While stocking your beauty cabinet with K-beauty toners, sheet masks, and more, you might be considering subbing your Western brightening agent for a Korean vitamin C serum. What you should know first is that that vitamin C serums as we know them stateside look a bit different in Seoul.
“Vitamin C is a popular ingredient in Korea, but I’d say it’s less of the star of the show there compared to Western brands,” Michelle Lee, former EIC of Allure and CMO at K-Beauty World, tells Vogue. “Brightening in K-beauty is a category, not a single hero ingredient.” While vitamin C is almost entirely synonymous with brightening in the US, in Korea, brightening can be achieved through a blend of ingredients including niacinamide, tranexamic acid, kojic acid, and rice extract, among others. Board-certified general and cosmetic dermatologist Jenny Liu agrees, adding that vitamin C can assist in “achieving the bright, even-toned complexion that underpins the ‘glass skin’ aesthetic.”
Vogue’s Favorite Korean Vitamin C Serums
So what are the perks of incorporating a Korean vitamin C serum into your routine? Board-certified dermatologist and facial plastic surgeon Dr. Lauren Moy, MD, lists plenty, including targeting hyperpigmentation, post-inflammatory marks, dullness, and overall skin radiance. And yes, there is a difference between these products and their Western counterparts. “Korean consumers tend to favor formulas that deliver brightening benefits without compromising the skin barrier, which is why products with gentler derivatives or additional calming ingredients perform especially well,” Dr. Moy explains. Ahead, an edit of the leading Korean vitamin C serums to know.
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Best for Hyperpigmentation: Goodal Green Tangerine Vita C Dark Spot Serum
- Why We Love It: If there were a Korean vitamin C serum voted the most popular in Seoul, it would be Goodal’s. So popular, in fact, that Lee used many o’s for emphasis. “The vitamin C comes from green tangerines from Jeju—unripe tangerines apparently contain significantly more vitamin C than ripe ones,” she says. “There’s also niacinamide and arbutin, so you’re getting a real brightening stack, not just one ingredient doing all the work.” Plus, the texture of this serum is light, non-sticky, and, even better, Lee says it doesn’t pill when layered under makeup. The mild formula fades hyperpigmentation, acne scarring, and blemishes with citric bliss.
- Key Ingredients: Tangerine extract, niacinamide
- Size: 1.01 oz
