Why Are Fermented Ingredients So Common in Korean Beauty?
From “fermented essences” to various “ferment filtrates,” fermented ingredients are practically one of the hallmarks of Korean beauty. This is influenced both by traditional food culture and by formulation considerations.
Common Fermented Ingredients
- Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate
- Common name
- Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate
- Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate
- Common name
- Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate
- Bifida Ferment Lysate
- Common name
- Bifida Ferment Lysate
| INCI name | Common name |
|---|---|
| Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate | Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate |
| Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate | Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate |
| Bifida Ferment Lysate | Bifida Ferment Lysate |
Poll
Have you used a fermented essence?
- I use one regularly
- I've tried one but didn't notice a difference
- I've never used one
- I'm allergic or sensitive to fermented ingredients
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Fermentation is common in Korean beauty, and food culture is certainly part of the background. But more importantly, it's well suited to telling a story about “traditional ingredients + modern biotechnology”: brands can turn familiar ingredients such as rice, beans, and yeast into filtrates or lysates, then differentiate their products through skin feel, formulation features, and fermentation processes. And not every “ferment” refers to the same thing—ferment filtrate, ferment lysate, and fermented extracts on an INCI list may differ in their sources and processing methods.
From a formulation standpoint, fermentation may change the composition of small molecules in an ingredient or help produce metabolites. But that doesn't mean it is necessarily gentler, better absorbed, or suitable for sensitive skin; the effects depend on the specific ingredient, its concentration, and the overall formula. If you want to try one, check the full ingredient list and test a small amount on a small area first. If you've had a bad reaction to a certain type of fermented product before, don't judge it based only on “natural” or “gentle” claims.
The poll options are pretty practical: experiences with fermented products really do vary a lot.