Dr.Althea
ABC Glow Whipped Serum
A whipped serum from Dr. Althea's Korean-market lineup. Allantoin sits at position 17 of 18 on the brand's own ingredient list, a calming, comedolytic-adjacent skin-conditioning agent; Bakuchiol follows at position 18, a plant-derived retinol alternative. 100ml to a unit.
No reviews yet100 ml
- Ships from California or direct from Korea
- Korean barcode and batch code intact
- Suited to
- NormalCombinationDry
- Helps with
- A targeted treatment step between toner and moisturizerA concentrated step layered under a moisturizerDaily use as the treatment step of a routine
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.
Next step in this routine
- Cleanse
- Prep
- Treat
- Sealnext
- Morning finish
Dr. Althea 345 Relief CreamSeal the routine in as the last step
$23.52
Also standing in Seal: Medicube PDRN Pink Collagen Capsule Cream, $19.99.
- Ships from California or direct from Korea
- 30-day returns
- Free US shipping on orders of $100 or more
- Tracked delivery to your door
Key benefits
- Allantoin, the active this serum is built around
- Bakuchiol on the same list, an active
- Zea Mays (Corn) Kernel Extract and Coptis Japonica Root Extract on the same list, plant extracts
- Fructan on the same list, a humectant
- Glucose further down the same list
- Allantoin named sixteenth on the manufacturer list printed on this page
Key actives
8Zea Mays (Corn) Kernel Extractplant extract
Corn kernel extract, mostly starch-derived sugars with some amino acids. It is used as a conditioning, water-holding extract. It is named eighth on this serum's list, alongside Allantoin.
9Fructanhumectant
Fructan is a chain of fructose units, usually from chicory. It holds water at the surface and forms a light, conditioning film. The panel names it ninth on this serum's list, beside Allantoin.
12Coptis Japonica Root Extractplant extract
Coptis Japonica is a traditional East Asian medicinal root, bright yellow from its berberine content. In skincare its extract is used for the look of congested, oily skin. The panel names it twelfth on this serum's list, beside Allantoin.
16Allantoinactive
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. On this serum's own ingredient list it is named sixteenth.
17Bakuchiolactive
Bakuchiol is a compound from the babchi seed, used as a plant-derived alternative to retinol. It is oil soluble, stable in daylight and does not carry retinol's acclimatisation period, which is why sensitive-skin formulas choose it. It is named seventeenth on this serum's list, alongside Allantoin.
Inside the formula
Inside the formula
- 8Zea Mays
- 9Fructan
- 12Coptis Japonica
- 16Allantoin
- 17Bakuchiol
Where each key active sits on the declared ingredient list, by entry number. Position is proportion: the further forward, the larger its share.
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 Allantoin and not three changes at once.
Is this the Korean-market serum or a US version?
The Korean-market one, Allantoin 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.
What else is on the list besides Allantoin?
Bakuchiol, Zea Mays (Corn) Kernel Extract and Coptis Japonica Root Extract. The order they are printed in on this serum's panel is the order on the box, so you can see where Allantoin sits relative to them. Further down the same panel: Fructan and Glucose.
Not on the ingredient list below: fragrance or parfum, denatured or SD alcohol, essential oils, silicones, parabens, sulfate surfactants, mineral oil or petrolatum and added color.
Full INCI (17): Collagen Water, 1,2-Hexanediol, Propanediol, C12-14 Alketh-12, Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Zea Mays (Corn) Kernel Extract, Fructan, Glucose, Hydroxyacetophenone, Coptis Japonica Root Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA, Hippophae Rhamnoides Water, Allantoin, Bakuchiol
Ingredient list read from jolse.com on 9 September 2026.
17 of 17 explained
- Collagen Water protein
- Collagen Water is a collagen solution used in place of plain water as a formula base. It hydrates and leaves a conditioned feel; the collagen molecule itself stays on the surface.
- 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.
- Propanediol humectant
- Propanediol is a plant-derived glycol used in place of propylene glycol. It hydrates, carries actives into solution, and gives a lighter, less sticky slip than glycerin at the same strength.
