Medicube Zero Pore Pad Review: What’s Actually in the Viral Pads (and Who Should Skip Them)

Last updated: October 2026

I have combination skin and type 1 rosacea. That combo means every viral exfoliating product that crosses my path gets a little risk assessment first. My oily T-zone says yes please and my red cheeks say no thanks. So the ingredient list gets read before anything touches my face.

The Medicube Zero Pore Pads are one of those products that’s absolutely everywhere right now. Search for a Medicube Zero Pore Pad review and you mostly get videos, which are great for seeing the texture of the pad but not so great when you want to know what’s actually soaked into it. So I did what I always do. I pulled the full ingredient list and went through it line by line to work out who I’d point these at (and who I’d gently steer away).

Buy the Medicube 2.0 Pads▾See where to buy them, with my codes

• LOOKFANTASTIC (Duo, 2 x 70 pads), code LFTFNEVEEN for up to 25% off
• Space NK
• Sephora UK
• Olive Young Global (70 + 10 bonus pads), code NEVEEN20 for up to 10% off
• STYLEVANA, code INF10NEVE for up to 25% off
• YesStyle, code NEVEEN15 built in
• SkinSeoul, code NEVEEN for 5% off
• BuyBeautyKorea, code NEVEEN10 for 10% off
• Cult Beauty

What are the Medicube Zero Pore Pads?

They’re toner pads. Basically a little tub of round cotton pads sitting in liquid, and you swipe one over your face after cleansing, and the 2.0 is the current version.

The clever bit (and the reason people love them) is that each pad has two sides. The embossed, textured side does the exfoliating and the smooth side is for a softer final swipe. So you’re getting a chemical exfoliant and a bit of gentle physical texture in one go, which is great if you’re lazy about routines. Which I am. Very.

Medicube’s Zero Pore Pad 2.0 comes in a tub of 70 pre-soaked pads, and LOOKFANTASTIC sells it as a Duo of two 70-pad tubs.

What’s in them: the two acids doing the heavy lifting

Lactic acid is an AHA. It works on the surface, loosening the dead skin that makes everything look dull and rough, and it’s one of the gentler AHAs, which is why it pops up so often in products aimed at sensitive skin.

Salicylic acid is a BHA. This is the one that gets into the pore, because it’s oil-soluble, so it’s the classic pick for blackheads and that bumpy congested texture on the nose and chin.

There’s a third exfoliant further down the list too. Betaine salicylate is a softer relative of salicylic acid, so it adds a little extra pore help without much extra bite.

The 4.5% lactic acid and 0.45% salicylic acid figures come from Sephora UK. I couldn’t find them on Medicube’s own listing, so treat them as Sephora’s numbers. LOOKFANTASTIC’s listing also mentions a fruit-derived AHA complex on top of the lactic acid.

There’s soothing stuff in there too: panthenol, allantoin, betaine, trehalose, sodium hyaluronate and centella asiatica extract. Nice to see. But they sit behind the acids, and (this is the bit that matters if your skin is touchy) behind something else as well.

The part I’d want to know if I had sensitive skin

Alcohol denat. is the fifth ingredient on the list LOOKFANTASTIC publishes. That’s high up. Lots of people’s skin is completely fine with it, and in a pad like this it helps the liquid feel light and dry down fast. But if your skin gets tight or stingy easily, it’s worth knowing it’s there.

There are seven essential oils: orange peel, lemon peel, grapefruit peel, bergamot, rosemary, lavender and eucalyptus. They give the pads their scent. They’re also exactly the kind of thing I personally watch for with rosacea, because fragrant oils are a common trigger for reactive skin.

If your skin is oily and tough, none of this is a big deal and the acids are the main event. For red-cheeked, reactive skin like mine, I wouldn’t swipe these all over my face every day. I’d patch test, then try them on the T-zone only, once a week to start, and see how my skin feels. Is that annoyingly cautious? Maybe. But I’ve had enough angry-cheek weeks to know it’s worth it.

Not sure how your skin handles any of this? Paste the full list into my skin ingredient checker. It flags what’s worth a second look for fungal acne, seb derm, rosacea and pore clogging. And for redness, my Korean skincare for rosacea post has the products that helped mine.

Are Medicube Zero Pore Pads fungal acne safe?

This is the question I get alot with any K-beauty product, so here’s the short answer – no, I wouldn’t call them fungal acne safe.

Polyglyceryl-10 laurate is 8th on the LOOKFANTASTIC list and polyglyceryl-10 myristate is 12th. They’re esters of lauric acid (C12) and myristic acid (C14), and malassezia, the yeast behind fungal acne and seb derm, feeds on esters with C11 to C24 chains.

