Korean beauty (“K-beauty”) continues to set the pace of global skincare innovation from 2023 through 2025.

In this period, K-beauty has blended time-honored ingredients with cutting-edge science, resulting in trending ingredients, novel product types, and sensorial formulations that captured headlines in Korea and worldwide.

Below is a comprehensive look at the key trends – from star ingredients like snail mucin, ginseng, and mugwort to product innovations like microneedling serums and multi-use balms – summarized for beauty brand founders and marketers.

Traditional & Natural Ingredients Resurgence

Herbal Remedies and Classics

Korean skincare’s “hanbang” (traditional herbal medicine) ingredients have seen a modern revival.

Red ginseng, long prized in Asia for health and skin benefits, remains a cornerstone anti-aging ingredient. It’s rich in ginsenosides that boost collagen and fade dark spots, and luxury brands like Sulwhasoo even built entire product lines around ginseng for its wrinkle-fighting.

Mugwort (Artemisia), an herb once associated with folk remedies, has become huge in Korean skincare for its soothing and anti-inflammatory properties. Mugwort toners, essences and masks surged in popularity because the ingredient calms irritation and hydrates deeply – Koreans even have dedicated mugwort spa treatments to “detox” and nourish.

Another botanical star is Heartleaf (Houttuynia cordata), a medicinal herb turned trendy active known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. Heartleaf toners, serums and pads from brands like Abib and Anua were among Korea’s most popular product releases in 2025, praised for calming acne-prone skin and balancing oil.

Additionally, Centella asiatica (aka “cica” or “tiger grass”) remains a K-beauty staple for healing and strengthening the skin barrier. It’s widely used to soothe inflammation and repair, featured in hit products (e.g. Dr. Jart’s Cicapair line) and often paired with other herbs for sensitive skin.

Grains and Ferments

“Skin-food” ingredients like rice have also gained global traction.

Rice water – the starchy liquid from soaked or boiled rice – skyrocketed in popularity in 2023 after TikTok users swore by a “rice water hack” for achieving instant glass skin (clear, lustrous skin). This led to a wave of rice-infused products, from toners to even sunscreens, leveraging rice’s vitamins and lipids to moisturize and brighten. (Notably, Beauty of Joseon’s Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics sunscreen became a bestseller for combining rice ferment filtrate with modern UV filters.)

Traditional fermentation techniques are also being applied in new ways. For example, fermented pine needle extract emerged as a trend: labs ferment pine needles with rice water or green tea, creating potent antioxidants and natural preservatives that penetrate skin more. This fusion of herbal tradition and biotech reflects a broader K-beauty theme – old ingredients reinvented with modern science.

Bee & Snail Secretions

K-beauty has also popularized some unconventional natural ingredients.

Propolis, the resinous “bee glue” from beehives, is valued for its 300+ beneficial compounds (flavonoids, vitamins, enzymes) that provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and wound-healing. Many Korean brands incorporate propolis in serums and ampoules to boost glow and skin repair (e.g. COSRX Propolis Light Ampule and Beauty of Joseon’s propolis serum).

And of course, snail mucin – perhaps K-beauty’s most famous offbeat ingredient – has gone fully mainstream worldwide. This slimy snail secretion, used in Korea for years, became a viral sensation abroad around 2022–2023. Products like COSRX’s Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence (96% snail filtrate) gained cult status for their ability to deeply hydrate, fade hyperpigmentation, and speed skin regeneration. The mucin is packed with glycoproteins, hyaluronic acid, and growth factors that help repair skin; its proven effectiveness led Western consumers to overcome any “eww” factor. (The COSRX snail essence amassed tens of thousands of Amazon reviews and frequently sold out during sales.)

Advanced Active Ingredients and Innovations

Beyond herbs and extracts, K-beauty in 2023–2025 is also defined by high-tech actives and dermatological innovations now trickling into consumer products.

