Beauty of Joseon Apricot Blossom Peeling Gel review: how often should you use it?
Updated October 22, 2026
Use Beauty of Joseon Apricot Blossom Peeling Gel, 100 ml once or twice a week, on dry skin right after cleansing, with a gentle 20-second massage before you rinse. It suits anyone who wants a quick, scrub-free way to smooth rough or flaky patches without adding another acid, and at $9.09 for 100 ml at Sleepy Hello (checked October 2026) it's a low-cost one to try.
It isn't a daily product, and it shouldn't share a night with an acid toner, including the brand's own Green Plum Refreshing Toner: AHA + BHA, or with a retinoid. Skip it while your skin is sunburned, broken or visibly irritated.
This is a researched review of current US brand and retailer information, checked October 2026. We haven't worn or tested the gel; texture descriptions are Beauty of Joseon's, and the buying advice comes from comparing the formula, directions, size and price.
What you're buying: formula, size and price
Apricot Blossom Peeling Gel is a rinse-off gommage: a gel exfoliant you massage over dry skin until it gathers into soft rolls, then wash away. (Gommage comes from the French for rubbing out, as with an eraser.) Beauty of Joseon says it's for face and body. It comes in one size, a 100 ml (3.38 fl oz) tube, which is $9.09 at Sleepy Hello, checked October 2026. That's about 9 cents per ml.
The brand prints two percentages: 19% plum blossom water and 8% plant-based exfoliants, which our product page identifies as cellulose. Here's what the first ten ingredients are doing:
Water and Prunus mume flower water. The base. Prunus mume is the tree English speakers call Japanese apricot or Chinese plum, which is why the product is named for apricot blossom while the brand's copy says plum blossom water. It's the same ingredient.
Cellulose. A plant-derived fiber, and the part of the formula that forms the rolls and does the exfoliating.
Methylpropanediol and 1,2-hexanediol. Lightweight humectants and solvents. 1,2-hexanediol also supports the preservative system.
Carbomer and arginine. Carbomer is the polymer that turns water into a gel. Arginine, an amino acid, adjusts the pH so the carbomer thickens.
Ethylhexylglycerin. A skin-conditioning ingredient that also helps preservation.
Allantoin and sorbitol. Allantoin is a skin-conditioning ingredient brands use for a comfortable after-feel. Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol that holds water, a humectant.
After those come apple fruit, green tea leaf, heartleaf (Houttuynia cordata), lotus flower, rice, Prunus mume fruit and blueberry extracts, plus butylene glycol and disodium EDTA, a stabilizer. Beauty of Joseon's US product page lists the same ingredients, with the last two placed a little earlier.
Just as useful is what isn't there. The ingredient list doesn't include fragrance, essential oils, drying alcohol or any exfoliating acid, which shapes how you schedule it.
Is the peeling gel rolling off dead skin?
Only partly. The rolls are mostly the gel's own cellulose and polymer gathering under your fingers as it thickens on dry skin. Loosened flakes can get caught up in them and rinse away, but the number of rolls doesn't tell you how much dead skin you had. Our product page says the same: the rolls are not a direct measure of dead skin.
That matters because people who think the crumbs are all dead skin tend to rub harder or longer to make more. The directions say to massage very gently for about 20 seconds and not to scrub harder to create more rolls. The exfoliation here is light friction from soft cellulose, so your pressure and timing decide whether it stays gentle.
The dry-skin step is part of how it works. The directions call for applying the gel to completely dry skin after cleansing. Water thins a carbomer gel, so a damp face works against the rolling action. Pat your face fully dry first rather than adding more product.
Does Apricot Blossom Peeling Gel contain AHA or BHA?
No. The current ingredient list has no glycolic, lactic, mandelic or salicylic acid, and no PHA such as gluconolactone. The apple, plum and blueberry fruit extracts are listed as botanical extracts, and Beauty of Joseon doesn't present them as exfoliating acids. This is a physical exfoliant: it works by gentle rubbing and then rinses off.
That's the main difference from the brand's acid product, the Green Plum Refreshing Toner: AHA + BHA in a 150 ml bottle, which is $13.99 at Sleepy Hello, checked October 2026. The toner lists glycolic acid (an AHA) and salicylic acid (a BHA) and stays on your skin. Beauty of Joseon's peeling gel FAQ says the toner contains 3% AHA; the brand doesn't publish a salicylic acid percentage on the toner page we checked.
The toner's directions are morning and night after cleansing, pressed in with your hands or swept on with a cotton pad. The brand recommends a 24-hour patch test for sensitive skin, starting with a small amount if it stings, and sunscreen during the day.
So the two do different jobs. The gel is a quick, rinse-off smoothing step for rough patches once or twice a week. The toner is a leave-on acid step that the brand positions for surface buildup and clogged-looking pores.
How often should you use Beauty of Joseon Apricot Blossom Peeling Gel?
