How K-Beauty Trends Have Taken Over Skin Care: from Acne Care to PDRN

K-beauty’s takeover of TikTok and shopper interest—especially skin care—is hardly a secret. But a recent analysis from Spate and YipitData finds that virality-driven brands (K-beauty or not) are capturing market share across every beauty category. This report, featuring top skin care brands, products and trends, was created in cooperation with Spate, which provided all foundational data. Want to learn more? Click here to access more trends and insights. -Editor

In the era of TikTok, new skin care trends, brands and products are rapidly increasing and gaining popularity. Today, many people can discover new products and treatments for different concerns, including acne prone skin, sensitive skin, dry skin, hyperpigmentation and anti-aging. This has led to a surge of interest in rising Korean beauty brands like Arencia, Huxley and Dr. Melaxin.

This report, powered by exclusive data from Spate, explores how each brand, product and trend addresses certain skin concerns by highlighting important ingredients and overall effectiveness in treating these issues within each category.

For beauty product developers and marketers, the rise of viral K-beauty products on platforms like TikTok highlights the importance of leveraging social media to reach younger audiences. Engaging with influencers, focusing on visually appealing content and emphasizing ingredient benefits can make a significant impact. Consumers are increasingly drawn to products that not only promise results, but also address specific concerns like acne, redness and texture with innovative ingredients. To stay competitive, brands must prioritize transparency, showcase unique formulations, and actively engage with online communities to build trust and drive growth.

The Rise of K-Beauty Brands Tackling Acne and Skin Texture

Acne remains one of the largest skin concerns for people worldwide. It affects around 9.4% of the global population, approximately 640 million people, and it is especially prevalent among younger generations who choose to turn to TikTok as their main search engine. With the need to find the fastest fix for blemishes, scarring, clogged pores, and texture, there has been an increase in the interest of many new brands, products, and skin care topics.

Arencia Goes Viral with TikTok Favorites: Green Rice Mochi & Blue Hyssop Cleansers

According to Spate, Arencia, an up and coming Korean beauty brand, has gained 17.2 million views on TikTok in the past year, with 11.8K% year-over-year growth. Partnering with macro influencers on TikTok and posting frequently on their global Instagram page, they have expanded their market and reached out to many more consumers.

Its most popular product on TikTok, the Arencia Fresh Green Rice Mochi Cleanser, treats breakouts, clogged pores and reduces inflammation through gentle exfoliation. It includes ingredients such as rice ferment and green tea extracts to remove impurities and soothe inflammation. Rosehip extract, a vitamin C concentrate, is also used to boost the antioxidants in this product.

Along with the green mochi cleanser, the Blue Hyssop Rice Mochi Cleanser from Arencia is another product created to treat oily skin and acne prone skin. However, in place of the green tea, hyssop extract is used to fight microbes, reduce inflammation, and promote healing and regeneration. This acts as a natural astringent to tighten pores and reduce oiliness.

Huxley: The Rising K-Beauty Brand Transforming Skin Care with Cactus Polysaccharide

Another K-Beauty brand, Huxley, targeting smooth, clear and glowy skin, has been getting some traction as well. While the brand is more prominent in Korea than other countries around the world currently, it has begun to sell its products through big retailers like Costco, Walmart and Amazon in the United States. Mostly working with smaller content creators, and having a relatively quiet social media presence, Huxley has still gained 163.9K views on TikTok and has had 1.1M% year-over-year growth, according to Spate.

The Huxley Secret of Sahara Essence Toner has quickly become popular among people who have acne and textured skin. Cactus polysaccharide, which has benefits similar to hyaluronic acid, is one of the main ingredients, delivering hydration and forming a protective barrier on the skin. It reduces inflammation and redness, and makes the skin look plumper and smooth.

Dr. Melaxin Peel Shot: Viral Skin Care Trend or Temporary Fix?

Reducing uneven skin texture and minimizing the look of pores are concerns for many, even those without acne breakouts. Dr. Melaxin, a Korean skin care brand, ahs become popularized via a controversial product used for these concerns. 

Dr. Melaxin is sold through their own website, TikTok shop and Amazon, and Spate's data shows that Dr. Melaxin has gained 64.0M views on TikTok with 9.3K year-over-year growth.