PDRN (Salmon DNA)

Perhaps the most headline-grabbing new ingredient is PDRN, a DNA polymer derived from salmon sperm. Initially used in Korean dermatology clinics (Rejuran injections) to heal skin, PDRN is prized for its regenerative ability to boost cell repair and collagen production. This “salmon sperm” treatment made news for its weirdness but real results. To reach a wider audience, Korean brands have begun formulating topical products with PDRN as a hero ingredient, effectively offering “salmon DNA in a bottle” for anti-aging and skin renewal at home. By 2025, PDRN has made waves as a powerful skin-repair active beyond the clinic setting. Even one best-selling multi-balm stick (see below) infuses salmon PDRN into its formula.

Spicules (Microneedling Serums)

Another innovation blurring the line between clinical treatments and daily skincare is the rise of microneedling serums or spicule skincare. These formulations contain microscopic needle-like structures (often derived from marine sea sponge) that create micro-channels in the skin’s surface when applied. The concept is a painless at-home microneedling effect: the tiny spicules gently prick the skin to boost circulation, stimulate collagen, and enhance absorption of active ingredients. Spicule serums provide exfoliation and rejuvenation similar to a light chemical peel or microneedling session. This trend took off in 2024 and 2025 as brands introduced serums and creams with spicules to refine skin texture and drive actives deeper. It’s an example of K-beauty’s “skincare meets device” innovation that appeals to savvy consumers wanting professional-level results at home.

Exosomes and Growth Factors

In the quest for the next big anti-aging breakthrough, K-beauty has embraced stem-cell technology in the form of exosomes. Exosomes are nano-sized vesicles rich in growth factors, harvested from stem cells, that can encourage cell turnover and repair. By 2025, they’re being touted as the new “it” ingredient in high-end skincare, believed to target wrinkles, pigmentation, and inflammation at a cellular level. Because exosomal ingredients are sensitive, some products keep them separate until use – for example, sold as a dry powder to mix fresh with a serum to ensure stability. This indicates how far K-beauty is pushing biotech in skincare.

Similarly, there’s growing use of probiotic ferment filtrates and microbiome science. Fermented ingredients like bifida ferment, lactobacillus, and novel strains from Korea’s hot springs are added to support the skin’s microbiome and barrier. Even adaptogenic mushrooms (long used in herbal medicine) are being extracted in new ways – rare Korean mountain mushrooms are used in essences to help skin adapt to stress and environmental damage. And intriguingly, after years of avoiding strong actives, K-beauty is now formulating gentler retinol products. By 2025 we see Korean brands launching “beautifully gentle yet powerful” retinol creams and serums, thanks to advanced encapsulation and delivery tech that make vitamin A less irritating. This marks a shift in Korean skincare philosophy to carefully embrace proven Western actives like retinol, but in a characteristically skin-friendly K-beauty way.

In sum, K-beauty’s ingredient palette from 2023 to 2025 spans from earth to lab: snail slime and ginseng to lab-cultured salmon DNA and stem cell exosomes. This dynamic range of actives keeps consumers excited and competitors watching closely.

Multi-Use & Innovative Product Formats

K-beauty trends aren’t just about what ingredients you use, but how you use them.

Recent years have seen a boom in new product formats and multi-functional products that make skincare routines more effective and convenient.

Multi-Use Balm Sticks

Perhaps the most viral K-beauty product format of 2022–2023 was the multi balm stick. These are solid twist-up balms (resembling a jumbo chapstick) that can be swiped directly onto the face for quick moisture and glow. Partly driven by Korea’s “untact beauty” trend (contact-free application) during the pandemic, balm sticks let users apply skincare without fingers, and reapply throughout the day on cheeks, under eyes, lips, or anywhere dry. The poster child is KAHI’s Wrinkle Bounce Multi Balm, a pink stick seen in countless K-drama scenes. This single product sold over 10–12 million units in a year – even before global audiences caught on. Infused with ingredients like salmon collagen (PDRN) and Jeju island botanical oils, the KAHI balm promised anti-wrinkle care and radiance in one swipe. Its runaway success (boosted by celebrity and influencer use) propelled many brands to release their own multi-use balms. For beauty consumers, the appeal is clear: one handy stick to moisturize, smooth fine lines, and impart dewy glow on the go. For brands and marketers, it’s a lesson in how an innovative, convenient format can create a new category with massive demand.

