Heartleaf (Eoseongcho) in Korean Skincare

Heartleaf, called eoseongcho in Korean, is a traditional herb that has surged in popularity as a calming ingredient for blemish-prone and sensitive skin.

Cultural origin

Heartleaf (eoseongcho, 어성초), botanically Houttuynia cordata, is a plant used across East Asia, including in Korea, in traditional and folk contexts. It is sometimes called fish mint or fishwort due to its distinctive smell. The plant has long featured in traditional herbal use in the region, giving it heritage credibility when adopted into modern Korean skincare.

Traditional use

Houttuynia cordata has a documented history of traditional use in East Asian herbal practice, and in Korea the plant was consumed and used in folk remedies. As a plant regarded as cooling and purifying in traditional frameworks, it transitioned readily into folk applications aimed at calming skin. Specific traditional claims should be understood as cultural practice rather than clinical evidence.

Modern skincare use

In K-beauty, heartleaf extract is marketed heavily for soothing, calming, and balancing blemish-prone skin, appearing in toners, essences, ampoules, and masks. It is frequently paired with or compared to centella (cica) as a calming hero. As a botanical extract, it is positioned for sensitive and acne-prone skin, but cosmetic soothing claims are not medical acne treatments.

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Sources

• Houttuynia cordata (Wikipedia) ↗

✍️ Written & reviewed by the KoreaPlus Editorial team — dermatologist-informed, cosmetic-science researched & source-cited. Last reviewed 2026-06-21.

General educational information using cosmetic structure-function wording — not medical advice. Always patch-test new actives. © KoreaPlus.