6 Best PDRN Serums of 2026, Formula Over Marketing

Only one of the six PDRN serums below tells you how much PDRN is inside in a way you can check. Another gives three different figures on its own product page, and two more print numbers that turn out not to be concentrations at all.

PDRN is the fastest growing ingredient in Korean skincare right now, and the labelling has not caught up with the hype. Reading six ingredient lists in a row makes that obvious in a way the marketing never will.

Below: what PDRN actually is, what the number on the front of the bottle does and does not tell you, and which six are worth buying in the US right now.

Key takeaways

• Only Rejuran puts a single checkable figure on the bottle, and it is 0.5 percent.
• Anua’s “Capsule 100” and COSRX’s “5 PDRN” are not concentrations. One is packaging technology, the other is a count of sources.
• Abib’s own page gives three figures for the same product: 1.4 percent in the heading, 4 percent in the sentence beneath it, and 40,000 ppm further down.
• Five of the six are fragrance-free. The one that is not is the pick most publications name first.

The best PDRN serums at a glance

• Best overall: Abib PDRN Glow Serum 4.0 Pump ($28)
• Best value: Haruharu Wonder Rose PDRN Firming Serum ($22)
• Best for a clear label: Rejuran Turnover Ampoule c-PDRN 0.5% ($52)
• Best for dry skin: Anua PDRN Hyaluronic Acid Capsule 100 Serum ($30)
• Best big bottle: COSRX 5 PDRN Collagen Intense Vitalizing Serum ($25)
• Best known: Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Serum ($24)

How did we choose these six?

Monthly US searches for a PDRN serum ran at 9,900 in August 2025 and 27,100 by July 2026, averaging 18,100 across the year. The shelf has filled faster than the labelling has.

We started from the two editorial round-ups that rank for this search, cross-checked them against what recurs in r/AsianBeauty, and then read every ingredient list ourselves at INCI level rather than trusting the summary.

Three checks on every product. First, availability: it has to be buyable in the US. Second, the full published ingredient list, counted from one named variant, because several of these brands sell two formulas under names that run close together. Third, the live price from the brand’s own store or a national retailer on the day of writing.

Six products cleared all three. A seventh, Centellian 24, is in Glamour’s list but we could not verify its ingredient list from a primary source in time, so it is left out rather than guessed at. Our How We Review page covers the methodology in full.

What is PDRN?

PDRN stands for polydeoxyribonucleotide, a mixture of DNA fragments most often extracted from salmon. In Korea it became known through clinic injectables before it appeared in bottles, and the topical versions borrow the reputation of the injectable rather than repeating its evidence.

On an ingredient list it almost never appears as the word PDRN. It shows up as Sodium DNA in five of the six serums here, and as Hydrolyzed DNA in the sixth. Those are the names to look for.

The source is not always fish. Two of the six here use a vegan version: Haruharu Wonder extracts its PDRN from Damask rose stem cells, and Medicube says its Rose PDRN carries the safety of vegan ingredients alongside rose extract. In both, the INCI name is still Sodium DNA, so you cannot tell salmon from rose by reading the list.

That gap matters to some readers more than others. Christine Hall, MD, who works in medical aesthetics at the TakTouk Clinic in London, told Glamour that because PDRN is usually fish-derived, anyone with a fish allergy, or with vegan or religious concerns, should read ingredient lists closely.

What does the number on a PDRN bottle actually mean?

Usually nothing you can check. Of the six serums here, exactly one prints a plain concentration you can hold the brand to, and two print numbers that look like concentrations but are not.

Anua’s Capsule 100 refers to microcapsule delivery technology. The brand’s own page states no PDRN concentration anywhere, and Sodium DNA sits 21st of 34 ingredients.

The 5 in COSRX 5 PDRN counts sources rather than percent. Ulta’s listing names them as salmon, centella asiatica, green caviar, rice and lactobacillus.

Abib is the strangest of the four. Its page carries three figures: a heading reading “1.4% High-Potency Salmon DNA Derived PDRN”, a sentence directly beneath it saying 4%, and a panel further down stating 40,000 ppm. The last two agree with each other. The heading does not.

Rejuran prints its 0.5 percent in the product name. One number, and the same one wherever you look.

Glamour reports Medicube at 10,000 parts per million, which is one percent, and calls it the highest concentration currently available. Abib publishes 40,000 ppm on its own product page, the same unit and four times the number. Whether the two brands are measuring the same thing is not something either label lets a reader settle, but the claim about the highest available does not survive Glamour’s own list.

There is one axis you can actually compare. Ingredient lists are ordered by concentration down to one percent, so the position of the DNA ingredient tells you more than the marketing does.

What do the best PDRN serums cost?

Six serums, $22 to $52. The spread is narrow, and price tracks bottle size and brand heritage rather than how much PDRN you get.

