Where does this cream go in my routine?

As the last skincare step, morning and evening, over serum. Anything thinner than a cream goes on before it, and anything richer goes on after. If you are adding it to a routine you already like, give it a week on its own first, so what you see is the Allantoin and not three changes at once.

Is this the Korean-market cream or a US version?

The Korean-market one, Allantoin and all. We match this cream to its Korean barcode before it reaches the shelf, which is the check that tells you which market release you are holding.

What else is on the list besides Allantoin?

Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Gluconolactone and Tocopherol. The order they are printed in on this cream's panel is the order on the box, so you can see where Allantoin sits relative to them. Further down the same panel: Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract and Ulmus Davidiana Root Extract.

Anua

Birch 70 Moisture Boosting Cream 50ml

Name: Anua Birch 70 Moisture Boosting Cream 50ml
Brand: Anua
SKU: 6858687675
Price: 50.0 USD
Availability: InStock

Japanese white birch juice at 70 percent leads this 50 ml cream's list, ahead of water at fourth, with squalane fifth. Light enough for the morning as well as at night. Original Korean Formula.

Reviewed by Nurcan Saglam, licensed dermo-cosmetic expert (Paris)

No reviews yet

$50.00

50 ml

$100.00 per 100 ml

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

Suited to: Congested skinUneven textureDehydrated skinSensitive skin

Helps with: Shoppers looking for Allantoin in a creamRoutines that want Allantoin and Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate in one stepFilling the cream step with a Korean-market formulaAnyone who wants the Allantoin cream sold on Korean shelves

One-time purchase

$50.00

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$45.00

In stock. Arrives in 3 to 7 business days

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How it works

The Birch 70 Moisture Boosting Cream is a 50ml cream, used as the last skincare step, morning and evening, over serum. The active it is built around is Allantoin, named nineteenth on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Gluconolactone and Tocopherol, so the active is not the only thing on it worth naming. How much of the Allantoin stays on the skin, and for how long, is decided by the cream format rather than by the list alone. This is the Original Korean Formula, the cream Anua sells in Korea, Allantoin and all.

Key benefits

Allantoin, the active this cream is built around
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate on the same list, an active
Gluconolactone on the same list, an exfoliant
Tocopherol on the same list, an antioxidant
Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract and Ulmus Davidiana Root Extract further down the same list
Pinus Palustris Leaf Extract and Pueraria Lobata Root Extract further down the same list

Inside the formula

70%

Betula Platyphylla Japonica Juice base, as declared

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

1 of 2

40 of 42 explained

Betula Platyphylla Japonica Juice (70%) plant extract: Betula Platyphylla Japonica Juice is Asian white birch sap, tapped in spring. It is over 98 percent water with trace minerals and sugars, and Korean formulas use it in place of plain water as a hydrating base.
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.
Butylene Glycol humectant: Butylene Glycol is a small glycol that does two jobs at once: it holds water in the top layer of skin and it dissolves plant extracts and actives that plain water cannot. It also thins a formula, which is why watery Korean essences lean on it.
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.
Squalane emollient: Squalane is the stable, saturated version of squalene, a lipid human skin already makes. It is a light emollient that absorbs quickly, does not oxidise, and is one of the few oils widely considered safe for blemish-prone skin. Most cosmetic squalane is now from sugarcane or olive rather than shark.
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.
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.
C12-16 Alcohols fatty alcohol: C12-16 Alcohols is a blend of medium-chain fatty alcohols used to thicken and stabilise an emulsion.
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer thickener: This is the thickener behind most gel-cream textures. It builds a soft, bouncy gel that collapses to a light fluid as it is rubbed in.
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.
Polyglyceryl-2 Stearate emulsifier: Polyglyceryl-2 Stearate is a plant-derived emulsifier used to stabilise creams with a light finish.
Glyceryl Stearate emulsifier: Glyceryl Stearate is glycerin joined to stearic acid, and one of the most used emulsifiers in skincare. It holds oil and water together and thickens the result, and it softens skin at the same time.