It’s the same laurate that’s in the Medicube night mask, which I covered in my Medicube Collagen Night Wrapping Mask review. For seb derm on your face, my seb derm face skincare directory has products I’ve already screened.

How to use the Medicube Zero Pore Pads

LOOKFANTASTIC’s directions are simple. Use them morning or night on clean skin, sweep the pad over your face, use the other side too, then follow with moisturizer. Sephora UK’s listing says the embossed side deep cleans and the silky side soothes.

Keep them away from your eyes and lips (retailer directions say this too). Start with two or three times a week rather than every single day straight out the gate. Don’t stack them with other strong acids or retinoids on the same night, at least until you know how your skin reacts. And wear SPF the next day, because acids make your skin more sun sensitive.

Beauty Bay’s listing also suggests laying a pad on a problem area for 10 to 15 minutes like a mini mask. I’d only try that on oily, non-sensitive skin.

Where the pads go in your routine

They go straight after cleansing, before anything thicker.

Step	What
1	Cleanser
2	Medicube Zero Pore Pad
3	Hydrating toner or essence
4	Serum
5	Moisturizer
6	SPF (mornings)

How the Medicube Zero Pore Pads felt on my skin

I’ve used both the normal 2.0 pads and the Mild, and the Mild felt gentler on my skin. I found them quite refreshing to use, but I was conscious that I was putting acids on my face. The textured side makes it easy to sweep everything across your skin. Go gently though. Don’t scrub, especially if your skin is feeling sensitive or a bit compromised.

With my type 1 rosacea, I was pleasantly surprised that the Mild didn’t seem to set my redness off. I only used them once a week and was careful not to overdo it, because even products sold as gentle can still irritate rosacea-prone skin. Going slowly felt like the best way to bring in an exfoliant without upsetting my skin for no reason.

I get why people love that fresh, smooth feeling afterwards. I just wouldn’t reach for them every day, because I’d rather keep an eye on how my skin reacts than risk upsetting my barrier.

Medicube Zero Pore Pad 2.0 vs Mild: which one should you get?

The quickest way to tell them apart is the lid. The 2.0 has the darker blue lid and the Mild has a pale blue one. Inside, they’re very different formulas.

	Zero Pore Pad 2.0	Zero Pore Pad Mild
Lid	Darker blue	Pale blue
Exfoliants	Lactic acid, salicylic acid and betaine salicylate	A PHA (gluconolactone)
Alcohol	Alcohol denat. is 5th on the list	None on the list
Fragrance	Seven essential oils	None on the list
Fungal acne safe	No	Yes, per SkinSort
Best for	Oily or combination skin, blackheads	Sensitive or rosacea-prone skin, seb derm
UK price (Oct 2026)	About £17 to £24	About £17 to £24

I’ve used both, and I’d point oily, blackhead-prone skin at the 2.0 and anyone with rosacea or seb derm at the Mild. For my own face, I reach for the Mild.

What other people say about the Medicube Zero Pore Pads

I always check what other people make of a product before I make up my mind, because my skin is just one face.

Star ratings are high. On Amazon UK the 2.0 pads sit at 4.6 out of 5 from over 33,000 ratings, and 82% of those are five stars. Sephora UK’s reviews average in the high 4s too.

NBC Select had nine editors try Medicube’s best sellers over four months, and the Zero Pore Pads came out as a favourite. The editors called them gentle, and one said the textured side doesn’t burn.

Not everyone sees a difference though, and about 3% of the Amazon ratings are one star.

I found the 2.0 reviews quite mixed, and I can see why. Some people love the smoother skin and glow. Others mention redness and sensitivity, and a few describe that uncomfortable stripped feeling. I couldn’t find many reviews from people who say they have rosacea, but the irritation reports are enough to make me careful. If your skin gets red or irritated easily like mine, I’d think twice before adding the 2.0 to your routine.

Who I’d recommend them to, and who I wouldn’t

I’d send you straight to these if you’ve got oily or combination skin, blackheads on your nose, rough bumpy texture, or makeup that sits on top of dry flaky bits. Two acids on a textured pad, with zero effort from you, is a very good deal for that skin.

I’d say go slow if you’re sensitive or rosacea-prone, and start with the T-zone on fewer nights a week.

Or look at the Zero Pore Pad Mild, which Medicube makes for sensitive skin and also sells as the Zero Pore Madecassoside Pads. It swaps the acids for a PHA called gluconolactone, with panthenol and madecassoside in there to calm redness. There’s no alcohol or fragrance on its list, and SkinSort marks it fungal acne safe.

