15% Niacinamide Purity Serum
A niacinamide serum from Dr. Althea's Korean-market lineup. Niacinamide sits at position 3 of 22 on the brand's own ingredient list, a brightening and barrier-support active; Zinc PCA follows at position 14, a zinc-based sebum-control and calming ingredient. 30ml to a unit.
No reviews yet30ml
$69.97 per 100 ml
- Korean-market formula
- Ships from California or direct from Korea
- Korean barcode and batch code intact
- Suited to
- Dehydrated skinSensitive skinDull, uneven tone
- Helps with
- Shoppers looking for Niacinamide in a serumRoutines that want Niacinamide and Zinc PCA in one stepFilling the serum step with a Korean-market formulaAnyone who wants the Niacinamide serum sold on Korean shelves
Sold out.
Tell us where to send it
One email, the moment this exact unit is back in stock. Not a newsletter and not a sequence, and your address comes off the list the second it is sent.
- 30-day returns
- Free US shipping on orders of $100 or more
- Tracked delivery to your door
How it works
The 15% Niacinamide Purity Serum is a 30ml serum, used after toner and before moisturizer, morning and evening. The active it is built around is Niacinamide, named third on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Zinc PCA, Rice Ferment Filtrate and Tocopherol, so the active is not the only thing on it worth naming. How much of the Niacinamide stays on the skin, and for how long, is decided by the serum format rather than by the list alone. This is the Original Korean Formula, the serum Dr.Althea sells in Korea, Niacinamide and all.
Key benefits
- Niacinamide, the active this serum is built around
- Zinc PCA on the same list, an active
- Rice Ferment Filtrate on the same list, a ferment
- Tocopherol on the same list, an antioxidant
- Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract and Saururus Chinensis Extract further down the same list
- Trehalose further down the same list
Inside the formula
Inside the formula
Dr. Althea 15% Niacinamide Purity Serum
Where does this serum go in my routine?
After toner and before moisturizer, morning and evening. Anything thinner than a serum 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 Niacinamide and not three changes at once.
Is this the Korean-market serum or a US version?
The Korean-market one, Niacinamide and all. We match this serum to its Korean barcode before it reaches the shelf, which is the check that tells you which market release you are holding.
Does this serum contain fragrance?
Yes. The ingredient list names Limonene and Linalool. They sit on the panel printed on this page, so you can read the position for yourself before you buy. If fragrance components are something you avoid, this serum is not the one.
What else is on the list besides Niacinamide?
Zinc PCA, Rice Ferment Filtrate and Tocopherol. The order they are printed in on this serum's panel is the order on the box, so you can see where Niacinamide sits relative to them. Further down the same panel: Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract and Saururus Chinensis Extract.
Not on the ingredient list below: fragrance or parfum, denatured or SD alcohol, silicones, parabens, sulfate surfactants, mineral oil or petrolatum and added color.
Full INCI (21): Water (Aqua), Pentylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Glycerin, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Trehalose, Xanthan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil, Zinc PCA, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract, Saururus Chinensis Extract, Rice Ferment Filtrate (Sake), Tocopherol, Limonene, Linalool
Ingredient list read from inkeedecoder.com on 10 September 2026.
21 of 21 explained
- Water (Aqua) 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.
- Pentylene Glycol humectant
- Pentylene Glycol hydrates and, like the other longer-chain glycols, makes a formula less hospitable to microbes so the preservative system can be lighter. It also improves how evenly a product spreads.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Trehalose humectant
- Trehalose is a sugar that some desert plants use to survive drying out. In skincare it is a humectant that holds water in the outer layer and helps a formula feel comfortable rather than tight.
- Xanthan Gum thickener
- Xanthan Gum is a polysaccharide made by fermenting sugar. It thickens a watery formula into a gel and holds the whole thing in suspension so nothing separates. Too much of it and a serum turns stringy, which is why it appears in fractions of a percent.