28 more explained

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.
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.
Stearyl Alcohol fatty alcohol: Stearyl Alcohol is a solid fatty alcohol used to thicken and stabilise creams. Like the other fatty alcohols it is an emollient, not a solvent.
Caprylyl Glycol preservative booster: Caprylyl Glycol is a glycol that conditions skin and, more importantly, strengthens a preservative system so less of the traditional preservative is needed. It appears in most modern formulas built without parabens.
Sorbitan Isostearate emulsifier: Sorbitan Isostearate is a mild emulsifier that holds water into oil, the direction a cleansing balm or an oil-based cream needs.
Dextrin thickener: Dextrin is a starch fragment used to thicken and to give a formula a light, powdery finish. It is also a common carrier for powdered extracts.
Allantoin active: Allantoin is a comfrey-derived compound used to condition skin and soften the outer layer so it feels smoother. It is one of the standard additions to a formula built for easily irritated skin.
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.
Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract plant extract: Cucumber fruit extract, mostly water with sugars and amino acids. It is used as a light hydrating extract with a fresh, cooling character.
Gluconolactone exfoliant: Gluconolactone is a PHA, the gentlest exfoliant class. Its molecule is too large to penetrate quickly, so it smooths the surface without the sting of an AHA, and it is a humectant at the same time.
Panthenol humectant: Panthenol is pro-vitamin B5: skin converts it to pantothenic acid. It is a humectant that holds water and leaves skin feeling soft and less tight, and it is one of the ingredients formulators reach for when a formula also contains something harsh.
Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract plant extract: Gardenia Fruit Extract is the traditional East Asian yellow dye plant. In skincare it is used as an antioxidant extract, and it can tint a formula.
Ulmus Davidiana Root Extract plant extract: Ulmus Davidiana is Japanese elm, whose inner bark yields a naturally slippery mucilage. Korean formulas use the root extract for that cushioned feel and for the look of reactive skin.
Pinus Palustris Leaf Extract plant extract: Pinus Palustris is longleaf pine. Its needle extract carries plant antioxidants and appears in Korean formulas alongside other conifer extracts.
Pueraria Lobata Root Extract plant extract: Pueraria Lobata is kudzu. Its root extract carries isoflavones, plant compounds structurally similar to oestrogen, and Korean formulas use it for the look of thinning, less resilient skin.
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate active: Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate is a water-soluble salt derived from licorice root. It is the licorice fraction Korean formulas use for the look of redness, and it is far more stable in water than the whole extract.
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.
Malachite Extract mineral: Malachite is a green copper carbonate mineral. Its extract is used in a formula as a source of trace copper.
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.
Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate humectant: Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate carries a positive charge, and skin carries a slight negative one, so it is attracted to the surface and stays through rinsing. It is the hyaluronic used where a formula gets washed off.
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.
Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate humectant: Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate is hyaluronic acid modified to be part oil-loving, so it clings to skin instead of rinsing away. Formulators call it the one that stays put.
Hyaluronic Acid humectant: Hyaluronic Acid is a sugar chain the body already makes, and one gram of it can hold several litres of water. In a formula it is a humectant that pulls water to the surface of skin and holds it in a film, which is what makes skin look plumper while it is there.
Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer humectant: Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer is hyaluronic acid linked into a mesh. It holds water in a soft gel on the surface rather than sinking in, and it releases that water slowly through the day.
Potassium Hyaluronate humectant: Potassium Hyaluronate is another salt of hyaluronic acid, used for the same reason as the sodium form: it dissolves easily and holds a large amount of water in the outer layer of skin.
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.
Hydroxyacetophenone preservative booster: Hydroxyacetophenone is an antioxidant that also strengthens a preservative system, so a formula needs less traditional preservative. Korean formulas pair it with 1,2-hexanediol constantly.
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.

How to use

Apply it last among your leave-on steps, after toner and serum, so nothing thinner has to sit over it.
Take a small amount and press it in with flat hands while the skin is still slightly damp.
Bring it down over the neck in the same pass, since the neck dries out faster than the cheeks.
Do not layer it under a second moisturiser, because two closing steps just means one of them is wasted.

Worth knowing

Patch test this cream on a small area and wait a day before using it more widely, especially with Allantoin on the list.
Gluconolactone on this list makes this cream an exfoliating step, so do not stack it with another one on the same night.

Complete the routine

This itemAnua Birch 70 Moisture Boosting Cream 50ml$50.00
Cleanse first, so the next step meets bare skinAnua Peach Niacin Spread Cleansing Foam 150ml$30.00
Prep after cleansing, before the treatment stepAnua PDRN 100 Hyaluronic Acid Booster Toner 250ml$37.50

Total for 3 items$117.50

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Anua Birch 70 Moisture Boosting Cream 50ml

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Anua, Korean-market original

The Original Korean Formula cream from Anua, 50ml formulated with Allantoin and Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, shipped from California or direct from Korea.

Verify your unit when it arrives

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

Anua uses a holographic QR seal that only the HiddenTag app can read. Install HiddenTag from your phone’s app store and scan the seal on the box. A camera app alone will not resolve it.

Source: Anua packaging, HiddenTag scheme

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