Microneedling “Spicule” Serums

As noted above, spicule-infused serums are a rising format that delivers a professional treatment feel at home. These serums contain microscopic needles (often from sea sponge) suspended in the formula. Upon application, you feel a mild prickle – those spicules create micro-channels in the skin, enhancing penetration of the serum’s actives and stimulating cell turnover. It’s essentially a microneedling session in a bottle. By 2025, estheticians and K-beauty experts predict spicule serums will become even more popular. Products in this category often pair the spicule tech with ingredients like peptides, vitamins, or PDRN to maximize anti-aging results. For brands, this trend underscores consumer appetite for efficacy and experience – people love the idea that their serum is “doing something extra” (beyond a basic liquid) to boost results.

Jelly Mists and Toner Pads

K-beauty has also introduced hybrids that simplify routine steps.

Jelly mists – a longtime Korean favorite now going global – are exactly what they sound like: facial mists with a jelly-like essence consistency. “Visualize a viscous serum that sprays out of a bottle,” explains one K-beauty rertail. These fun-to-use mists deliver the intense hydration of an essence in the easy mist format. A few pumps can replace a toner and serum step by simultaneously toning, moisturizing and even providing a light occlusive barrier. This two-in-one approach appeals to those looking to shorten routines without sacrificing results.

Another ubiquitous product in Korea is the toner pad – cotton pads pre-soaked in toner or essence. By 2023, virtually every Korean brand had its own toner pads, and no skincare shelfie was complete without a jar of them. The appeal is convenience and gentle exfoliation: after cleansing, you swipe a ready-to-use pad that hydrates and often contains smoothing acids or calming extracts. As AmorePacific’s education director notes, toner pads are popular for eliminating steps and simplifying routines while delivering extra benefits (brightening, smoothing, etc.). For marketers, products like jelly mists and toner pads demonstrate the K-beauty knack for combining steps – a strategic response to the “skinimalism” trend (fewer, smarter products). These formats have started to catch on abroad as busy consumers seek streamlined skincare.

Hybrid Cosmetics

Multi-tasking is big across K-beauty product types. We see more “skincare-makeup hybrids” and multi-benefit formulations. For example, lightweight moisturizers with built-in SPF (combining sunscreen and hydration), or serums that double as primers to give an instant glossy finish. One notable hybrid trend is the rise of color-correcting creams with skincare actives (e.g. cica creams that neutralize redness while healing the skin). Even outside Korea, brands like Glow Recipe made waves with serum-highlighter hybrids (Niacinamide Dew Drops) that originated from the K-beauty ethos of dewy, healthy skin. All these underscore a consumer desire for fewer products that do more. K-beauty brands have responded by formulating “multi-taskers” – saving time without compromising the indulgent skincare experience.

Finally, it’s worth noting the continued popularity of beauty devices and tools in Korea – though not products per se, they complement skincare formats. In 2023–24, Korean companies launched advanced at-home skincare devices (e.g. LG’s ultrasound facial device, Samsung’s AI-powered skin analysis mirror) that integrate with product routines. This indicates a future where the line between product and device blurs, and suggests opportunities for brands to create products specifically to pair with tech (e.g. conductive gels, LED-activated serums, etc.). While devices are a separate category, their rise in Korea aligns with the DIY professional treatment trend that also drives spicule serums and potent actives.

Texture-Forward Formulations & Sensorial Trends

One thing K-beauty consistently emphasizes is texture – how a product feels on the skin.

From 2023 to 2025, Korean brands have doubled down on innovative textures and sensorial experiences that make skincare not just effective but enjoyable and photo-worthy.

