drip — the tidiest first cleanse for most skin.

What we like

No drip; easy to meter by eye
Suits dry and makeup-heavy skin

Keep in mind

Contains added fragrance
Still needs a water-based second wash

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Best for oily skin

Anua

Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil

4.3

A thin liquid oil that goes milky with water and leaves almost nothing on the skin after the rinse — the pick for oily and combination skin, and the quickest of the three to use.

What we like

Little left on the skin after rinsing
Quickest of the three to use

Keep in mind

A liquid oil can run at the sink
Contains added fragrance

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Best fragrance-free

Beplain

Mung Bean Cleansing Oil

4.3

One of the few Korean cleansing oils with no fragrance at all — thin and light, enough for daily sunscreen, and built for skin that reacts to perfume.

What we like

Fragrance-free, which is rare in an oil
Light; goes milky and rinses clean

Keep in mind

Thin — not for heavy, long-wear makeup
A narrower, sensitive-skin focus

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Where it fits in the routine

At a glance

Feature	Banila Co Clean It Zero Original Cleansing Balm	Anua Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil	Beplain Mung Bean Cleansing Oil
Type	Cleansing balm	Cleansing oil (liquid)	Cleansing oil (liquid)
Where it fits	First cleanse — before a water wash
Hero ingredient	Ester-oil balm base	Ester oils + plant oils	Ester oils + green-tea-seed oil
Size	180ml / 6.08 fl oz	200ml	200ml
Skin types	All, incl. dry and makeup-heavy	Oily, combination	Sensitive, reactive
Fragrance	Added fragrance	Added fragrance	None

What to look for in a cleansing oil or balm

Judge the rinse first, because that’s where these products differ. Massage any of them over dry skin and it will loosen sunscreen; the question is what happens when you add water. A good one turns cloudy on contact and washes away, and your skin feels soft afterwards with no slick left on it. A poor one smears the grime around and needs a second wash to get rid of it. Emulsifiers do this work, and you can’t read them off the front of the bottle, which is why the three below were chosen on how they rinse.

Ignore the hero ingredient. Heartleaf, green tea, rice, acerola — in a product that’s on your face for under a minute and then down the drain, none of it has time to do anything. It’s there to sell the bottle. Fragrance does matter. Almost every Korean cleansing oil carries some, and if perfume is what sets your skin off, there’s one pick on this page with none.

Then pick a form. A balm is a solid you scoop out of a jar; an oil is a liquid you pump. They use the same kind of oils, so the choice is about handling: the balm is tidier and gives dry skin a slower, cushioned melt, while the oil is lighter and quicker for skin that runs oily. We compare an oil and a balm head to head if that’s your only question, and the double-cleansing guide covers the water-based wash that comes second.

Why every night? Because of sunscreen. The American Academy of Dermatology’s advice is broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher on every day you’ll be outside, and that layer has to come off before bed.

Best overall: Banila Co Clean It Zero Original Cleansing Balm

Best for most people — dry, normal or makeup-heavy skin that wants a first cleanse with the least mess around it.

Hand this one to a beginner. Firm in the jar, it softens to a thin oil the second it meets warm skin, breaks down a day’s sunscreen and makeup, then clouds over with water and washes off clean. What sells it over a bottle of oil is control: a scoop lifts out on the little spatula in the lid, the amount is easy to judge by eye, and there’s nothing runny to spill or stray near your eyes. It also stretches across more skin types than either oil. A slow-melting balm gives dry skin something to hold onto, and it copes with a fuller face of makeup.

The jar linked here is the large 180 ml size, the biggest Banila makes. At a scoop a night it lasts a long while, so it suits someone who already knows they’ll keep the habit.

Two things to weigh before you buy. It carries added fragrance, so if your skin reacts to perfume, the Beplain oil below is built for that. And, like everything on this page, it’s only half the job: a gentle water-based wash comes after to clean the skin itself. The full Clean It Zero review has the ingredient detail.

Best for oily skin: Anua Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil

Best for oily or combination skin — the light, everyday oil you can reach for each night without a second thought.

Skin that runs oily or combination does best with this one. It’s a thin liquid, so after the rinse there’s almost nothing left sitting on the face, and that’s the finish oilier skin gets on with. It dissolves sunscreen and makeup the same way the balm does, turns milky under the tap, and washes off leaving no greasy trace. It’s also the easiest of the three to use in a hurry, which matters on the nights you’re tempted to skip the step.

Liquid has its drawbacks. It takes a few nights to learn how much to pump, and a thin oil runs, so until then expect some of it on your wrist or the counter. It carries added fragrance too, so it isn’t the pick for reactive skin.

Best fragrance-free: Beplain Mung Bean Cleansing Oil

Best for reactive skin — the first cleanse to reach for if perfume is what usually sets your skin off.

This is the fragrance-free pick, and fragrance-free cleansing oils are hard to find. Perfume is a common cause of contact allergy — DermNet puts fragrance allergy at an estimated 1 to 2 percent of people — and a wash-off product is on the skin for under a minute, which counts in its favor. Even so, if you already know perfume flares your skin, there’s no reason to keep it in a step you do every night. The oil itself is thin and light, with green-tea-seed oil in the base, no added scent and no essential oils. It goes milky with water, rinses clean, and handles daily sunscreen and light makeup without fuss.

The thin texture has a limit. A heavy, long-wear face of makeup wants the balm above, which has more to work with. Reactive skin doesn’t usually wear much of that, so for most people who need this pick the limit won’t bite. Follow it with a fragrance-free water-based wash, such as the Beplain foam that leads our sensitive-skin cleanser picks, and the whole cleanse stays clear of the ingredient your skin objects to.

Which one’s right for you?

Not sure? Take the Clean It Zero balm: it suits the widest range of skin, and the jar-and-spatula format is the tidiest to use. Oily or combination skin usually gets on better with the Anua oil, which leaves the least behind after the rinse. And if perfume is what sets your skin off, the Beplain oil is the only one of the three with no fragrance in it.

Our verdict

All three carry the same rating, and I’d stand behind any of them as a nightly first cleanse. For most people the Clean It Zero is the one: low on mess, kind to dry skin, and easy to keep up. Oily and combination skin will prefer the lighter Anua oil. Reactive skin has one answer here, the fragrance-free Beplain.