Buy the Medicube Mild Pads▾See where to buy them, with my codes

• LOOKFANTASTIC, code LFTFNEVEEN for up to 25% off
• Space NK
• Olive Young Global, code NEVEEN20 for up to 10% off
• YesStyle, code NEVEEN15 built in
• Sephora UK
• Cult Beauty

Fungal acne or seb derm is where I’d skip the 2.0, because of those two esters, and look at the Mild instead.

And if you’re over 40 like me? Exfoliating pads are lovely for dull mature skin, but drier skin can find daily acids a lot. If your skin’s more dry than oily these days, a few nights a week is plenty. For dark spots, my Korean skincare for hyperpigmentation post covers the products I’d look at for that.

Where to buy the Medicube Zero Pore Pads, and the discount codes for each

These are the shops I’d buy them from, with my code for each shop where I have one. STYLEVANA, YesStyle, SkinSeoul, BuyBeautyKorea and Olive Young Global all ship to the US as well as the UK. Each code has its own page with the details and FAQs: my LOOKFANTASTIC discount code, STYLEVANA discount code, YesStyle discount code, Olive Young discount code and BuyBeautyKorea discount code pages, or all my discount codes in one place.

• LOOKFANTASTIC (Duo, 2 x 70 pads), code LFTFNEVEEN for up to 25% off
• Space NK
• Sephora UK
• Olive Young Global (70 + 10 bonus pads), code NEVEEN20 for up to 10% off
• STYLEVANA, code INF10NEVE for up to 25% off
• YesStyle, code NEVEEN15 built in
• SkinSeoul, code NEVEEN for 5% off (more on my SkinSeoul discount code page)
• BuyBeautyKorea, code NEVEEN10 for 10% off
• Cult Beauty

And for the Mild:

• LOOKFANTASTIC, code LFTFNEVEEN for up to 25% off
• Space NK
• Olive Young Global, code NEVEEN20 for up to 10% off
• YesStyle, code NEVEEN15 built in
• Sephora UK
• Cult Beauty

FAQs

Do the Medicube Zero Pore Pads actually shrink pores?

No pad can change the actual size of your pores. What the acids can do is clear out the gunk sitting in them, and a clean pore looks smaller.

Can I use Medicube Zero Pore Pads every day?

LOOKFANTASTIC says morning or night, so they’re made for regular use. I’d still build up to it. Start with two or three times a week, and only go daily if your skin is happy.

Are Medicube Zero Pore Pads good for sensitive skin or rosacea?

They contain denatured alcohol and seven essential oils, so I wouldn’t call them a sensitive skin product. If you’re rosacea-prone, patch test first and stick to oilier areas like the T-zone.

Are Medicube Zero Pore Pads fungal acne safe?

No. Polyglyceryl-10 laurate and polyglyceryl-10 myristate are both in there, and those lauric and myristic acid esters can feed malassezia. If you’re prone to fungal acne or seb derm, I’d skip the 2.0 and look at the Mild, which SkinSort marks fungal acne safe.

Which side of the Medicube pad do you use first?

Start with the embossed side to exfoliate, then flip the pad over and use the smooth side for a softer last swipe.

Are Medicube Zero Pore Pads good for mature skin?

They can help with dullness and rough texture, which plenty of us notice more after 40. If your skin has gotten drier with age, use them a few nights a week rather than every day, and always follow with moisturizer.

Is there a gentler version of the Medicube Zero Pore Pads?

Yes, the Zero Pore Pad Mild. It’s made for sensitive skin and uses a PHA instead of the 2.0’s acids, plus panthenol and madecassoside for redness. It has no alcohol or fragrance, and SkinSort marks it fungal acne safe. I’ve used both, and the Mild felt gentler on my skin.

Should you use Medicube Zero Pore Pads in the morning or at night?

Either works, and LOOKFANTASTIC says morning or night. Night is my pick, so your skin isn’t fresh from an acid swipe and straight out into the sun. Wear SPF the next day anyway.

Can you use Medicube Zero Pore Pads with retinol or tretinoin?

Not on the same night, at least to start. Use them on your nights off retinol, and take a break from both if your skin feels tight or stingy.

Can Medicube Zero Pore Pads cause purging?

They can. Acids speed up how fast your skin turns over, so congestion sitting under the surface can come up faster for the first couple of weeks, usually where you already get blackheads. Purging tends to stay in your usual spots and settle down. Breakouts somewhere new, or redness and stinging, sound more like irritation, so I’d stop and give your skin a rest.

How long does one tub of Medicube Zero Pore Pads last?

Each tub has 70 pads, and UK prices I saw in October 2026 ran from about £17 to £24 before codes. Once a week, a tub lasts well over a year. At two or three times a week, it’s more like five to eight months.

Affiliate links, I earn commission if you use my links or codes.

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