Celimax is a Korean brand with a separate line for each skin concern instead of one formula for all. Its lines include The Real Noni, Pore+Dark Spot, Vita-A (Retinol Shot and Retinal Shot) and Dual Barrier. It started with a single product, the Ji Woo Gae peeling pad with BHA and heartleaf. The brand's principle is simple: cosmetics cannot work miracles, but Celimax honestly promises better skin and says it lists products' actives and amounts.
Celimax lines
The Real Noni is for soothing and hydrating skin. The ampoule is a daily step that also adds a healthy glow, the mist delivers the ampoule's benefits as a spray for daytime moisture, and the cream is the richer option for dry, sensitive skin.
Pore+Dark Spot Brightening targets dark spots, enlarged pores and uneven tone. The pads come first after cleansing, then the serum, and the SPF 50+ PA++++ sunscreen finishes the morning routine.
The Retinol Shot serum and Retinal Shot booster belong to The Vita-A line: the serum contains 0.1% pure retinol, the booster 0.1% liposomal retinal. Celimax recommends using them together; both target wrinkles, enlarged pores and uneven texture.
Dual Barrier, from gel cleanser to cream, is for sensitive, dry skin that needs a stronger barrier.
Ji Woo Gae — Korean for “eraser” — is a line mostly of peeling pads and foam cleansers.
Choosing and combining
For the pads, Celimax has its own guide: Pore+Dark Spot for brightening, dark spots and pores; Ji Woo Gae for impurities and dead skin cells; Cica Ji Woo Gae for calming sensitive and acne-prone skin, if BHA suits you. The Noni and Dual Barrier creams, Celimax warns, may not suit very oily skin.
Celimax advises starting Vita-A slowly: Retinol Shot alone every other evening for two weeks, then adding Retinal Shot. Each morning ends with sunscreen. The brand says the Pore+Dark Spot serum is compatible with retinol, while exfoliants and high-strength vitamin C should alternate days with Vita-A. Celimax does not recommend Retinol Shot or Retinal Shot during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Which of the two to start with, and how to get through the first month, we cover in our guide to Retinol Shot and Retinal Shot.
Key ingredients
Noni Energy® blends noni fruit extract and seed oil: the ampoule has 0.7% extract and 0.02% seed oil, the cream 1% seed oil — fifty times more. The Pore+Dark Spot serum combines 5% niacinamide, 3% tranexamic acid and 1% Melazero V2 complex.
Celimax says the retinol–retinal difference is speed: retinol needs two conversion steps in the skin, retinal one, so retinol works more slowly and gives skin time to adjust. In the Dual Barrier toner, serum and cream, the peptide Aquatide replenishes moisture inside the skin, while five natural-origin ceramides strengthen the outer barrier. The Cica Ji Woo Gae pad has 0.45% salicylic acid, which helps lift dead skin cells from the surface.
