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House of Hur Purifying Cleansing Balm ingredients: is it worth it?
Elegant, gentle oil balm that does its core job well but offers no meaningful treatment benefits beyond cleansing.

Elegant, gentle oil balm that does its core job well but offers no meaningful treatment benefits beyond cleansing.
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The efficacy score is driven by a well-built emollient + mild surfactant system that removes sunscreen and makeup effectively, plus decent emulsification for clean rinse-off, but the numerous fruit extracts and cranberry powder sit at low concentrations in a rinse-off format and contribute little beyond marketing, so there are no high-evidence actives or contact therapies to push this into top-tier performance for anything other than comfortable cleansing.
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DemythSkin rates House of Hur Purifying Cleansing Balm 3.6/5 for efficacy and 4.7/5 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⌄
CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, C13-15 ALKANE, PEG-20 GLYCERYL TRIISOSTEARATE, SYNTHETIC WAX, RICINUS COMMUNIS (CASTOR) SEED OIL, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED OIL, SILICA DIMETHYL SILYLATE, POLYSORBATE 85, LITHOSPERMUM ERYTHRORHIZON ROOT EXTRACT, PUNICA GRANATUM FRUIT EXTRACT, RIBES NIGRUM (BLACK CURRANT) FRUIT EXTRACT, HIPPOPHAE RHAMNOIDES FRUIT EXTRACT, FRAGARIA VESCA (STRAWBERRY) FRUIT EXTRACT, MALPIGHIA EMARGINATA (ACEROLA) FRUIT EXTRACT, EUTERPE OLERACEA FRUIT EXTRACT, TERMINALIA FERDINANDIANA FRUIT EXTRACT, 1,2-HEXANEDIOL, VACCINIUM MACROCARPON (CRANBERRY) FRUIT POWDER, TRIHYDROXYSTEARIN, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, ZEA MAYS (CORN) GERM OIL, PENTAERYTHRITYL TETRA-DI-T-BUTYL HYDROXYHYDROCINNAMATE, WATER, BUTYLENE GLYCOL
WHAT EACH INGREDIENT DOES (24)⌄
- Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
- Primary emollient cleansing oil
- C13-15 Alkane
- Lightweight emollient, improves slip
- PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate
- Main surfactant and emulsifier
- Synthetic Wax
- Gives balm texture and stability
- Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil
- Emollient, helps dissolve makeup
- Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil
- Emollient plant oil, supports barrier
- Silica Dimethyl Silylate
- Thickener, improves balm structure
- Polysorbate 85
- Co-emulsifier aiding rinse-off
- Lithospermum Erythrorhizon Root Extract
- Botanical antioxidant, potential soothing
- Punica Granatum Fruit Extract
- Pomegranate antioxidant extract
- Ribes Nigrum (Black Currant) Fruit Extract
- Antioxidant-rich fruit extract
- Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract
- Sea buckthorn antioxidant, possible sebum support
- Fragaria Vesca (Strawberry) Fruit Extract
- Antioxidant fruit extract
- Malpighia Emarginata (Acerola) Fruit Extract
- Vitamin C-rich antioxidant extract
- Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract
- Acai antioxidant extract
- Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract
- Kakadu plum antioxidant extract
- 1,2-Hexanediol
- Solvent and secondary preservative
- Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Fruit Powder
- Very mild physical exfoliant
- Trihydroxystearin
- Texture stabilizer, thickener
- Tocopheryl Acetate
- Vitamin E antioxidant
- Zea Mays (Corn) Germ Oil
- Emollient plant oil
- Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate
- Oil-phase antioxidant stabilizer
- Water
- Minor phase, helps with extracts
- Butylene Glycol
- Humectant and solvent for extracts
EXTERNAL CITATIONS
PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate: Manufacturer data describe it as a mild, highly effective surfactant that creates clear microemulsion cleansers that rinse without residue.
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride: Widely used cosmetic emollient oil known for light texture and good cleansing of makeup and sunscreen.
Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract: Sea buckthorn extracts are documented as antioxidant-rich and sometimes used for skin barrier and sebum-related claims, though here in a rinse-off cleanser their impact is minimal.
DISCLAIMER: THIS ANALYSIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NOT MEDICAL ADVICE. AI-GENERATED DATA BASED ON PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INGREDIENT LISTS. VERIFY WITH A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.
A cheaper cleanser that scores as high or higher
A different formula for the same concern (cleansing) that scores at least as high on both efficacy and safety.

House of Hur Purifying Cleansing Balm: common questions
Is House of Hur Purifying Cleansing Balm worth it?
House of Hur Purifying Cleansing Balm scores 3.6 out of 5.0 for efficacy (Modest) and 4.7 out of 5.0 for safety (Very Gentle) on DemythSkin's independent ingredient analysis. Elegant, gentle oil balm that does its core job well but offers no meaningful treatment benefits beyond cleansing.
What are the key active ingredients in House of Hur Purifying Cleansing Balm?
House of Hur Purifying Cleansing Balm contains no gold-standard actives. Its formula is built on supporting and base ingredients rather than clinically transformative actives.
Does House of Hur Purifying Cleansing Balm contain fragrance or known irritants?
DemythSkin flags these ingredients in House of Hur Purifying Cleansing Balm as documented irritants: Zea Mays (Corn) Germ Oil.
How is House of Hur Purifying 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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