How do I use this cream?

Apply as the last step of the routine, morning and/or night, smoothing over the whole face after serum or essence has absorbed.

Can I use this both morning and night?

Yes, most creams are suited to twice-daily use; some people prefer a lighter layer in the morning under sunscreen and a fuller layer at night.

AHC

GLUTA-CTIVATION BRIGHT 3 OVERDAY+NIGHT TREATMENT CREAM 50ml

Name: AHC GLUTA-CTIVATION BRIGHT 3 OVERDAY+NIGHT TREATMENT CREAM 50ml
Brand: AHC
SKU: 10064657109
Price: 45.0 USD
Availability: InStock

AHC GLUTA-CTIVATION BRIGHT 3 OVERDAY+NIGHT TREATMENT CREAM, from this line, is a cream. It suits normal, dry and combination skin. Comes in a 50ml size.

No reviews yet

$45.00

50 ml

$90.00 per 100 ml

Korean-market formula
Ships from California or direct from Korea
Korean barcode and batch code intact

Suited to: NormalDryCombination

Helps with: Everyday moisturizingA sealing final step

One-time purchase

$45.00

SubscribeSave 10%

$40.50

In stock. Arrives in 3 to 7 business days

You’re $100.00 away from free US shipping.

30-day returns
Free US shipping on orders of $100 or more
Tracked delivery to your door

Verified authentic Shipping and returns

How it works

Ahc Gluta-Ctivation sells this cream in Korea in this exact form, and that is the version sold here, with the Korean-market batch coding intact. Used regularly as a cream, it is built for a routine rather than a one-off.

Key benefits

A cream from Ahc Gluta-Ctivation's Korean-market lineup, sourced for the exact formula sold in Korea, not a US-shelf reformulation.
Sized at 50ml for a routine that gets used through, not shelved half full.

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

#28

Fragrance on the list

1 of 3

48 of 49 explained

Water solvent: Water is the base almost every serum, toner and cream is built on. It dissolves the water-loving ingredients and sets how light the finished texture feels. On an INCI list it is usually first, which only means it is the largest single ingredient by weight.
Glycerin humectant: Glycerin is the most used humectant in skincare. It draws water into the outer layer of skin and holds it there, and it is one of the very few ingredients whose hydrating effect is settled science rather than marketing. Higher amounts feel tacky, which is why it is usually blended.
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene emollient: Hydrogenated Polyisobutene is a stabilised synthetic hydrocarbon used in place of mineral oil. It is an emollient that leaves a smooth, cushioned film.
Octyldodecanol emollient: Octyldodecanol is a branched fatty alcohol used as an emollient and as a solvent for pigments and mineral powders. It thickens slightly and leaves a soft finish.
Isohexadecane emollient: Isohexadecane is a branched hydrocarbon emollient that spreads easily and leaves a dry finish. It is often paired with a thickener to build a gel-cream.
Triethylhexanoin emollient: Triethylhexanoin is a light ester emollient that softens skin and disperses pigment. It absorbs cleanly and is often used to thin a heavy oil phase.
Niacinamide active: Niacinamide is vitamin B3, and it is the most studied active in Korean formulation. It is used at roughly 2 to 5 percent for the look of uneven tone and visible pores, and it is water soluble, stable and comfortable beside almost every other active, which is why it turns up in so many lists.
Methyl Trimethicone silicone: Methyl Trimethicone is a light, volatile silicone chosen for a notably dry finish. It thins a formula and disperses powders evenly.
Sorbitan Stearate emulsifier: Sorbitan Stearate is a mild emulsifier and thickener used to hold oil and water together in creams.
1,2-Hexanediol humectant: 1,2-Hexanediol is a glycol used for two reasons: it holds water like glycerin, and it makes a formula harder for microbes to live in, so less traditional preservative is needed. Korean formulas use it heavily for that second reason.
Phenyl Trimethicone silicone: Phenyl Trimethicone is a silicone with a higher refractive index than most, so it adds visible gloss as well as slip. It is common in glow and lip textures.
Cetearyl Alcohol fatty alcohol: Cetearyl Alcohol is a waxy solid, not the drying kind of alcohol. It is a blend of cetyl and stearyl alcohols used to thicken a cream and keep oil and water from separating, and it softens skin as it does so.

