🧼 K-Beauty · Review

Banila Co Clean It Zero: A Korean's Honest Review

Heads up: some links below are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy through them — at no extra cost to you. I only recommend Korean products I genuinely rate, and my honest opinion is never for sale.

If you've spent any time on K-beauty TikTok, you've seen the little pink tub. Clean It Zero is one of the most-sold cleansing balms on the planet — Banila Co says the original has sold over 75 million jars. I'm not reviewing it because it's famous, though. I'm reviewing it because I personally went through several tubs of it, and that repurchase habit is the most honest review I can give.

First — what's a cleansing balm, and "double cleansing"?

If you're new to Korean skincare, this is the part American routines often skip. A cleansing balm is an oil-based cleanser in solid form. It looks like a firm sherbet in the jar, and it melts into an oil the second it touches your skin.

Its job is the first of two cleansing steps:

• Step 1 — oil-based (this balm): dissolves the stuff water can't — makeup, sunscreen, sebum, the day's grime.
• Step 2 — water-based (a regular foaming cleanser): washes away sweat and anything left behind.

Doing both is called double cleansing, and it's the backbone of the Korean routine. If you wear sunscreen daily (you should), an oil-based first step like this genuinely gets it off in a way a foaming face wash alone struggles with.

Why I bought it again and again

I have genuinely lost count. My honest estimate is more than ten jars, over years. I'm not a person who repurchases things — I test new products constantly — so ten-plus of anything is the strongest verdict I can give.

And I'm not unusual here. Among Korean women my age, finding someone who has never used the pink tub is harder than finding someone who has. When it arrived, balm-format cleansers barely existed in Korea. Cleansing oil was the default, and it leaked. This tub showed up in a shade of pink that looked like it belonged on a dressing table rather than in a bathroom, and it became the thing everyone tried. In Korea, "cleansing balm" and "Clean It Zero" are close to the same phrase.

The numbers back that up globally. Banila Co says over 100 million jars have sold worldwide, and that one is bought roughly every 3.1 seconds. The "global No.1" band printed across the Korean box isn't just brand-speak either — it refers to Euromonitor International data on worldwide cleansing balm market share.

Which raises the obvious question I get from readers: is Banila Co actually Korean? Yes. The name is a Western word, so it hides its origin — but the brand launched in 2005 with a first store in Myeongdong, Seoul, and it's run by F&Co, an affiliate of the Korean fashion group behind MLB and Discovery Expedition. Korean company, Korean brand, made in Korea.

Here's my honest, lived-in take.

The texture is closer to hair wax than to cream

Scoop it and it comes out firm and matte — the first touch feels like hair wax, not like a cream or a jelly. It only turns into oil once it hits the warmth of your skin. Brands call this a "sherbet" texture; wax is the more useful comparison if you've never held one.

Then the part that surprises people: it rinses properly clean. A lot of oil cleansers leave a film that makes you reach for a second cleanser immediately. This one rinses off squeaky rather than slippery, which is unusual for a balm.

You can see it working

This sounds small but it's the thing I liked most. As you massage the balm over dry skin, you can watch the makeup lift and dissolve right there on your face and hands. There's no guessing whether it's "working" — the mascara, the foundation, the sunscreen all visibly break up. That immediate feedback is oddly satisfying, and it's reassuring on days you're wearing a lot.

The balm form is a travel MVP

This is where a balm beats a liquid cleansing oil. It does not spill, leak, or explode in your bag. I've packed it for every trip without once wrapping it in three plastic bags praying it wouldn't burst. Banila Co also gives out (and sells) small travel sizes, and those little jars are perfect — leak-proof, TSA-friendly, and they last a surprisingly long time. If you've ever had a cleansing oil detonate mid-flight, you'll understand why this matters.

It actually cleans — without the tight, stripped feeling

Plenty of "gentle" cleansers are gentle because they barely clean. This one removes everything — full face of makeup, heavy sunscreen — and still rinses off without leaving my skin squeaky, tight, or stripped. For my dehydrated, sensitive skin, that balance is the whole game: I need real cleansing power that doesn't leave my cheeks screaming afterward. Clean It Zero hit that balance, which is exactly why I kept rebuying it.

The green one: a first impression, not a verdict

I picked up sample pods of the Pore Clarifying version — the green tub, built around tea tree and aimed at blackheads and oil — at Olive Young. I wanted the pink Original to show you, but the samples on offer that day were green, so green is what I brought home. These were free samples, and I'm telling you that because it matters.

Three little pods is not enough to judge whether something clears blackheads. So I won't pretend otherwise. What I can tell you is that the texture is near-identical to the pink — same wax-firm scoop, same melt, same clean rinse. If you've used one, the other will feel familiar.

The green tub sits next to the pink on the same shelf here, priced the same. On the day I photographed it, both were 20,000 won marked down to 15,600 won for a 100ml tub — roughly eleven US dollars.

I'll come back with a real verdict on the green one when I've used a full tub.

Which version should you get?

The tubs look almost identical, so people mix them up. Here's the quick guide:

My honest note on fragrance: the Original (pink) has a mild scent. It never bothered my sensitive skin, but "sensitive" is different for everyone — if fragrance is a hard no for you, go straight for the blue Purifying tub. Same balm magic, no added fragrance.

One thing they fixed

If you used this years ago and remember it going soft and soupy in summer, that was real. Banila Co reformulated it: mineral oil was replaced with a natural ester oil, BHT swapped for vitamin E acetate, butylparaben for phenoxyethanol — and crucially they raised the melting point, so the tub holds its texture in heat. Worth knowing if an old memory put you off.

How I use it (the right way)

• Dry hands, dry face. Scoop a small amount with the little spatula onto dry skin — water too early stops it from breaking down makeup.
• Massage. Work it over your face, including eye makeup, for 30–60 seconds. Watch it melt and lift everything.
• Emulsify. Wet your hands and keep massaging — the balm turns milky. This is what lets it rinse clean.
• Rinse, then double cleanse. Rinse with lukewarm water, then follow with a gentle water-based cleanser.

Where to buy it (US, UK, Australia)

Good news — it's easy to find almost everywhere:

• 🇺🇸 US: Amazon and Ulta. It's a long-time Amazon best-seller with thousands of reviews, so it's rarely out of stock.
• 🇦🇺 Australia & 🇬🇧 UK: Olive Young Global and YesStyle both ship it to you. (Olive Young's US site doesn't ship to Australia/UK, but the Global site does.)
• Travel tip: grab a small travel-size jar — leak-proof, and a great way to try it before committing to a full tub.

My honest take

Clean It Zero isn't exciting — it's a cleanser, it's supposed to just work — and that's exactly the point. It removes everything, it doesn't strip my sensitive skin, and the balm form makes it the most travel-proof cleanser I've used. I finished tub after tub, which is the truest thing I can tell you about any product. If you're easing into Korean skincare and want one safe, universally-loved first buy, this is it. Get the pink Original, or the blue Purifying if fragrance is a concern. Jinjja.

Wondering whether a balm is the right tool for clogged pores at all — green tub or not? I read the Korean labels on that question.