Rejuran is the most expensive at $52 and has the shortest ingredient list here at 25 entries. COSRX is the cheapest per millilitre by a wide margin, because $25 buys 100ml while everything else is a 30ml bottle. The four in the middle sit within $8 of each other, which is not enough to decide anything.

1Abib PDRN Glow Serum 4.0 Pump: Best Overall

The Abib PDRN Glow Serum places its DNA ingredient sixth of 32, higher than any other serum here. On a list ordered by concentration, that position says more than the number on the box does, and it is the reason this one leads.

The published list runs to 32 entries, built on Sodium DNA with six peptides, hydrolyzed collagen, beta-glucan and panthenol behind it. No fragrance, no essential oils.

Worth knowing before you open it: Abib warns on the page that the PDRN itself carries a scent and that this is not a defect, and reviewers describe it as faintly fishy. Fragrance-free on the label does not mean odourless in the bottle.

The label is the weak part. Abib prints 4.0 on the bottle and then gives two different percentages for it on the same page. That does not make the formula worse, but it does mean the number is not something to buy on.

Best for: most skin types, and anyone who would rather judge a formula by its ingredient order than its front label. Price: $28 for 30ml on the brand’s US store, often less at YesStyle.

2Haruharu Wonder Rose PDRN Firming Serum: Best Value

Haruharu Wonder is the cheaper of the two vegan options here, at $22. The brand extracts its PDRN from Damask rose stem cells rather than salmon, and unlike Medicube it says so on the front of the bottle.

It is also the only one carrying a second active. Retinal sits 20th in a 42-entry list, with ceramide NP, centella and five peptides further down, and no fragrance. Retinal has a genuine adjustment period, so this is not a starter serum in the way the others are.

Sodium DNA sits 35th of 42, the lowest position here. At $22 it is the cheapest of the six and the widest stocked, sold at Target and Nordstrom rather than only through importers.

Best for: anyone avoiding fish-derived ingredients, and people already comfortable with a retinoid. Price: $22 for 30ml on the brand store, $19.99 at Target.

3Rejuran Turnover Ampoule c-PDRN 0.5%: Best for a Clear Label

Rejuran is the brand behind the injectable that made PDRN famous in Korea, and its ampoule is the only product here that prints one plain, checkable concentration on the bottle.

The formula is the shortest on this page. Twenty-five ingredients, with Hydrolyzed DNA 13th, aloe juice second and niacinamide seventh. It is also the only one of the six using Hydrolyzed DNA rather than Sodium DNA, which is worth knowing if you are comparing lists yourself.

At $52 it is double the price of most of this list. What the money buys is a short formula and a number you can hold the brand to, not a proven advantage over the cheaper options.

Best for: people who want the shortest ingredient list and the least ambiguous label. Price: $52 for 30ml at Sephora, around $41.60 at Olive Young US.

4Anua PDRN Hyaluronic Acid Capsule 100 Serum: Best for Dry Skin

Anua pairs its PDRN with eight separate hyaluronic acid derivatives, which is what makes it the dry-skin pick rather than anything the PDRN is doing.

The published list runs to 34 entries with hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid fifth, niacinamide seventh and glutathione and hydrolyzed collagen in the first half. Sodium DNA sits 21st, and Anua confirms it is salmon-derived.

The name is the thing to read carefully. Capsule 100 describes the microcapsule delivery, not a hundred of anything, and the brand states no PDRN concentration at all.

Best for: dry or dehydrated skin that wants hydration first and PDRN second. Price: $30 for 30ml.

5COSRX 5 PDRN Collagen Intense Vitalizing Serum: Best Big Bottle

COSRX sells 100ml for $25 while every other serum here is a 30ml bottle. That is more than three times the product for around the same money, and it is the only meaningful price difference on this list.

The 5 in the name counts PDRN sources rather than percent. The ingredient list carries Sodium DNA 10th and Hydrolyzed DNA 29th across 38 entries, with niacinamide fourth, alpha-arbutin and hydrolyzed collagen behind them. No fragrance.

Niacinamide sitting fourth is high, so if you have reacted to niacinamide before, this is the one to patch test.

Best for: anyone who wants to use a PDRN serum daily without watching the bottle empty. Price: $25 for 100ml at Ulta.

6Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Serum: Best Known

Medicube is the product Google’s AI answer names first and the one Glamour picks as best overall. It is also the only serum on this list that contains fragrance, sitting 18th in the ingredient list.

One thing almost nobody mentions about it: the Rose PDRN version is vegan. Medicube says the ingredient carries the safety of vegan ingredients alongside rose extract, which makes the best-known PDRN serum in the category one of only two here that is not salmon-derived.

Two things to get right before you buy. Medicube sells more than one version under names that run close together, a Rose PDRN and an Ultra Light with salmon DNA, and the formulas are not minor variations of each other. In the Rose version Sodium DNA sits 30th of 38 entries. In the salmon version it sits 8th of 40, with milt extract at 14th. Both contain fragrance.

