Ingredients

50 ingredients checked by evidence. Each page explains what it does, who it fits, and what to pair it with.

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Showing 53 of 53

AHA (Alpha Hydroxy Acids)

Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) are water-soluble acids that exfoliate your skin's surface by breaking the ionic bonds holding dead cells together in your...

Aloe Vera

Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis miller) gel is the clear, viscous substance from the inner leaf of the aloe plant. It contains acemannan (a beta-linked...

Alpha-Arbutin

Alpha-arbutin is the alpha-glucoside of hydroquinone: a glucose molecule bonded to hydroquinone. That glycosidic bond is what separates it from raw...

Artemisia (Mugwort)

Artemisia princeps (Korean mugwort, or ssuk) is a perennial herb in the Asteraceae family, native to East Asia. In Korean skincare, its extract is...

Azelaic Acid

Azelaic acid is a naturally occurring dicarboxylic acid (C9) produced by Malassezia furfur yeast on human skin. What makes it stand out in your...

Bakuchiol

Bakuchiol is a meroterpene isolated from the seeds and leaves of Psoralea corylifolia. The plant has a long record in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine,...

Bee Venom

Bee venom (apitoxin) is a complex mixture of peptides, enzymes, and bioactive compounds from Apis mellifera honeybees. The active compound in skincare...

Beta-Carotene

Beta-carotene is a provitamin A carotenoid, a lipid-soluble orange pigment found in carrots, sweet potatoes, sea buckthorn, and palm fruit. Your skin...

Beta-Glucan

Beta-glucan is a polysaccharide made of glucose molecules linked by beta-glycosidic bonds. What it does in your skin depends on its source....

Bifida Ferment Lysate

Bifida ferment lysate is the filtrate produced when Bifidobacterium bacteria are fermented and then lysed (their cell walls broken open). The...

Birch Sap

Birch sap (Betula platyphylla) is the xylem fluid harvested from white birch trees each spring. The fluid is 98% water, with the remaining 2% composed...

Black Bean

Black bean extract in K-beauty refers specifically to Korean black soybean (Glycine max, black seed coat variety), distinct from common black beans...

c-PDRN

c-PDRN (cell-free or chemically synthesized PDRN) is a synthetic polydeoxyribonucleotide produced through enzymatic polymerization rather than...

Camellia Oil

Camellia oil is cold-pressed from the seeds of Camellia japonica, an evergreen tree native to Korea, Japan, and southern China. Your bottle contains...

Centella Asiatica (Cica)

Centella asiatica is a perennial herb used in traditional Asian medicine for centuries (and the reason "cica" appears on half the products in your...

Ceramides

Ceramides are waxy lipid molecules that make up roughly 50% of your stratum corneum's intercellular matrix. They form lamellar bilayers between your...

Chaga Mushroom Extract

When you use a chaga product, you're getting an extract from Inonotus obliquus, a parasitic fungus that colonizes birch trees in cold climates,...

Collagen (Marine + Plant-Derived)

Collagen is the structural protein that makes up about 75% of your dermis by dry weight, and the scaffolding responsible for your skin's firmness and...

Colloidal Gold

Colloidal gold is a suspension of gold nanoparticles (typically 1-100nm in diameter) produced by chemically reducing gold salts (chloroauric acid) in...

Deep Sea Water

Deep sea water (DSW) is seawater extracted from depths of 200 meters or more, below the photic zone where sunlight penetrates. In Korea, DSW is...

EGF

Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) is a 53-amino-acid signaling peptide (6.2 kDa) that binds the EGFR (ErbB1) receptor on your keratinocytes and...

Exosomes

Exosomes are extracellular vesicles 30-150 nanometers in diameter, released by cells through the endosomal pathway. They carry proteins, lipids, mRNA,...

Fermented Soybean

Fermented soybean extract is produced by fermenting soybeans (Glycine max) with bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, the same culture used in Korean...

Ginseng

Ginseng in skincare means extracts from Panax ginseng root, specifically the ginsenosides, a family of 30+ steroidal saponins. These compounds drive...