Medicube was launched in 2016 by APR, a Seoul-based company. The brand’s own description is brief: products developed with dermatologists, each one tested, all made in Korea. Each line goes by a word or a colour and has its own job:
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Zero: pores
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Pink PDRN: uneven tone and loss of firmness
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Red: breakout-prone skin
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TXA: dark spots
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Deep (vitamin C): dullness
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Glass Glow (collagen): fine lines
The azelaic acid products sit outside the lines. You don’t have to do every step: the brand advises picking only what your skin needs. The order it sets runs from the lightest texture to the richest: cleanser, pad, toner, serum, cream, all in thin layers.
Cleansing and Zero Pore pads
In the Zero Pore line, makeup and sunscreen come off with the Zero Pore Blackhead Cleansing Oil: two or three pumps on dry hands, massaged over the face; wet your hands so the oil turns milky, then rinse. For a double cleanse, follow with a foam cleanser. Next come the Zero Pore Pad 2.0 toner pads. Wipe your face with the textured side first, along your skin’s natural lines and avoiding the eyes and lips, then once more with the smooth side; pat in the rest with your fingertips. The pads contain two exfoliating acids, lactic (an AHA) and salicylic (a BHA), so the brand reminds you to wear sunscreen during the day. Use them daily, morning and evening; for very sensitive skin, the brand suggests starting with a few times a week or choosing the gentler Mild version.
Toners and serums: oily skin, dullness, dark spots
For oily, breakout-prone skin the brand offers its azelaic acid products: a light, watery toner with 4% azelaic acid and 2% niacinamide, applied with your hands or a cotton pad after cleansing, then the Azelaic Acid 16 serum, a few drops at a time after the toner, in thin layers. A faint white residue afterwards is normal, the brand notes: azelaic acid is naturally a powder, and under a cream the residue disappears.
The brand aims its Pink PDRN line at dull skin, uneven tone and loss of firmness. PDRN, it says, is made up of DNA fragments, mostly from salmon (more on what PDRN is in our journal). The PDRN Pink Niacinamide Milky Toner is the line’s richer toner, with ceramides and peptides; the PDRN Pink Peptide Serum goes on morning and evening: two or three drops, then another layer or two if you like. For dark spots and post-breakout marks the brand suggests the TXA Niacinamide 15 Serum (the 15 is 5% tranexamic acid plus 10% niacinamide): a few drops where needed.
The PDRN Pink Exosome Shot Serum 7500 breaks the usual order. Its spicules, tiny needle-like particles, make the skin tingle; the brand calls it “micro-needling in a bottle” and considers the tingling a normal reaction. It goes on first, in the evening right after cleansing, avoiding the eyes and lips; once it has absorbed, follow with a hydrating product. Use it once every three days. The 7500 is the stronger version, for those already used to spicules; the brand suggests the 2000 for beginners.
Capsule creams: mixed on the back of your hand
The capsule cream is Medicube’s signature format: a clear gel and capsules of the active ingredient in one jar. Mix them on the back of your hand in whatever ratio suits your skin: more gel for a lighter feel, more capsules for more hydration and firmness. Apply morning and evening after serum, as the final step. According to the brand, the PDRN Pink Collagen capsules with salmon PDRN are for dry skin and firmness; the TXA Niacinamide capsules with tranexamic acid melt into a red gel and are for marks and uneven tone; the yellow Deep Vita C capsules with vitamin C are for dull skin. The PDRN Pink Peptide Eye Cream, with retinol and PDRN, also goes on last; if retinol is new to you, the brand advises easing it in and watching how your skin reacts.
Masks: night wrapping masks, gel mask and mud mask
The two night wrapping masks, the Collagen Night Wrapping Mask and the PDRN Pink Caffeine Night Wrapping Mask, go on over your cream as the last evening step: an even layer, avoiding the eyes, lips, brows and hairline; let it dry for about fifteen minutes, then sleep. In the morning, peel the film off from the edges or rinse it away with lukewarm water. The collagen one, the brand says, is for firmness; the caffeine one is for puffiness. The PDRN Pink Collagen Gel Mask comes in two pieces, for the eye and mouth areas: apply after toner and remove once it turns from pink to clear, a sign the essence has absorbed; pat in the rest. The Zero Pore Blackhead Mud Mask goes on dry, cleansed skin, avoiding the eyes and lips and focusing on the nose, forehead and chin; once dry, after three to five minutes, rinse with lukewarm water.
How often
- Toners, serums and creams: daily; capsule creams and the PDRN serum morning and evening, as the brand recommends
- Zero Pore pads: daily, or a few times a week at first if your skin is sensitive
- Mud mask: once or twice a week
- PDRN Pink Caffeine wrapping mask: three or four times a week, or even daily in the dry season
- Exosome Shot 7500: once every three days, in the evening
