The actives behind Korean and Japanese formulas — what they do, who they suit, and which products use them.

• Hyaluronic acid Hyaluronic acid is a sugar molecule your body already makes, concentrated in skin, joints and eyes.… 4 products
• Vitamin C 3 products
• Peptides Peptides are short chains of amino acids, the same building blocks that make up proteins like… 3 products
• Niacinamide Niacinamide is a form of vitamin B3, and it is one of the few cosmetic actives… 3 products
• Panthenol Panthenol is provitamin B5: once it is on skin it converts to pantothenic acid, a vitamin… 2 products
• Centella asiatica Centella asiatica, known in K-beauty shorthand as cica and in herbal traditions as gotu kola or… 2 products
• Probiotics Probiotics in skincare are almost never live bacteria. What sits in a jar on your shelf… 2 products
• Rice extract Rice extract covers a family of ingredients drawn from Oryza sativa: the grain, the bran, the… 2 products
• Ceramides Ceramides are lipids that make up a large share of the mortar between the cells of… 2 products
• PDRN PDRN stands for polydeoxyribonucleotide: short fragments of purified DNA, most often sourced from salmon or trout… 2 products
• Vitamin E Vitamin E appears on ingredient lists as tocopherol or tocopheryl acetate. It is oil soluble, it… 1 product
• Madecassoside Madecassoside is one of the four main active compounds isolated from Centella asiatica, alongside asiaticoside, asiatic… 1 product
• Job's tears extract Job's tears extract, known in Japan as hatomugi, comes from the seeds of Coix lacryma-jobi, a… 1 product
• Azelaic acid 1 product
• Black rice extract Black rice extract comes from pigmented rice varieties whose dark purple color is due to anthocyanins,… 1 product
• Tranexamic acid 1 product
• Beta-glucan Beta-glucan is a polysaccharide, a long chain of sugar molecules, found in the cell walls of… 1 product
• Snail secretion filtrate Snail secretion filtrate, usually called snail mucin, is the filtered secretion of the garden snail Cornu… 1 product
• Propolis Propolis is the resinous material bees make from plant sap and use to seal and protect… 1 product
• Birch sap Birch sap is the watery liquid drawn from birch trees in early spring, before the leaves… 1 product
• Glutathione Glutathione is a small peptide made of three amino acids, produced naturally in your cells, where… 1 product
• Rice bran water Rice bran water is the liquid obtained from the outer layer of the rice grain, the… 0 products
• Niacinamide 2% Niacinamide at 2 percent is the low, everyday end of the range, and it is a… 0 products
• Pure vitamin C Pure vitamin C means L-ascorbic acid, the unmodified molecule and the form with the deepest research… 0 products
• Vitamin C derivative When a product lists a vitamin C derivative rather than ascorbic acid, it is signaling a… 0 products
• Tranexamic acid 4% Tranexamic acid began as a medication used to reduce bleeding, and dermatologists noticed that patients taking… 0 products
• Niacinamide 10% Niacinamide at 10 percent is the high end of what you will find in leave-on skincare.… 0 products
• Azelaic acid 10% Azelaic acid is a dicarboxylic acid found naturally in grains such as barley and wheat, and… 0 products
• Vitamin C derivatives Vitamin C derivatives are modified forms of ascorbic acid built to solve its two practical problems:… 0 products