How to read a Korean skincare ingredient list

Match the product name, variant and ingredient panel on your bottle to the source you are reading. Similar names are not enough: a serum and an ampoule from the same line can have different formulas. Record which official page you checked and when.

If your label differs from a website, keep both versions visible rather than combining them into one list. A difference needs investigation; the list alone cannot settle whether it reflects a reformulation, a market-specific label or another cause.

For US cosmetic labels, the FDA describes ingredients in descending order of predominance, with exceptions. Ingredients at one percent or less and color additives have special ordering rules. Those are US requirements, not a claim that every Korean domestic or export label follows identical rules.

This makes position a limited clue. It does not reveal an exact percentage, and you cannot reliably rank every ingredient near the end. Use the labeling rules for the market where the product is sold. If that market or the formula version is uncertain, leave the concentration unknown.

AXIS-Y explicitly states 5% niacinamide for its Dark Spot Correcting Glow Serum. That is a brand disclosure, not a number calculated from niacinamide's position on the list. The same approach applies when a brand provides no percentage: record presence without inventing a concentration.

For a claim stated in parts per million, divide by 10,000 to convert to percent, provided both figures describe the same quantity on the same basis. For example, 1,000 ppm equals 0.1%. Converting units does not establish effectiveness or clarify an ambiguous claim about a mixture.

Anua's current US page uses a 77% heartleaf claim, while its full list begins with Houttuynia Cordata Flower/Leaf/Stem Water. Keep that ingredient name distinct from extract wording on another version or retailer page.

The displayed information does not disclose the concentration of individual heartleaf constituents. It cannot support a claim that the product is 77% purified active compound, or establish that it is more potent than another botanical formula. You can describe the named material and the claim; its undisclosed composition stays unknown.

The current SKIN1004 Centella Ampoule and Hyalu-Cica Blue Serum lists both contain water, glycerin and butylene glycol, but the lists differ. An overlap table can show shared ingredients and differences.

It cannot establish equivalent concentrations, texture or results. Use a comparison to identify what to investigate, rather than treating a shared-ingredient count as a quality score or proof that two products are interchangeable.

Paste your exact ingredient panel into the ingredient analyser and open the definitions for names you want to understand. Keep any unmatched or ambiguous entries visible. Then return to the brand's directions and any separately disclosed percentages.

Our analyser explains matched ingredient identities; it does not measure concentration or test the finished product. A useful outcome is knowing what is listed, which amounts are stated and which questions remain unanswered.