Skin treatments

Botulinum toxin type A

Also: 보톡스, Botox Cosmetic

Botulinum toxin injections relax targeted muscles and are used for expression lines, jaw slimming, and other indications. South Korea has several domestic toxin brands alongside imported ones.

In South Korea: Botulax (보툴렉스), Nabota (나보타), Meditoxin (메디톡신)

Chemical exfoliation with acids such as glycolic acid or TCA

Also: 필링, 케미컬 필링, 화학박피

A controlled chemical injury that removes the outer layers of skin. Used for pigmentation, texture and acne. Depth, not brand, decides both the result and the risk — and in skin that pigments easily the shallow end is where the evidence sits.

In South Korea: 글리콜산 필링, LHA 필링, 제스너 필링

Gradual improvement over a course, with maintenance topicals doing much of the long-term work. Melasma in particular recurs without them.

Hyaluronic acid gel injected for volume

Also: 필러, HA filler, 히알루론산 필러

An injectable gel, most often hyaluronic acid, placed under the skin to restore or add volume and soften contours. In South Korea it is regulated as a medical device rather than a drug, and hyaluronic acid versions can be dissolved with hyaluronidase if something goes wrong.

In South Korea: Restylane (레스틸렌), Juvéderm (쥬비덤), Neuramis (뉴라미스), YVOIRE (이브아르), The Chaeum (더채움)

Adds volume where it is placed and softens a contour; it does not tighten skin or change skin quality, and it is temporary.

Extracellular vesicles

Also: 엑소좀, exosomes

Extracellular vesicles applied to or injected into skin, marketed for elasticity, wrinkles, hydration and pigmentation. The published human evidence is early, and in South Korea the regulatory category of a given product — drug or cosmetic — is the question that matters most.

In South Korea: 엑소좀 스킨부스터, exosome after-care solution

Reported improvements are modest and the studies are small. Ask which regulatory category the product falls under before anything else.

Injectable lipolysis, for example deoxycholic acid

Also: 윤곽주사, 지방분해주사, injection lipolysis

Injections intended to break down small pockets of fat, most often under the chin. Only two products are licensed in South Korea for submental fat, both deoxycholic acid — while much of what is sold as 윤곽주사 is an off-label compounded mixture with no fixed formula.

In South Korea: 브이올렛 (V-OLET), 벨라콜린, 윤곽주사

A modest reduction in a small, defined fat pocket over several sessions. Not a substitute for weight loss or liposuction, and the licensed and unlicensed versions are not the same product.

Fractional ablative (CO2, erbium) or non-ablative laser

Also: 프락셔널 레이저, fractional resurfacing

Laser energy delivered in columns rather than across the whole surface, so untreated skin between them speeds healing. Ablative versions remove tissue in those columns; non-ablative versions heat without removing it, and the pooled evidence does not separate them on results.

In South Korea: 프락셀, CO2 프락셔널

Meaningful improvement in atrophic scars and texture over a course, with the choice between ablative and non-ablative changing downtime more than outcome.

Bipolar radiofrequency platform

Also: 인모드

InMode is a family of radiofrequency devices (Forma, FX, Morpheus8 and others) used in Korean clinics for tightening, fat reduction on the face, and RF microneedling.

In South Korea: InMode Forma, InMode FX, Morpheus8

Poly-D,L-lactic acid (PDLLA) with hyaluronic acid

Also: 쥬베룩

Juvelook is a Korean injectable skin booster combining poly-D,L-lactic acid (PDLLA) with hyaluronic acid, marketed for collagen stimulation and skin texture.

In South Korea: Juvelook (쥬베룩), Juvelook Volume, Lenisna (레니스나)

Low-fluence Q-switched Nd:YAG laser

Also: 레이저토닝, QSNY toning

Repeated low-energy laser passes over an area, most often with a Q-switched Nd:YAG at 1064 nm, used for melasma and general pigmentation. A technique rather than a device — the same name is sold on several laser platforms.

In South Korea: 레이저토닝, 듀얼토닝, 피코토닝, 제네시스토닝

Gradual lightening over a course, with melasma managed rather than cured and recurrence expected without maintenance.

Picosecond-pulse laser

Also: picosecond laser, 피코레이저

Pico (picosecond) lasers deliver very short pulses and are used in South Korea mainly for pigmentation, melasma toning, and some acne scar and pore treatments.

In South Korea: PicoSure, PicoWay, Discovery Pico, Pico Plus

Radiofrequency microneedling

Also: 포텐자

Potenza is a radiofrequency microneedling device made in South Korea, used for skin texture, pores, acne scars, and mild tightening.

In South Korea: Potenza (포텐자), Sylfirm X (실펌엑스), Secret RF

Calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA)

Also: 레디어스, 래디어스

Calcium hydroxylapatite microspheres in a gel carrier, injected for contour and increasingly diluted and spread for skin quality. It fills immediately and stimulates collagen afterwards — and unlike hyaluronic acid filler, it cannot be dissolved.

In South Korea: 레디어스, 하이퍼다일루트 레디어스

Immediate correction plus a slower collagen response. Longer-lasting than hyaluronic acid, with the trade-off that a poor result has to be waited out.

Polynucleotides (PN) purified from salmon DNA

Also: Rejuran Healer, 리쥬란

Rejuran is a Korean brand of injectable skin treatment based on polynucleotides (PN) derived from salmon DNA, used in Korean clinics for skin quality rather than volume.

In South Korea: Rejuran Healer, Rejuran HB, Rejuran I (eye), Rejuran S (scar)

Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA)

Also: 스컬트라

An injectable poly-L-lactic acid suspension that provokes collagen formation over months rather than filling space. Long-lasting where it works, not reversible, and the published nodule rates vary widely between studies.

In South Korea: 스컬트라

Gradual volume over three to six months across a course, sustained for a year or more. Nodules are the complication to understand before agreeing.

Injectables placed in the skin to improve quality rather than add volume

Also: skinbooster, 스킨부스터

Skin booster is an umbrella term for superficial injectable treatments, most often hyaluronic acid based, intended to hydrate and improve skin quality rather than add volume.

In South Korea: Restylane Skinboosters, Profhilo, Rejuran, Juvelook, 물광주사 (HA)

Monopolar radiofrequency

Also: Thermage, 써마지, 써마지 FLX

Thermage FLX is a monopolar radiofrequency device used for skin tightening on the face, eyes, and body. In South Korea it is commonly compared with Ultherapy for lifting.

In South Korea: Oligio (올리지오), Density (덴서티), Volnewmer (볼뉴머)

Absorbable barbed or cogged sutures, such as PDO

Also: 실리프팅, barbed suture lift

Absorbable threads with barbs are passed under the skin and drawn upwards, so the barbs catch and hold sagging tissue in a new position. The thread dissolves over months; the lift it produces is modest and temporary.

In South Korea: Silhouette Soft (실루엣소프트), Mint Lift (민트리프팅), Ultra V Lift, Blue Rose Forte

A modest, temporary repositioning of sagging tissue. Published follow-up shows a large part of the initial correction is gone within a few years, and reviewers do not treat it as a substitute for surgery.

Micro-focused ultrasound with visualization (MFU-V)

Also: Ulthera, 울쎄라

Ultherapy is a micro-focused ultrasound device used for non-surgical lifting and tightening of the face and neck. It is one of the most requested lifting treatments in Korean clinics.

In South Korea: Shurink (슈링크), Ultraformer (울트라포머), Doublo (더블로), Liftera