- 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.
- 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.
- Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil fragrance component
- Rosemary Leaf Oil is an essential oil carrying camphor and cineole. It scents a formula and is a stronger aromatic than most.
9 more explained
- Zinc PCA active
- Zinc PCA pairs zinc with the humectant PCA. It is used in oily and blemish-prone formulas for the look of shine and visible pores, and it hydrates at the same time.
- Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil fragrance component
- Tea Tree Leaf Oil is an essential oil from an Australian shrub, carrying terpinen-4-ol. Korean formulas use it in products aimed at blemish-prone skin; it is potent, aromatic, and one of the essential oils most likely to bother reactive skin.
- Portulaca Oleracea Extract plant extract
- Portulaca Oleracea is purslane. Its extract is unusually high in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants for a plant, and Korean formulas use it for the look of reddened, reactive skin.
- Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract plant extract
- Grape seed extract, one of the richest plant sources of proanthocyanidins. It is a water-based antioxidant extract and is a different ingredient from grape seed oil.
- Saururus Chinensis Extract plant extract
- Asian lizard tail extract, closely related to houttuynia and used in the same kinds of Korean formula. It carries flavonoids and is one of the older Korean herbal ingredients.
- Rice Ferment Filtrate (Sake) ferment
- Rice Ferment Filtrate is the clear liquid from fermented rice, the same process that makes sake. It carries amino acids, sugars and organic acids and is used as a conditioning ferment.
- 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.
- Limonene fragrance component
- Limonene is the citrus-peel aromatic. It appears here because EU labelling requires 26 fragrance components to be named individually rather than hidden inside "fragrance", and it is one of them.
- Linalool fragrance component
- Linalool is a floral aromatic found in lavender, bergamot and coriander. It is one of the 26 fragrance components EU labelling requires to be declared by name.
- Market
- Korean market, the version sold in Korea
- EAN (barcode)
- 8809447254609
- Made in
- Republic of Korea
- Volume
- 30ml
- Category
- Serum & Ampoule / Brightening / pore-care serum
- Actives
- Niacinamide, Tea Tree, Trehalose, Zinc PCA
- Ships from
- California or Korea
Orders ship from California or direct from Korea with tracked delivery to your door, and both routes carry the same Korean-market release. Shipping is free on orders of $100 or more. Returns are accepted for 30 days, by mail.
We split shipments free, so one out-of-stock item never holds up the rest of your order.
Where this unit came from
- 1Seoul
Bought as Korean-market stock - 2Barcode
Listed against the Korean barcode on its box - 3California or Korea
Ships to you from either, as the same Korean-market release
We stock the version of a formula that is sold in Korea, not the release a brand prepares for another market under the same name. The barcode in the specification above is the Korean-market one and it is printed on the box you receive.
Every unit keeps its original barcode and batch code intact, so the unit in your hands can be checked against the brand’s own records.
Every order ships from California or direct from Korea, and returns run for 30 days.
Every claim on this page traces to the unit in the box, the barcode, the batch code and the price you can read for yourself.
How to use
- Use the 15% Niacinamide Purity Serum after toner and before moisturizer, morning and evening.
- Three or four drops covers the whole face. Press it in with flat palms instead of rubbing it around.
- Toner first so the surface is damp, then this, then about a minute before your moisturizer goes over the top.
- Twice a day, every day. Do not stack it with a second serum of the same kind; two hydrating serums in one routine do the work of one.
Worth knowing
- Patch test this serum on a small area and wait a day before using it more widely, especially with Niacinamide on the list.
- This list names Limonene and Linalool, so skip it if fragrance components are something you avoid.
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Dr. Althea 15% Niacinamide Purity Serum
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Dr.Althea, Korean-market original
The Original Korean Formula serum from Dr.Althea, 30ml formulated with Niacinamide and Zinc PCA, shipped from California or direct from Korea.
Verify your unit when it arrives
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 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
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