Once or twice a week. That's Beauty of Joseon's own recommendation on its US site and on our product page, and it's the limit we'd keep to even when your skin feels fine. If you're new to exfoliating, our take is to start with once a week for the first few weeks and move to twice only if your skin stays comfortable.
The directions, in order:
Cleanse as usual, then pat your face completely dry. A gentle gel wash such as the Green Plum Refreshing Cleanser, 100 ml ($9.09, checked October 2026) fits here.
Squeeze out a dime-sized amount and spread a thin layer over your face, keeping clear of the eye area.
Massage very gently for about 20 seconds as the gel gathers into rolls.
Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water and pat dry.
Continue with toner, serum and moisturizer. In the daytime, finish with sunscreen.
The brand doesn't say whether to use it morning or evening. Evening is simpler for most routines, because the next step is moisturizer rather than makeup. If you use it in the morning, finish with a sunscreen such as Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics, 50 ml, labeled SPF50+ PA++++ and $12.99 at Sleepy Hello, checked October 2026.
Keep it off your Green Plum toner and retinoid nights
On peeling-gel nights, skip your acid toner, acid pads and retinoid. Two kinds of exfoliation in one evening is where an otherwise mild gel can start to sting. If you use the Green Plum toner morning and night, the simple fix is to leave out the evening toner on your one or two gel nights and use a plain hydrating toner instead.
Keep retinoid nights separate as well. If you use prescription skincare, follow the directions your clinician gave you before adding any exfoliant.
Is the peeling gel good for sensitive skin?
It's one of the milder exfoliant formats to try, but it isn't automatically right for sensitive skin. In its favor are no acids, no fragrance in the ingredient list, a 20-second contact time and a rinse-off format. Beauty of Joseon also states that the gel was found suitable for sensitive skin in a three-day study of 51 people. The brand doesn't publish the study itself, and a short brand study can't tell you how your own skin will respond.
Against it, any physical exfoliant works by friction, and friction is what easily irritated skin dislikes most. Our product page recommends a patch test before first use if your skin is sensitive, and says to pause if discomfort continues.
Skip it, or wait, if:
your skin is sunburned, broken, peeling or visibly irritated;
you have raised, sore breakouts where you'd be massaging;
your face already stings under moisturizer or looks tight and shiny from too much exfoliating, in which case more exfoliation isn't the answer;
you already use a leave-on acid or retinoid most nights and your skin is only just tolerating it.
If your skin is easily irritated but you still want smoother texture, use the gel once a week with the lightest pressure, and keep the rest of that night's routine plain.
Peeling gel vs scrub: which is gentler?
For most faces, a peeling gel like this one is the gentler of the two. A scrub carries hard particles, such as sugar, ground shells or seeds, that you drag across your skin, and how rough it feels depends on the grain size and how hard you press. This gel has no grains in the tube. The soft cellulose rolls form during the massage and move over your skin inside a slippery gel.
Gentle still depends on how you use it. A long, firm massage with a peeling gel can be too much, and a fine scrub used lightly once a week may suit some people's bodies. The fair way to choose:
Pick the peeling gel if you want a quick, rinse-off smoothing step for rough, flaky patches, without grains and without adding an acid.
Pick a fine scrub only if you specifically like the feel of grains, and keep it to the body if your facial skin is reactive.
Pick a leave-on acid such as the Green Plum toner if you'd rather not rub at all, or if what bothers you is buildup in pores rather than surface flakes.
Our Korean exfoliator guide compares this gel with acid liquids and pads if you're still choosing a format.
Quick answers
Can you use Apricot Blossom Peeling Gel every day?
No. Beauty of Joseon recommends it only once or twice a week, and gives no daily option. Daily use adds friction your skin doesn't need.
Does the peeling gel help with blackheads?
Not directly. The gel works on loose surface flakes and a smoother feel, and Beauty of Joseon doesn't claim it clears pores. Salicylic acid, the BHA in the Green Plum toner, is the ingredient most often chosen for blackheads because it's oil-soluble and can work inside the pore.
Can you use it on your body?
Yes. The brand says it's for face and body. It doesn't give a separate body schedule, so we'd keep to the same once or twice a week on rough spots such as elbows and knees.
Should you apply it to wet or dry skin?
Dry. The directions say to apply it to completely dry skin after cleansing, massage, then rinse with lukewarm water.
Is it worth $9.09?
For a mild weekly exfoliant with no acids and no fragrance in the ingredient list, we think so. At one or two uses a week, a 100 ml tube goes a long way, although the brand doesn't publish a number of uses per tube.
A light, fragrance-free first cleanse for oily skin at $13.99 for 200 ml. What it can do for blackheads, how to emulsify it, and how it differs from Anua.
Beauty of Joseon Apricot Blossom Peeling Gel Review | Sleepy Hello
