UNBALANCE

UNBALANCE (언밸런스) is a Korean bath and body brand. It was launched by TREECELL, the hair care brand of L&P Cosmetic (엘앤피코스메틱), the company that also runs MEDIHEAL. TREECELL first created it as a hotel amenity brand: according to the brand, its five products went into several Ninetree hotels in Korea at launch. Today the line is also sold to everyone, in 500 ml pump bottles, through TREECELL's online store. The products are made in South Korea and sold by TREECELL Co., Ltd. (주식회사 트리셀).

All five Cloud Forest products rely on the same complex: extracts of Jeju hinoki, green tea and rapeseed flower. In the ingredient lists, every product includes hinoki water, hinoki oil, green tea extract, rapeseed flower extract and mandarin extract. Each formula then has its own base:

• Cloud Forest Shampoo: a foaming cleansing base for your scalp and hair.
• Cloud Forest Conditioner: a conditioning cream that coats your lengths and helps detangling.
• Cloud Forest Body Wash: a body foam with glycerin.
• Cloud Forest Body Lotion: a body lotion with glycerin and several ceramides.
• Cloud Forest Hand Wash: a liquid hand soap with glycerin.

• For your hair: Cloud Forest Shampoo every day, then Cloud Forest Conditioner on your lengths and ends, especially if your hair tangles easily.
• For skin that feels tight after showering: Cloud Forest Body Wash, then Cloud Forest Body Lotion on still-damp skin, to make the most of the glycerin and ceramides.
• For your home: Cloud Forest Hand Wash by the bathroom or kitchen sink, in a big pump bottle.
• As a gift: the Cloud Forest Shampoo and Cloud Forest Conditioner duo, or the Cloud Forest Body Wash and Cloud Forest Body Lotion duo, for the same scent twice.

These products are fragranced: if your skin reacts to fragrance, patch-test on a small area first. Cosmetic advice, not medical advice.

The shampoo and conditioner also sit in our Hair category, and the three body and hand products in Body. To explore the parent brand's hair care, head to the TREECELL collection, and for more Korean body and hair care, try AROMATICA, ILLIYOON or LADOR.

UNBALANCE doesn't stack up product lines: the brand offers one line, UNBALANCE Cloud Forest, and one scent, carried from shampoo to hand wash. That's the spirit of hotel amenities: everything in the bathroom smells the same, and each step follows on from the last. The scent starts from Jeju hinoki, a Japanese cypress rich in phytoncides; according to the brand, it recalls the freshness of a forest. The name plays on the idea of balance: on every bottle, the brand explains that it looks for movement and energy to find balance between body and mind.

The brand also highlights a recovery approach: according to UNBALANCE, hinoki leaves and branches that fall to the ground during pruning are collected as raw material, then fermented and returned to the forest as compost.

To get to know UNBALANCE, start with the hair duo the brand presents first: the Cloud Forest Shampoo cleanses your scalp and hair with a generous lather and leaves a damp-wood scent, and the Cloud Forest Conditioner detangles your lengths without weighing them down. For your body, the Cloud Forest Body Wash cleanses without that tight feeling, and the fluid Cloud Forest Body Lotion sinks in fast and never feels sticky. The Cloud Forest Hand Wash sits by the bathroom or kitchen sink, for the whole family.

Together, these five products make a full routine, from washing your hair to caring for your skin, with a single scent. If you just want to try the UNBALANCE world, the shampoo or the body wash is the easiest place to start.