The second is what the price is doing. At $24, reduced from $26, it is neither the cheapest nor the most transparent, and the reason it leads most lists is visibility rather than formula.

Our Korean serum guide ranks this one for uneven tone within a broader field.

Best for: uneven tone, and anyone who wants a vegan PDRN and does not react to fragrance. Price: $24 for 30ml on the brand store, around $21 at Ulta.

Does topical PDRN actually do anything?

The evidence for serums is thinner than the marketing suggests, and the study most often cited did not test a serum.

That paper, published in Molecules on 14 February 2022, combined PDRN with vitamin C and niacinamide and delivered the mixture through a microneedling therapy system. Microneedling puts the ingredient past the skin barrier. Pressing a serum onto intact skin does not, which is the gap between the research and the bottle.

There is an irony in that study worth noticing. Shinny Cho, MD, a Korean consultant dermatologist at Future Care Medical, told Glamour that PDRN serums suit skin that needs extra care, and named lasers, peels and microneedling as the situations they help most. The research that gets cited for topical PDRN is the research where a needle did the delivering.

Dermatologists quoted on the record are measured about it. Rachel Nazarian, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York, told Glamour that PDRN works on surface texture and hydration while retinol penetrates more deeply, and that PDRN is better tolerated by sensitive skin. Pooja Rambhia, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New Jersey, described it to the same publication as a reasonable option for people who cannot tolerate retinoids.

Cho also noted that temporary redness or sensitivity is possible with any new ingredient and advised patch testing first.

All three framed it as a barrier-support and comfort ingredient rather than a replacement for anything. That is a narrower claim than most PDRN packaging makes.

How do you pick a PDRN serum?

Ignore the number on the front. Five of the six numbers on these bottles are either absent, ambiguous or measuring something other than concentration, so the label is the last thing to judge by.

Read for the DNA ingredient instead. Look for Sodium DNA or Hydrolyzed DNA and check where it falls, because ingredient lists are ordered by concentration down to one percent. Abib puts it sixth, COSRX tenth, Rejuran thirteenth, and the rest place it in the back half.

Then check fragrance, especially if you are using PDRN because your skin is already irritated. Only Medicube contains it here.

A serum goes on after a Korean toner and before moisturizer. That order is set out in our Korean skincare routine guide, and it matters more than which PDRN you land on.

Frequently asked questions

Do PDRN serums actually work?

The evidence for topical serums is limited. The study most often cited, published in Molecules in February 2022, delivered PDRN through microneedling rather than as a serum on intact skin, so it does not tell you what a bottle will do.

Dermatologists quoted on the record describe topical PDRN as a barrier-support and hydration ingredient that is well tolerated, not as a replacement for retinoids.

Which serum has the highest concentration of PDRN?

You cannot tell from the labels. Rejuran states 0.5 percent, Glamour reports Medicube at 10,000 parts per million, and Abib gives three conflicting figures on its own page. Anua and COSRX state no concentration at all.

The closest thing to a comparable measure is where the DNA ingredient sits in the list. Abib places it sixth of 32, which is the highest position among these six.

Is PDRN made from salmon sperm?

Usually it is derived from salmon DNA, and several brands say so directly. Anua states its Sodium DNA comes from salmon, and Medicube’s Ultra Light version lists milt extract.

Not all of it is fish. Two of the six serums here use a vegan version, Haruharu Wonder from Damask rose stem cells and Medicube’s Rose PDRN, though the INCI name is the same Sodium DNA either way.

Can you use PDRN with retinol or acids?

Pooja Rambhia, MD, told Glamour that topical PDRN has no major known incompatibilities but advised against layering it with high-concentration glycolic or salicylic acid or with prescription retinoids, and suggested spacing strong actives to different times of day.

One product here already contains retinal, so treat the Haruharu Wonder serum as your retinoid step rather than adding another on top.

What is the most popular PDRN serum?

Medicube’s PDRN Pink Peptide Serum, by a wide margin. It is the product Google’s AI answer leads with and Glamour’s best overall pick.

Popularity is not the same as transparency. It is the only serum of the six here that contains fragrance, and the concentration figure attached to it comes from press coverage rather than the brand’s US product page.

The bottom line

Buy the Abib PDRN Glow Serum at $28 if you want the DNA ingredient as high in the list as this category currently offers, and no fragrance with it.

The other five are targeted rather than better. Haruharu Wonder if you avoid fish or want retinal in the same bottle, Rejuran for the shortest formula and the clearest label, Anua for dry skin, COSRX if you want a bottle that lasts, Medicube if you already know it suits you.

PDRN labelling is not yet something you can shop on. One brand of six prints a figure you can check, and the biggest number in the category belongs to a product whose own page disagrees with itself.

More reviews live in our reviews hub and the serums category.

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