Data report · v1 · 2026
The State of K-beauty Ingredients
Which ingredients actually dominate Korean skincare — and how they differ from everywhere else? A live comparison counted from the labels we've decoded.
Last computed — every figure on this page is counted live from our decoded catalog, so it changes as coverage grows.
This is the first version of an ongoing report. It compares how often each ingredient appears in the Korean skincare we've decoded versus the non-Korean skincare we've decoded, using prevalence rates (share of decoded products) so the two catalogs are comparable even though their sizes differ. It grows more representative as we decode more labels.
decoded Korean products in this report
decoded non-Korean products, for comparison
curated actives seen across decoded products
of those actives carry an evidence-graded profile
Quotable stats
Each line is self-contained and cites the source (us) — lift any one of them.
59% of the 2,473 decoded Korean skincare products contain Hyaluronic Acid (salt form) — the most prevalent active ingredient in K-beauty (beautydew labs, 2026)
What Hyaluronic Acid (salt form) does →74% of all decoded skincare products list Glycerin — the most common ingredient across the catalog (beautydew labs, 2026)
+34pt Korean skew: Hyaluronic Acid (salt form) appears in 59% of decoded Korean products vs 25% of non-Korean — the widest K-beauty gap of any active (beautydew labs, 2026)
What Hyaluronic Acid (salt form) does →100% of the 36 curated active ingredients we found in decoded products carry a reviewed, evidence-graded profile (beautydew labs, 2026)
Browse researched actives →
Top 25 actives: Korean vs non-Korean
Curated active ingredients, ranked by how often they appear in decoded Korean products. Share = percent of that catalog's decoded products listing the ingredient.
| Active | Korean | Non-Korean | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyaluronic Acid (salt form) | 59% | 25% | Moderate evidence |
| Pro-vitamin B5 | 48% | 28% | Moderate evidence |
| Vitamin B3 | 48% | 20% | Strong evidence |
| Allantoin | 36% | 14% | Moderate evidence |
| Cica | 31% | 8% | Moderate evidence |
| Hyaluronic Acid | 31% | 8% | Moderate evidence |
| Ceramide Np | 30% | 11% | Moderate evidence |
| Squalane | 15% | 9% | Limited evidence |
| Vitamin C | 9% | 4% | Moderate evidence |
| Titanium Dioxide | 7% | 7% | Strong evidence |
| BHA exfoliant | 5% | 7% | Strong evidence |
| Caffeine | 4% | 3% | Limited evidence |
| Tranexamic Acid | 4% | 1% | Moderate evidence |
| Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate | 4% | 3% | Moderate evidence |
| Zinc Oxide | 4% | 2% | Strong evidence |
| Vitamin A | 4% | 2% | Moderate evidence |
| Snail mucin | 3% | 0% | Limited evidence |
| Argan oil | 3% | 4% | Limited evidence |
| Alpha-Arbutin | 3% | 0% | Moderate evidence |
| AHA exfoliant (gentle) | 3% | 9% | Strong evidence |
| AHA exfoliant | 2% | 2% | Strong evidence |
| Arbutin | 2% | 1% | Moderate evidence |
| Ascorbyl Glucoside | 2% | 1% | Moderate evidence |
| Retinal | 2% | 1% | Moderate evidence |
| Bakuchiol | 1% | 1% | Moderate evidence |
Most-common ingredients overall
Every class (bases, humectants, actives), by share of all decoded products — the backbone the catalog is built on.
| Ingredient | Share of all decoded |
|---|---|
| Glycerin | 74% |
| 1,2-Hexanediol | 51% |
| Butylene Glycol | 51% |
| Water | 50% |
| Ethylhexylglycerin | 48% |
| Fragrance | 41% |
| Hyaluronic Acid (salt form) | 37% |
| Disodium EDTA | 35% |
| Vitamin E | 35% |
| Pro-vitamin B5 | 35% |
What this can't tell you
This reflects the products we've decoded, which is a growing, non-random sample — not the whole market, and not sales-weighted. Origin is inferred from the brand and can be wrong for multinational brands. Position on a label (and therefore concentration) is not counted here — presence is binary. Small samples in either catalog make individual rates noisy; treat early versions as directional.
How we counted
We count each ingredient's appearances across products whose labels we've actually parsed (a product_ingredients row), splitting by brand origin (Korean vs non-Korean, derived from the brand). Prevalence is reported as a rate — the share of that origin's decoded products that list the ingredient — so the Korean and non-Korean catalogs are comparable despite different sizes. "Actives" are our curated key-active set; evidence grades come from reviewed ingredient profiles.