- C12-14 Alketh-12 emulsifier
- C12-14 Alketh-12 is a solubiliser used to keep oils and fragrance dissolved in a water-based formula.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Zea Mays (Corn) Kernel Extract plant extract
- Corn kernel extract, mostly starch-derived sugars with some amino acids. It is used as a conditioning, water-holding extract.
- Fructan humectant
- Fructan is a chain of fructose units, usually from chicory. It holds water at the surface and forms a light, conditioning film.
- Glucose humectant
- Glucose is a simple sugar used as a humectant and as food for the ferment ingredients in the same formula. It hydrates mildly and adds a soft slip.
- 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.
- Coptis Japonica Root Extract plant extract
- Coptis Japonica is a traditional East Asian medicinal root, bright yellow from its berberine content. In skincare its extract is used for the look of congested, oily skin.
5 more explained
- 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.
- Hippophae Rhamnoides Water plant extract
- Hippophae Rhamnoides is sea buckthorn. Its water is used in place of plain water as a base and carries traces of the fruit's vitamins.
- 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.
- Bakuchiol active
- Bakuchiol is a compound from the babchi seed, used as a plant-derived alternative to retinol. It is oil soluble, stable in daylight and does not carry retinol's acclimatisation period, which is why sensitive-skin formulas choose it.
- EAN (barcode)
- 8809447256238
- Made in
- Republic of Korea
- Volume
- 100 ml
- Category
- Serum & Ampoule / Whipped serum
- Actives
- Allantoin, Bakuchiol, Collagen, Sea Buckthorn
- 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.
Payment and security
We accept
How it works
The ABC Glow Whipped Serum is a 100ml serum, used after toner and before moisturizer, morning and evening. The active it is built around is Allantoin, named sixteenth on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Bakuchiol, Zea Mays (Corn) Kernel Extract and Coptis Japonica Root Extract, 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 serum format rather than by the list alone. This is the Original Korean Formula, the serum Dr.Althea sells in Korea, Allantoin and all.
How to use
- Use the ABC Glow Whipped Serum after your toner and before your moisturizer, morning and evening.
- A small scoop or two pumps for the whole face, pressed in with the flats of your fingers rather than rubbed.
- Follow with a moisturizer, or with sunscreen in the morning; a whipped serum is a working layer and not the seal on the routine.
- Twice a day, every day. Do not use it as your only moisturizer on dry skin, because an aerated layer holds less than a cream does.
Worth knowing
- A retinoid formula: start two to three nights a week and build up from there, and pair it with a sunscreen the following morning.
- Discontinue if irritation develops and check the ingredient list against any known sensitivity.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Tell us how much you love the product!
Write a reviewWrite a review
Dr. Althea ABC Glow Whipped Serum
How it felt, how your skin took it, what you layer it with. Straight answers help the next person choose.
We’re on gram!
Creators trying on authentic Korean skincare routines and products from us.
Rating a shelf of Dr. Althea products one by one.
Jasmine Loo · YouTube
Two hydrating serums side by side, IUNIK and Dr. Althea.
Kristin · YouTube
A walk through the Dr. Althea serum lineup and who each one suits.
auraofmahmuda · YouTube
A blunt first take on the Dr. Althea range.
Lexi Chang · YouTube
A first look at the viral 345 Relief Cream before buying.
Shelley Nayak · YouTube
A first try of the Dr. Althea serum on camera.
Hannah Ziad · YouTube
Dr.Althea, Korean-market original
The Original Korean Formula serum from Dr.Althea, 100ml formulated with Allantoin and Bakuchiol, 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 the key actives in this formula, quoted from the medical sources linked beside each.
Allantoin can tone down the dryness of the individual cells. It increases the water content of the skin, which means it helps to hydrate and moisturize.
Wilma Bergfeld, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic Bakuchiol is often used as a gentler alternative to retinol. It may help your skin look smoother and reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
Shilpi Khetarpal, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic
Ask an AI assistant about this product
Ask an AI assistant about this product
Opens ChatGPT, Perplexity or Claude in a new tab with the question prefilled. Claude asks you to sign in first.