Unique “Jelly” and Gel Textures

K-beauty is continually introducing novel textures like bouncy gels, puddings, and jellies. Lightweight gel creams that burst into water on the skin, or thick “memory gel” textures that spring back into shape, are popular for providing hydration without heaviness. These playful textures aren’t just gimmicks; they often help deliver ingredients in a more skin-friendly way (e.g. gels that lock in water for deep hydration). The focus on texture was highlighted in recent trends reports: brands are creating “bouncy jelly textures, and transformative textures that adapt to the skin upon application”. This might include oil cleansers that start as a balm then melt to oil then emulsify to milk, or sleeping masks that have a silky pudding consistency. Such products appeal to consumers’ senses – the fun factor of use – while also catering to skin needs (light, layerable hydration is key in K-beauty). Expect to see more creams that turn to water, serums that feel like silk, and masks that wrap the face like mochi. The sensory experience is a selling point in itself.

Texture Meets Function

These textures often serve a functional purpose. For example, the earlier mentioned jelly mists provide a cushiony mist that can better cling to skin and prevent moisture evaporation compared to a watery spray. Cream-skin toners (an innovation from 2019 that remains popular) have a milky liquid texture that combines the lightness of a toner with the comfort of a cream, ideal for hydration layering. Even sunscreens have seen texture overhauls: new Korean chemical sunscreens come in essences or gel lotions that absorb with zero white cast, a stark contrast to traditional chalky creams. (The viral success of products like Beauty of Joseon SPF is largely due to elegant, invisible textures that Western consumers hadn’t experienced before.) In essence, Korean R&D has proven that effective skincare can also have great sensoriality – a key insight for product developers.

“Texture-Forward” Marketing

We also see brands actively marketing the sensory appeal – terms like “skin moisture bomb”, “cloud cream”, or “sorbet balm” emphasize texture. Some trends even revolve around how skin looks texturally: for instance, the famed “glass skin” trend (skin so smooth and dewy it’s reflective) was a viral K-beauty concept that dominated the late 2010s. In this era, it has evolved into “mirror skin,” an even more reflective, polished glow look that’s trending for 2025. Achieving these looks requires layering hydrating toners, serums, and glow creams to create a plump, virtually poreless surface. The finish of products – dewy vs matte, velvety vs glossy – is very intentional. Currently, dewy, luminous finishes are still in high demand (think of the continued popularity of facial oils and glow primers in K-beauty), whereas overly matte textures are less common in skincare. Korean brands know that Instagram and TikTok love a dewy glow, so they formulate products that give that lit-from-within sheen (e.g. emulsions with light-reflective particles or high glycerin content for instant dew).

Sheet Mask Innovations

While the 10-step routine has pared down, sheet masks remain a texture-centric indulgence that K-beauty keeps evolving. Recent innovations include biodegradable sheet materials (in response to sustainability concerns) and “dry sheet masks” infused with actives that activate upon skin contact, eliminating the drippy essence. There are also jelly-like hydrogel masks and two-piece masks for better fit – all aimed at improving the user experience. Even mask application tools (like silicone mask holders to prevent evaporation) have trended among K-beauty enthusiasts. For marketers, the key takeaway is that novel textures and formats can refresh even familiar product types, keeping consumers engaged.

In summary, texture is a strategic focus in K-beauty product development. By delivering skincare in new formats that feel luxurious or fun – yet still efficacious – Korean brands enhance user satisfaction and loyalty. A delightful texture can turn a routine step into a self-care ritual, an important factor for today’s skincare consumers.

Global Impact and Viral Moments

K-beauty’s innovations during 2023–2025 not only thrived in Korea but also made a significant impact internationally, influencing global beauty trends and markets.

Viral Ingredients & Products

Several K-beauty ingredients went viral worldwide, dramatically expanding their user base. As noted, snail mucin was a breakout star on social media – TikTok videos extolling its skin-transforming benefits racked up millions of views, and Western beauty media ran pieces on the once-unconventional ingredient. One board-certified doctor quipped that snail mucin has “been trendy in Korea for as long as I can remember,” but is “simply reaching the Western hemisphere” now. Indeed, by late 2023 COSRX’s snail essence was topping Amazon sales charts in multiple countries.

