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Clinique Take The Day Off™ Charcoal Cleansing Balm ingredients: is it worth it?
A competent makeup-removing balm with one glaring comedogenicity concern—not a pore-detox treatment.
A competent makeup-removing balm with one glaring comedogenicity concern—not a pore-detox treatment.
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The efficacy score is 3.6/5 because the oil-and-emulsifier system should dissolve sunscreen, sebum, and makeup effectively, while the charcoal is rinse-off and adds little lasting benefit; the formula has no meaningful leave-on treatment action, and no published pH is provided. Safety is reduced to 4.3/5 primarily because Ethylhexyl Palmitate is the second ingredient and may be problematic for acne-prone or clog-prone users, despite the absence of fragrance, drying alcohol, and harsh sulfate surfactants.
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DemythSkin rates Clinique Take The Day Off™ Charcoal Cleansing Balm 3.6/5 for efficacy and 4.3/5 for safety.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS BY TIER
Gold Standards
High clinical proof | Skin-transformativeReliable
Proven resultsPotent
Developing evidenceOverhyped | Marketing
Hype | Limited dataDocumented Irritants
Evidence-backed flagFORMULATION BASE (6)⌄
FULL INGREDIENT LIST⌄
Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sorbeth-30 Tetraoleate, Synthetic Wax, PEG-5 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Charcoal Powder, Tocopherol, Caprylyl Glycol, Water/Aqua/Eau, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Phenoxyethanol
WHAT EACH INGREDIENT DOES (12)⌄
- Ethylhexyl Palmitate
- Emollient and slip agent
- Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil
- Emollient cleansing oil
- Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
- Lightweight emollient solvent
- Sorbeth-30 Tetraoleate
- Oil-in-water emulsifier
- Synthetic Wax
- Balm texture structurant
- PEG-5 Glyceryl Triisostearate
- Rinse-off emulsifier
- Charcoal Powder
- Absorbent cleansing powder
- Tocopherol
- Antioxidant for oils
- Caprylyl Glycol
- Humectant and preservative booster
- Water/Aqua/Eau
- Formula solvent
- Silica Dimethyl Silylate
- Oil thickener and stabilizer
- Phenoxyethanol
- Preservative
EXTERNAL CITATIONS
Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil: Brand-described emollient cleansing oil that helps dissolve makeup and natural oil.
Charcoal Powder: Brand-described absorbent cleansing ingredient; evidence does not justify treating it as a lasting pore-detox active.
Ethylhexyl Palmitate: Formula-position concern: listed first and recognized as an emollient with potentially problematic comedogenicity for some users.
DISCLAIMER: THIS ANALYSIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NOT MEDICAL ADVICE. AI-GENERATED DATA BASED ON PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INGREDIENT LISTS. VERIFY WITH A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.
Clinique Take The Day Off™ Charcoal Cleansing Balm: common questions
Is Clinique Take The Day Off™ Charcoal Cleansing Balm worth it?
Clinique Take The Day Off™ Charcoal Cleansing Balm scores 3.6 out of 5.0 for efficacy (Modest) and 4.3 out of 5.0 for safety (Gentle) on DemythSkin's independent ingredient analysis. A competent makeup-removing balm with one glaring comedogenicity concern—not a pore-detox treatment.
What are the key active ingredients in Clinique Take The Day Off™ Charcoal Cleansing Balm?
Clinique Take The Day Off™ Charcoal Cleansing Balm contains no gold-standard actives. Its formula is built on supporting and base ingredients rather than clinically transformative actives.
Does Clinique Take The Day Off™ Charcoal Cleansing Balm contain fragrance or known irritants?
DemythSkin's analysis found no flagged irritants in Clinique Take The Day Off™ Charcoal Cleansing Balm. It scores 4.3 out of 5.0 for safety.
How is Clinique Take The Day Off™ Charcoal Cleansing Balm scored?
DemythSkin grades every product on two independent scores: efficacy (whether the ingredients have clinical evidence of working) and safety (irritation and sensitisation risk). Ingredients are graded S through D against a database of over 3,000 compounds. Brand and price are not part of the score, and no brand pays for one.
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