Heartleaf어성초

Heartleaf is the English name for Houttuynia cordata, called eoseongcho (어성초) or yakmomil in Korean. The Korean name means "fish-smell herb," because its leaves and stems smell a little fishy. On English ingredient lists it appears as Houttuynia Cordata Extract, and Money Today credits Anua's Heartleaf 77% Soothing Toner, with 77% heartleaf extract, for setting off a wave of heartleaf products.

On Olive Young's weekly pad ranking for Sep 28–Oct 4 (compiled by Beautics-LAB), a heartleaf toner pad was #8, pad sets from Abib and Anua that include a heartleaf pad were #6 and #13, and eight of the top 100 listings contained heartleaf. The interest has been building for a while: Money Today reported that Anua was #1 in Amazon's beauty category on Prime Day in July 2024, with sales up 537% year on year.

Brands describe heartleaf as a soothing ingredient and mostly put it in toners and pads used right after cleansing, followed by serum or moisturizer. Some heartleaf pads also contain exfoliating acids, like the heartleaf BHA "peeling" pad on Olive Young's chart, so follow the AAD's advice to exfoliate gently and not too often.

Plant-based doesn't mean allergy-free: an AAD dermatologist notes that "all natural in no way means hypoallergenic." Try a new heartleaf product on a small patch of skin for 7–10 days first, and check the ingredient list for added fragrance or exfoliating acids.