The Dr. Melaxin Peel Shot, a highly debated product, promises to instantly remove dead skin and blackheads with visible results. Many people’s attention has been captured by this product's seemingly immediate results, with smaller pores and smooth skin.

However, according to licensed estheticians like @bbfacebb777 and cosmetic chemist @4complexion on TikTok, the product does not contain sufficient concentration of certain ingredients like niacinamide, AHA, BHA and PHA to effectively peel off dead skin. 

In reality, the clumps of "dead skin" are just pieces of the product pilling from the cellulose and carbomer mixing with natural skin oils when rubbed, according to @4complexion. 

Furthermore, she says, ingredients like humectants and glycols create this sense of smooth and plump skin, but this feeling is only temporary. This product provides gentle surface level exfoliation and mild hydration, but it reportedly does not clear pores out as it claims.

The Rise of Acne Pads: TikTok’s Favorite Trend for Clearer Skin

Along with these brands that have gained recognition for improving acne prone skin, general products like acne pads have as well. Acne pads have been widely used and talked about across platforms like TikTok. More recently, this product has acquired 743.0K views with 24.4K% year-over-year growth, as reported by Spate.

Acne pads can target a variety of skin concerns, including active breakouts, texture, and hyperpigmentation. These pads typically contain ingredients like AHA, BHA, and salicylic acid to help resurface the skin and reduce oil production.

Popular brands of acne pads on TikTok are Medicube with its Medicube Zero Pore Pads that minimize the look of pores and reduce roughness and excess sebum secretion, and its Red Succinic Acid Panthenol Pads that uses succinic acid to remove dead skin and panthenol to promote skin turnover. Another popular brand is Mediheal and its Madecassoside Blemish Pad, which uses madecassoside and Centella asiatica to help improve the appearance of dark spots, rough skin texture and soothe irritated skin.

Elsewhere, First Aid Beauty launched Acne Clearing Pads with 2% salicylic acid in July 2025 to improve blemishes, the look of pores and uneven texture.

Sensitive Skin Saviors: Rice Mochi & Oat Cleansers Steal the Spotlight on TikTok

For those with sensitive skin, using a product that causes irritation and redness can be a significant challenge. About 60-70% of women and 50-60% of men have some type of sensitive skin, but there are growing products that can help with this problem.

Arencia is known for having a range of products that fits into every person's skin concern. Its line of rice mochi cleansers includes the Fresh Rosehip Mochi Cleanser, which incorporates rosehip extract, pink aloe vera and blue German chamomile and is the recommended fit for people with dull and sensitive skin. It reportedly benefits the skin by providing high levels of antioxidants, vitamin C and fatty acids that help with hydration and soothing inflammation and redness.

A top trending skin care product that is suitable for sensitive skin are oat cleansers. Oat cleansers have become increasingly popular with 415.2K views on TikTok and 2.1K% year-over-year growth. In the past, The Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm had been a staple for many people, but more recently the Purito Seoul Oat In Gentle Exfoliating Face Cleanser has been getting ahead on TikTok.

Oat is a gentle exfoliant, which is important for sensitive skin. These cleansers remove impurities and excess oils without stripping the skin. The Purito Seoul Oat In Gentle Exfoliating Face Cleanser can be used as a daily cleanser for people with sensitive skin, and it includes Gunsan Oat Seed Water, which provides instant hydration, soothes sensitive skin and restores moisture balance.

Say Goodbye to Dry: TikTok’s Must-Have Products to Keeping the Skin Hydrated    

While some might experience dry skin only once in a while, it can be a constant concern for others, leading to irritation, flaking and inflammation. Many factors can create this problem and strip the skin’s natural moisture barrier. The demand for the right products to treat this concern has grown, and consumers have started to look for the best brands, products and trends on social media.

Arencia is a strong brand in this category, with multiple products focusing on treating dry skin. The Arencia Fresh Calendula Mochi Cleanser uses calendula extract that soothes the skin and reduces redness, heartleaf extract that is good for antibacterial and anti-inflammatory purposes, and cactus stem extract to lock in hydration and strengthens the skin barrier to prevent moisture loss.