36 more explained

Betaine humectant: Betaine is a sugar-beet-derived humectant that cells use to hold water. In a formula it hydrates and takes the edge off cleansers and acids, which is why it often appears alongside them.
Palmitic Acid fatty acid: Palmitic Acid is a saturated fatty acid present in skin's own lipids. It thickens a formula, stabilises the emulsion and softens skin.
Stearic Acid fatty acid: Stearic Acid is a saturated fatty acid from plant fats, and one of the three lipid classes skin's own barrier is built from. In a formula it thickens, stabilises the emulsion and can be turned into a soap-style cleanser by adding a base.
Sucrose Cocoate emulsifier: Sucrose Cocoate is table sugar joined to coconut fatty acids. It is a very mild emulsifier and cleanser that also holds water, so it turns up in gentle cleansers and toners.
Dipropylene Glycol humectant: Dipropylene Glycol is a glycol used as a solvent and a light humectant. Its main job is keeping the rest of the formula dissolved and the texture fluid rather than adding hydration of its own.
Tromethamine pH adjuster: Tromethamine neutralises acidic thickeners such as carbomer so they gel, and holds a formula near skin-friendly pH. It is used at a fraction of a percent.
Phytosteryl/Isostearyl/Cetyl/Stearyl/Behenyl Dimer Dilinoleate emollient: This is a heavy plant-sterol ester used in balms and cleansing oils. It softens skin, holds pigment and gives a thick, cushioned glide.
Behenyl Alcohol fatty alcohol: Behenyl Alcohol is a long-chain fatty alcohol used to thicken and stabilise a cream. It gives a richer, more velvety body than cetyl alcohol.
Eclipta Prostrata Leaf Extract plant extract: Eclipta Prostrata is false daisy, long used in Ayurvedic and East Asian practice. Its extract is used as a conditioning plant extract, most often in scalp and hair formulas.
Laminaria Japonica Extract plant extract: Laminaria Japonica is kombu kelp. Its extract carries alginates, minerals and iodine, and it is used as a hydrating, mineral-rich ingredient.
Sorbitan Sesquioleate emulsifier: Sorbitan Sesquioleate is a water-in-oil emulsifier and pigment disperser. Cleansing oils use it so water can be worked into the oil at the rinse.
Carbomer thickener: Carbomer is a synthetic polymer that only gels once a base neutralises it, which is why arginine or tromethamine sits nearby on the list. It gives the clear, non-stringy gel texture a xanthan formula cannot reach.
Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate emulsifier: Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate is an amino-acid-derived emulsifier. It holds oil and water together and is mild enough for formulas built for reactive skin.
Hydrogenated Lecithin emulsifier: Hydrogenated Lecithin is lecithin with its unsaturated bonds filled in, which makes it far more stable. It emulsifies and is the standard shell for the liposomes that carry actives into the outer layer of skin.
Fragrance fragrance: Fragrance, or Parfum, is a single declaration standing for a whole scent blend, which can be dozens of materials. Regulators allow it as a trade secret, so a list showing only this word does not say what the scent is made of. It is the most common trigger named by people with reactive skin.
Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer thickener: This is a synthetic thickener that gels quickly and holds an emulsion stable across a wide pH range. It gives a light, non-tacky body.
Ethylhexylglycerin preservative booster: Ethylhexylglycerin softens skin and boosts a preservative system, which is why it is nearly always sitting beside phenoxyethanol or 1,2-hexanediol. It also cuts down the odour bacteria produce, so it turns up in deodorising products.
Glyceryl Stearate SE emulsifier: Glyceryl Stearate SE is the self-emulsifying grade, supplied with a little soap already built in so it can hold an emulsion with less help. It thickens and softens like the plain form.
Fructooligosaccharides humectant: Fructooligosaccharides are short fructose chains used as humectants and as food for the skin's own resident microbes.
Disodium EDTA chelator: EDTA is a chelator: it locks up trace metal ions from water and packaging that would otherwise turn a formula cloudy, off-colour or rancid. It does nothing to skin and appears at a fraction of a percent.
Adenosine active: Adenosine is a nucleoside that Korea's own cosmetic authority recognises as a wrinkle-care functional ingredient, which is why it appears on so many Korean lists at a low level. It is used for the look of fine lines and is stable and well tolerated.
Cholesterol barrier lipid: Cholesterol is the third of the three lipids the outer layer of skin is built from, with ceramides and fatty acids. Formulas that carry all three are following the ratio skin itself holds.
Beta-Glucan polysaccharide: Beta-Glucan is a polysaccharide from oats or yeast. It holds a large amount of water, forms a soothing film, and is one of the ingredients formulators reach for in products aimed at reactive skin.
Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate emulsifier: Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate is a sugar-derived emulsifier and solubiliser, mild enough to be a standard choice in Korean essences. It dissolves small amounts of oil into water without any tightening feel.
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride emollient: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride is the light fraction of coconut oil, with the heavy parts removed. It is the workhorse emollient of modern formulas: it softens skin, dissolves oil-soluble actives and absorbs without the greasy weight of a whole plant oil.
Sodium Hyaluronate humectant: Sodium Hyaluronate is the salt of hyaluronic acid, and it is what most products labelled hyaluronic actually contain. The salt dissolves more readily and the molecule is smaller, so it sits in the outer layer of skin rather than only on top of it.
Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid humectant: Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid is hyaluronic acid cut into much shorter fragments. The smaller the fragment, the further into the outer layer it can settle, which is why serums stack several sizes together instead of using one.
Ceramide NP barrier lipid: Ceramide NP is the most used cosmetic ceramide, the same class of lipid that makes up roughly half the mortar between cells in the outer layer of skin. Added to a cream it slots into that structure, which is why ceramide formulas feel less leaky rather than merely greasy.
Cystine amino acid: Cystine is two cysteine molecules joined by a sulphur bridge, the bond that gives keratin its strength. In a formula it is a conditioning amino acid.
Glycine amino acid: Glycine is the smallest amino acid and one of the free amino acids skin holds to keep water in the outer layer. In a formula it is a humectant and a mild buffer.
Glutamine amino acid: Glutamine is the most abundant free amino acid in the body. In a formula it hydrates and conditions, usually as part of an amino acid blend.
Glutathione antioxidant: Glutathione is a small peptide the body uses as one of its main antioxidants. In skincare it is used as an antioxidant and for the look of dullness; it is unstable in water, so formulas that carry it are usually built around protecting it.
Tranexamic Acid active: Tranexamic Acid is a synthetic amino acid derivative used for the look of stubborn discolouration and post-blemish marks. It is water soluble, stable and comfortable next to niacinamide, which is how it is usually paired.
Bisabolol active: Bisabolol is the main active fraction of chamomile oil, usually supplied from candeia wood. It is used for the look of redness in formulas for reactive skin, and it helps other ingredients absorb.
Tocopherol antioxidant: Tocopherol is vitamin E. It is an oil-soluble antioxidant that protects the oils in a formula from going rancid and works on skin as an emollient, and it is regularly paired with vitamin C because each keeps the other going for longer.
Aluminum/Magnesium Hydroxide Stearate dispersant: A mineral soap used to suspend powders and thicken an oil phase, which is what stops pigment settling to the bottom of a bottle.

