Are these the best ingredients in K-Beauty? One expert says yes

Korean cosmetics, also known as K-Beauty, is one of the hottest skincare trends right now. People around the world, better known for their long 10-step skincare routine, have vowed to use K-Beauty rituals and products — sheet masks, essences, serums, and more — to keep their skin looking radiant.

But even with K-Beauty's growing popularity, one area that continues to be a little hazy is the ingredients used in favorite products. From snail mucus to exotic plant extracts, many K-Beauty products contain ingredients that are rarely, if ever, found in Western beauty products. For a deeper understanding of some of the most popular ingredients in K-Beauty products, we turned to licensed esthetician and Skincare.com consultant Charlotte Cho, co-author of the K-Beauty website Soko Glam and author of the book.

The 3 Most Popular K-Beauty Ingredients According to Charlotte Cho

cica extract

If you have any K-Beauty products in your skincare drawer, chances are that Centella asiatica extract, also known as "tsiki" extract, is in several of them. This botanical ingredient is derived from Centella asiatica, “a small plant that is mostly found in shady and humid places in many parts of the world, including India, Sri Lanka, China, South Africa, Mexico, and more,” says Cho. According to Cho, this ingredient is known as one of the "miraculous elixirs of life" in Asian culture due to its healing properties, well-documented in Chinese medicine and beyond.

Centella asiatica extract has traditionally been used for wound healing, according to the NCBI. Today, you are likely to find an ingredient in moisturizing skincare formulas that help with dry skin due to its moisturizing properties.

madecassoside

It may sound like a complex chemical ingredient, but madecassoside is actually a plant-based compound often used in K-Beauty products. Madecassoside is one of the four main compounds of Centella asiatica. “This compound can be used as an antioxidant on its own, but studies have shown that it works especially well when combined with vitamin C to improve the skin barrier,” says Cho.

Bifidobacterium Longum Lysate (Bifida Enzyme Lysate) 

According to Cho, Bifida Ferment Lysate is "fermented yeast." She says it's known for increasing skin elasticity, making it firmer and boosting hydration to smooth out fine lines and wrinkles. And the proof is in science: this research tested the effect of a topical cream containing a bacterial extract and found that dryness was significantly reduced after two months.