The Arencia Overnight Deep Water Surge Serum is another product that promotes hydration. It includes three forms of hyaluronic acid, which replenishes moisture for long lasting hydration, ceramides and panthenol, which strengthens the skin barrier, and PDRN to boost skin regeneration.

With many people searching for the best dry skin product, Spate notes that #viralmoisturizer has gained 1.4M views and 3.9K% year-over-year growth. With this hashtag, a popular product that reappears on TikTok has been the Purito Bamboo Panthenol Cream. This is Purito’s best selling moisturizer, which claims to be a "dry and sensitive skin savior." The main ingredients in this cream are Damyang (an area of South Korea) bamboo, which includes amino acids and minerals that reinforce the skin barrier; squalene, which prevents moisture loss; and panthenol to improve water retention and overall hydration.

Bye-Bye Dark Spots: Korean Skin Care Heroes for a Bright, Even Glow

Hyperpigmentation and discoloration can be a concern whether it comes from acne spots, sun damage or other skin conditions, and it can be stubborn and hard to get rid of. However, there are new treatments and products that have been promising in fixing this concern.

Korean skin care has focused largely on brightening and evening skin complexion. The rising brands Arencia and Dr. Melaxin both have products that target dark spots and hyperpigmentation.

The Arencia’s Holy Hyssop Serum 30 uses hyssop extract to treat acne marks, get rid of hyperpigmentation, and promote a glowy, even complexion. The Dr. Melaxin TX cream includes tranexamic acid that targets dark spots and diminishes acne scars, and niacinamide that brightens and evens skin tone.

TikTok's Favorite Anti-Aging Products and Hashtags Explained

With the natural process of aging, signs like fine lines, dullness and uneven texture can start to appear, and for many people, maintaining youthful-looking skin has become a priority. The desire to prevent and erase these concerns are leading people to find new brands, products and even tools.

One of Huxley's most popular products, the Secret of Sahara Oil Essence, targets these concerns using cactus seed oil and antioxidants from yerba mate leaf, acai berry, camu camu and quinoa. This oil essence prevents wrinkles, strengthens the skin barrier and protects the skin from environmental aggressors.

Arencia’s Overnight Red Smoothie Serum, has also proven popular in the anti-aging space. It provides glowy, youthful looking skin through ingredients like collagen to improve skin elasticity, firmness and hydration; niacinamide to even out skin tone and refine texture; rosehip extract to provide antioxidants; and Hibiscus sabdariffa flower extract to support skin elasticity and gently exfoliate.

Additionally, a relatively new and sought after product has become PDRN serums. According to Spate, it has obtained 2.6M views with 22.0K% year-over-year growth. PDRN or polydeoxyribonucleotide is most commonly derived from salmon DNA, and it includes various skin care benefits. For example, it promotes skin regeneration, reduces texture and wrinkles, calms irritation, and increases moisture in the skin.

Popular brands on TikTok with PDRN products and serums are Medicube, VT Cosmetics, Eqqualberry and Anua. However, according to some commentary on the platform, PDRN products should include 1,000 ppm of the material or more to be effective for the skin.

To prevent signs of aging, many people start to focus on anti-aging skin care even at a younger age. #skincareafter30 has become a popular hashtag with 1.3M views and 2.0K% year-over-year growth, per Spate. Many people start to use products with antioxidants to prevent premature aging, retinols to increase skin cell turnover, and one of the most important products, sunscreen, to protect from skin damage that can lead to wrinkles and dark spots. Other products that some TikTok users like to use are eye creams and red light therapy.

The last trending hashtag is #skinfirming, which has reached 14.9M views and 1.7K% year-over-year growth according to Spate. Skin care products that give a firming, plump look usually include retinols or peptides.

Many people also look to skin care devices to lift and sculpt their face to give that firm look. There are multiple types of tools, including depuffing tools, micro current devices to stimulate muscles and tone and lift, and radio frequency devices that use a deep heat treatment to lift and firm.

Skin Care Goes Viral: How TikTok and K-Beauty Are Changing the Game

Thanks to social media platforms like TikTok, new skin care brands, products and trends are reaching a wider audience every day, captivating consumers like never before.

The rise of Korean skin care has sparked a shift toward ingredient-focused, multipurpose products. These popular trends and innovations offer a variety of treatments designed to suit every individual’s unique skin type.