Green plum water sounds soothing, but a cleanser is ultimately judged by the cleansing system wrapped around it. Picture buying for the botanical story and only later checking whether you wanted a conventional gel, cream cleanser, balm, or oil. This review starts with the complete official formula and helps you decide whether this straightforward water-based gel matches the job you need it to do.
Formula-first cleanser review · checked August 18, 2026
Quick answer
Beauty of Joseon Green Plum Refreshing Cleanser is a 100 ml water-based gel with a complete official 29-ingredient record. Its formula opens with water and Prunus Mume Fruit Water, then uses Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine and Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate as early cleansing materials. Glycerin follows before salts, preservation-support materials, Citric Acid, and a series of plant extracts. It is a straightforward fragrance-screened choice for shoppers who want a conventional gel rather than an oil, balm, cream cleanser, or soap bar.
Bottom line: choose it when you want a quick-rinsing gel, an official formula without listed fragrance or essential oil, and a simple place in a one-cleanser routine. Choose another format if gels regularly leave your skin tight or if you need to remove tenacious makeup in one step. Ingredient names describe formula structure, but they cannot guarantee gentleness or prove a finished-product result.
Beauty of Joseon Green Plum Refreshing Cleanser
- Size
- 100 ml
- Best for
- Shoppers wanting a fragrance-screened water-based gel
- Main drawback
- Any gel can feel drying when too much product, hot water, or long contact is used
- Formula status
- Complete 29-ingredient official record checked
- Commercial status
- Official product page only in this review
Complete official ingredient order
The official ingredient order is Water, Prunus Mume Fruit Water, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, 1,2-Hexanediol, Hydroxyacetophenone, Coconut Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Citric Acid, Disodium EDTA, Phaseolus Radiatus Seed Extract, Sodium Isethionate, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Dextrin, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract, Propylene Glycol Laurate, Sodium Citrate, Butylene Glycol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Prunus Mume Fruit Extract, and Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract.
That ingredient order keeps the marketing story in proportion. Green plum water is near the beginning, while most botanical extracts appear later. The formula remains primarily a rinse-off cleansing system. Plum, mung bean, green tea, heartleaf, lotus, rice, and blueberry names do not establish that each provides a measurable soothing, antioxidant, or brightening result during ordinary wash contact.
How the cleansing system reads
Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine is an amphoteric surfactant, while Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate is an anionic surfactant used for cleansing and foam. Coconut Acid and Sodium Isethionate add to the surrounding system. Formulators can combine these materials to tune foam, viscosity, spread, and rinse behavior. The list does not reveal the exact surfactant percentages or predict how tight a particular person’s skin will feel afterward.
Glycerin appears fifth, providing humectant context. Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride can contribute conditioning feel, while Sodium Chloride and the citrate system support formula structure and pH control. These materials may influence the wash experience, yet the variables shoppers can control are amount, water temperature, massage duration, frequency, and the products the cleanser must remove.
Citric acid is not a performance promise
Citric Acid appears in the record, but its position and the rinse-off format do not support calling this a daily exfoliating treatment. Citric acid can serve a pH-adjustment or other formulation role. Ingredient order does not disclose its concentration, free-acid availability, final pH, or exposure needed for an exfoliation outcome. Recording its presence is more accurate than converting that presence into a treatment claim.
If a routine already contains a leave-on acid, retinoid, benzoyl peroxide, or another potentially drying step, judge the cleanser by comfort instead of making it another active layer. Persistent stinging is a reason to simplify and reassess, not evidence that the wash is working harder.
Texture and rinse-off context
A gel can spread over wet skin and rinse without the film some cream or oil cleansers leave. That makes it practical for a short morning wash or a basic evening cleanse when sunscreen and makeup are easy to remove. It can also encourage overuse: a large amount and prolonged massage may create more foam without producing a better result.
For dry-feeling skin, start with a small amount on thoroughly wet hands and face. Use lukewarm rather than hot water, keep contact brief, rinse completely, and pat rather than rub the skin dry. Apply moisturizer before prolonged post-wash tightness develops. If water alone is sufficient in the morning, there is no requirement to use cleanser twice daily.
One cleanse may be enough when it removes the products worn. If water-resistant sunscreen or heavy makeup remains, a compatible first cleanser can solve that removal problem. Double cleansing is not automatically better, and repeating a water-based gel merely because it foams lightly can increase dryness without adding useful cleaning.
Fragrance and tolerance screening
The reviewed official list does not display fragrance, parfum, or a named fragrant essential oil. That makes this product relevant to fragrance-screened routines. It does not make the formula allergen-free, irritation-proof, or suitable for every condition. Surfactants, preservation materials, botanical extracts, and any other cosmetic ingredient can be unsuitable for an individual.
The later botanical tail adds complexity even though rinse-off exposure is limited. A shopper with a documented reaction to one of those plants should follow that avoidance history rather than assuming its low position makes it irrelevant. Someone without such a history does not need to treat botanical complexity as proof that a reaction will occur.
Best fit
- You want a standard gel cleanser with a complete official formula.
- You screen out listed fragrance and essential oils.
- You prefer quick rinsing over the richer feel of a cream cleanser.
- You use a small amount and keep wash contact short.
- You want product marketing separated from finished-product evidence.
Reasons to choose another option
- Gel cleansers reliably leave you tight even after technique changes.
- You need one step specifically designed for tenacious makeup.
- You require a very short formula for a known avoidance list.
- You are looking for a leave-on exfoliant rather than a wash.
- You expect plum or mung bean extracts to treat a persistent problem.
How it compares
Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Moisture 5.5 Soft Cleansing Gel is another fragrance-screened gel, but it uses a different surfactant arrangement and foregrounds low-pH and fermented-rice positioning. AESTURA ATOBARRIER365 Cream Cleanser provides a creamier format with a separate 33-label official record. The useful choice is which texture and cleansing job fit the routine, not which ingredient story sounds most advanced.
See the fragrance-free Korean cleanser comparison for dry skin for the three-way decision and current retailer status. This individual review stays focused on Beauty of Joseon’s formula and sends the commercial comparison to the page where verified destinations are maintained.
How to use
Wet the face and hands, spread a small amount with light pressure, and rinse after a brief cleanse. Avoid scrubbing around the eyes and sides of the nose simply to create more foam. If the skin feels comfortable and the day’s products are gone, the cleanser has completed its job. Follow with the rest of the routine based on comfort rather than a fixed number of mandatory steps.
When testing it, keep other variables stable for several uses. Starting a new cleanser, exfoliant, retinoid, serum, and sunscreen together makes the cause of discomfort difficult to identify. Stop after persistent burning, swelling, hives, or a spreading rash rather than trying to build tolerance to a rinse-off cosmetic.
Evidence limits
This review uses the Beauty of Joseon official page and ingredient declaration. K-Regen Lab did not conduct laboratory analysis, a controlled cleansing trial, or a blinded comparison. Ingredient order does not provide every percentage, and a commercial brand page is not independent clinical evidence. Formula, packaging, market availability, and claims can change after the checked date.
Check the package received, especially in another market or long after this review. Cosmetic cleansing guidance does not replace care for infection, severe cracking, bleeding, ongoing dermatitis, or other persistent symptoms. The goal here is a transparent purchase decision, not a prediction that one cleanser will work for everyone.