How to use

Apply as the last step of the routine, morning and/or night, smoothing over the whole face after serum or essence has absorbed.

Worth knowing

On oilier skin, a thinner layer at night rather than morning is a common starting point.

Complete the routine

This itemAHC GLUTA-CTIVATION BRIGHT 3 OVERDAY+NIGHT TREATMENT CREAM 50ml$45.00
Cleanse first, so the next step meets bare skinAHC Prep+Reset Micellar Cleansing Water 255ml$22.50
Seal the routine in as the last stepAHC Vital Golden Collagen Lotion 140ml$20.00

Total for 3 items$87.50

Reviews

No reviews yet. Tell us how much you love the product!

Write a review

AHC GLUTA-CTIVATION BRIGHT 3 OVERDAY+NIGHT TREATMENT CREAM 50ml

How it felt, how your skin took it, what you layer it with. Straight answers help the next person choose.

Read every customer review

AHC, Korean-market original

Ahc Gluta-Ctivation Cream, 50ml, the Korean-market formula.

Verify your unit when it arrives

Korean-market stock with the original barcode and batch code intact, exactly as it left Korea.

On the unit itself

The Korean-market barcode, unaltered from the retail package.
The manufacturer’s batch code, exactly as the maker printed it.

정품Genuine article, Korean-market stock

What professionals say

What skin-care professionals say about skin care, quoted from the medical sources linked beside each.

Your skin barrier is basically your outer layer of the skin.
Melissa Piliang, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic
Pretty much every step of a Korean skin care routine is going to have some component of hydration.
Alok Vij, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic