Data report
Fungal-acne triggers in K-beauty
How often do Malassezia (fungal acne) trigger ingredients actually show up in the Korean skincare we've decoded? Counted live from real labels — not vibes.
Last computed — every figure on this page is counted live from our decoded catalog, so it changes as coverage grows.
"Fungal acne" (Malassezia folliculitis) is driven by a yeast that feeds on certain fatty acids, their esters, polysorbate and sorbitan emulsifiers, and yeast ferments. The list below is a screen, not a verdict: it rests on in-vitro (lab-dish) studies of which lipids the yeast can metabolise, and it over-flags common, usually-harmless emulsifiers. Use it to shortlist things to patch-test — not to fear an ingredient.
of 345 decoded Korean products carry ≥1 Malassezia-trigger ingredient
Korean skincare labels decoded so far
distinct trigger ingredients found across them
Quotable stats
Each line is self-contained and cites the source (us) — lift any one of them.
68% of 345 decoded Korean skincare products contain at least one ingredient reported to feed Malassezia (fungal acne / Pityrosporum folliculitis) (beautydewlabs, 2026)
Check any label →20% of decoded Korean skincare products list Stearic Acid, the single most common Malassezia-trigger ingredient in the set (beautydewlabs, 2026)
What Stearic Acid does →19% of decoded Korean skincare products list Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, a reported Malassezia-trigger ingredient (beautydewlabs, 2026)
What Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate does →18% of decoded Korean skincare products list Glyceryl Stearate, a reported Malassezia-trigger ingredient (beautydewlabs, 2026)
What Glyceryl Stearate does →15% of decoded Korean skincare products list Sorbitan Olivate, a possible Malassezia-trigger ingredient (beautydewlabs, 2026)
What Sorbitan Olivate does →12% of decoded Korean skincare products list Palmitic Acid, a reported Malassezia-trigger ingredient (beautydewlabs, 2026)
What Palmitic Acid does →8% of decoded Korean skincare products list Polyglyceryl-10 Myristate, a reported Malassezia-trigger ingredient (beautydewlabs, 2026)
What Polyglyceryl-10 Myristate does →86 distinct Malassezia-trigger ingredients appear across the 345 decoded Korean skincare products we've read (beautydewlabs, 2026)
45% of decoded Korean serum products carry a Malassezia trigger — the lowest-prevalence category in our decoded K-beauty set (beautydewlabs, 2026)
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By category
Trigger prevalence across the Korean product types we've decoded, most products first. Small samples are noisy — the count is shown so you can judge.
| Category | Decoded | With a trigger | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| serum | 77 | 35 | 45% |
| other | 53 | 45 | 85% |
| exfoliant | 48 | 29 | 60% |
| mask | 43 | 37 | 86% |
| cleanser | 34 | 23 | 68% |
| sunscreen | 29 | 24 | 83% |
| toner | 25 | 14 | 56% |
| moisturizer | 15 | 12 | 80% |
| eye cream | 13 | 11 | 85% |
| hair oil | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| lip care | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| shampoo | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| body lotion | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| skincare | 1 | 0 | 0% |