HomeIngredients

378 ingredients

Every ingredient, explained.

Korean labels are full of words nobody explains: heartleaf, PDRN, cica, PHA. Each entry tells you what the ingredient is, what it does, how often to use it and what it pairs with, then lets you shop the products made with it.

Water and softness

Ingredients that put water into skin, or stop it leaving.

Hyaluronic acid

Hyaluronic acid, a water-binding ingredient that helps keep skin hydrated.

Squalane

Squalane, a light oil close to skin's own, for softness without the weight.

Snail mucin

Filtered snail secretion, one of the ingredients that made K-beauty famous outside Korea.

Honey

Honey and honey extracts, used as a hydrating base rather than a treatment.

Aloe

Aloe, the cooling succulent best known as aloe vera, and its close relatives cape and candelabra aloe.

Plant oils, butters and extracts

Plant oils and butters such as shea, jojoba, sunflower, olive and argan, and the fruit, leaf and root extracts that sit beside them.

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Barrier and calm

For skin that stings, flushes or feels worn down.

Panthenol

Panthenol and vitamin B5, a hydrating, comforting duo from the B vitamin family.

Centella (cica)

Centella, the calming green herb better known in Korean skincare as cica, used as an extract, water or oil or as its purified compounds.

Heartleaf

Heartleaf, a heart-shaped herb long valued in Korea, brought into skincare for a fresh, green kind of calm.

Mugwort

Ssuk, as Koreans call mugwort, and its close relatives, the herbs Korean skincare turns to for calm.

Soothing agents

Allantoin, bisabolol, ectoin and the other ingredients brands add to calm skin that looks red or feels stressed.

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Ferments

Galactomyces, bifida, lactobacillus, saccharomyces and kombucha: ingredients made by fermentation, usually filtered into a light liquid.

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Tone and brightness

For dark spots, uneven color and dullness.

Rice

Rice, part of Korean and Japanese beauty for generations, now in skincare from the grain to the bran.

Niacinamide

Vitamin B3, an all-round active for tone, pores and the skin barrier.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C, a brightening antioxidant for a fresher, more even-looking complexion.

Arbutin

Arbutin, the brightening molecule of bearberry leaves, and alpha-arbutin, its stable lab-made form.

Tranexamic acid

Tranexamic acid, a lab-made brightener for a clearer, more even-looking tone.

Glutathione

An antioxidant your body makes, used topically in brightening formulas.

Licorice root

Licorice root, used as a root extract or as dipotassium glycyrrhizate, a soothing compound made from the root.

Kojic acid

Kojic acid, a brightener with its roots in the brewing of sake and soy sauce.

Azelaic acid

Azelaic acid, found in grains, a multi-tasker for skin with more than one concern.

Brightening ingredients

Turmeric, mulberry, citrus and the other plant extracts and supporting ingredients that brands add to formulas for a brighter, more even-looking tone.

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Exfoliation and texture

Ingredients that clear the dull surface layer.

AHA

AHAs, the fruit acids that exfoliate the surface for a smoother, brighter look.

BHA

BHA, the acid for clearer-looking pores, as salicylic acid or milder betaine salicylate.

PHA

PHAs, the exfoliating acids that take their time, for a smooth, glowing finish.

Willow bark

Willow bark, the tree bark with a natural link to salicylic acid.

Enzymes

Papain, bromelain and the other enzymes in powder washes and peels that loosen dead surface cells without acids or grains.

Firmness and renewal

For lines, slackness and long-term change.

Ginseng

Korean ginseng, a signature of hanbang, Korea's herbal beauty tradition, prized above all for its root.

Collagen

Collagen, the protein behind skin's bounce, here in a water-soluble form.

PDRN

PDRN, purified fragments of DNA used to condition skin.

Retinoids

Retinoids, skincare forms of vitamin A, used for smoother texture and softer-looking lines.

Bakuchiol

Bakuchiol, from the seeds of the babchi plant, the plant-based route to a firmer, smoother look.

Cell signaling

Adenosine and the other leave-on ingredients, such as NAD+ and NMN, that firming formulas are built around.

Blemishes and oil

For breakouts, congestion and shine.

Propolis

Propolis, the bee-made resin Korean skincare prizes for comfort and glow.

Clay

Kaolin, bentonite and their oil-absorbing relatives, from volcanic ash and sea silt to charcoal.

Tea tree

Tea tree, the Australian plant skincare turns to for blemishes, or the active compound taken from its oil.

Succinic acid

Succinic acid, the amber acid, a newer name in care for oily, blemish-prone skin.

Antioxidants, sun and minerals

Antioxidants and sun filters that help skin cope with the day, and the mineral powders behind a soft, matte finish.

Green tea

Green tea, from the same plant as your cup of tea, used in skincare from leaf to seed.

Antioxidants and vitamins

Vitamin E, ferulic acid, resveratrol and coenzyme Q10, plus the berry, fruit and leaf extracts brands add to formulas for antioxidant care.

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Minerals and UV filters

Zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, the organic UV filters, and the minerals that give a formula color, opacity or body: mica, silica, iron oxides.

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Base and texture

The rest of an ingredient list: water, proteins, gums, preservatives and the other supporting ingredients that shape a formula and how it feels.

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