Similarly, mugwort and heartleaf products gained cult followings beyond Korea among those seeking gentle, plant-based remedies. And the K-beauty multi-balm stick phenomenon crossed over via K-dramas on Netflix and viral posts – global beauty shoppers suddenly wanted the same pink KAHI balm they saw their favorite actress use on screen. BuzzFeed News even did a feature on “the K-beauty multi balm stick that’s all over K-dramas”, educating Western audiences on this trend. This demonstrates the soft power of Korean pop culture in driving beauty trends: a single product placement can ignite international demand.

Beauty Ideals and Terminology

K-beauty also exported its skincare ideals and terminology. The concept of “glass skin” – skin so healthy it looks translucent and reflective – became a global beauty goal thanks to K-beauty influence. The hashtag #glassskin amassed over 600 million views on TikTok by 2022, with people around the world trying 7-skin toner routines and hydrating serums to mimic the Korean dewy look. Building on that, the newer “mirror skin” trend (an even more reflective, high-shine complexion) shows how K-beauty continues to shape beauty vocabularies and aspirations. Other Korean skincare terms like “chok chok” (meaning moist and plump) or techniques like skin flooding (layering multiple hydrating products) have entered the international skincare lexicon as well. For beauty marketers, leveraging these buzzwords and ideals (with proper explanation) can help tap into the enthusiasm K-beauty has generated.

International Headlines

Some K-beauty innovations were so novel they made mainstream news. A prime example is the “salmon sperm facial” – the PDRN clinical treatment discussed earlier. This quirky-sounding anti-aging procedure grabbed attention in Western media when celebrities like Jennifer Aniston were reported to be fans. By 2025, everyone was talking about it – it even became a punchline on late-night TV – which, despite the humor, signaled genuine curiosity about the science behind it. This buzz helped familiarize consumers with PDRN, paving the way for PDRN-infused products.

Another headline-making topic was Korean sunscreen. After a 2020 controversy over SPF ratings, Korean brands rebounded with rigorously tested, top-performing sunscreens that went viral on TikTok in 2022 (such as Round Lab Birch Juice Sunscreen and Beauty of Joseon SPF). These products earned glowing reviews for their elegant, lightweight feel and no white-cast finish, restoring faith in K-beauty sun care and driving a surge in global sales. Such episodes show K-beauty’s resilience and ability to turn a crisis into an opportunity to shine on the world stage.

Market Growth

On the business side, K-beauty’s global influence translated into robust market growth from 2023 to 2025. South Korea became the 3rd largest exporter of cosmetics globally by 2023, behind only France and the US – a remarkable statistic proving that K-beauty is not a niche but a major force. Korean cosmetics exports exceeded ₩10 trillion (≈$7.6 billion) annually in 2021 and 2022, and continued to climb. This boom is fueled by high demand in North America, Europe, and other Asian countries for K-beauty products and brands. International retailers expanded their K-beauty offerings, and homegrown Korean brands that once focused only on the domestic market started launching abroad to ride the wave. For brand founders and marketers, this means the trends coming out of Korea often foretell global trends – staying on top of K-beauty innovations offers insight into where the beauty industry as a whole is headed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the 2023–2025 period in K-beauty skincare has been defined by a harmonious blend of tradition and tech: time-tested ingredients like ginseng, mugwort, and snail mucin gained new life and worldwide fandom, while futuristic additions like salmon DNA, exosomes, and AI-driven beauty devices expanded what we expect from our skincare. Product textures became more playful and refined, and formats like multi-use balms and spicule serums reinvented the routine. K-beauty’s ability to innovate on all these fronts – and crucially, to tell a compelling story that captivates consumers (often via social media and pop culture) – is what keeps it at the forefront of the beauty industry.

For beauty brand founders and marketers, these trends underscore the importance of constant innovation and cultural resonance. Whether it’s formulating with the next superstar ingredient (be it heartleaf or PDRN) or creating a sensorial product that delightfully marries form and function, there is much to learn from K-beauty’s playbook. After all, as K-beauty has shown, today’s niche idea in Seoul could very well be tomorrow’s global skincare craze.