In Korea, embracing vegan values in beauty was not always easy. For years, the spotlight was on high-tech formulas and fast results, often leaving ethical concerns in the shadows. Korean vegan skincare once felt like the gentle cousin at a family gathering—well-meaning but missing that signature K-beauty punch.
Today, that has changed. Korean vegan skincare brands are crafting formulas that are as principled as they are powerful. With fermented plant extracts that rival traditional essences, botanical ceramides to strengthen the skin barrier, and thoughtfully chosen actives, they prove that vegan doesn’t mean compromising on performance.
If you haven’t considered vegan formulas before, picture this. You’re navigating an endless beauty aisle, surrounded by products with ingredient lists that could double as chemistry textbooks. Then you notice something different—a brand that cares as much about the animals and the planet as it does about giving you radiant skin. With these products, there’s a story behind every formula.
D’Alba
When talking about Korean vegan skincare, it would feel incomplete not to mention D’Alba. This brand has become one of the most popular names overseas and is often spotted in the routines of Korean celebrities. At one point, NCT’s Jaemin mentioned the White Truffle Double Mask Pack as his go-to treatment, and it sold out almost immediately. Beyond popularity, D’Alba also takes sustainability and ethics seriously with V-Label vegan certification, dermatologist testing, and FSC-certified packaging.
Its signature ingredient, Trufferol™️, blends white truffle, called the diamond of the earth, with tocopherol. This powerhouse complex offers antioxidants, brightens skin, improves elasticity, and strengthens the skin barrier.
Recommended Products
- First Spray Serum – Originally popular among flight attendants for keeping skin hydrated in the dry, stressful environment of airplane cabins. This oil-serum hybrid provides deep moisture without clogging pores, helping balance hydration, oil, and sebum levels.
- Waterful Essence Sun Cream – A mineral sunscreen with strong UV protection, smooth application, and no white cast. Loved by dry skin types for its rich hydration and comfortable wear.
BHAB
BHAB is a high-quality Korean vegan skincare brand focused on slow-aging, clean beauty, and natural ingredients. All products are EVE Vegan and PETA Cruelty-Free certified, dermatologist tested, and packaged in eco-friendly FSC materials, combining skin benefits with environmental care.
Its key ingredient Slowchaga™️ blends nutrient-rich chaga mushroom with fermented kombucha probiotics from Jirisan green tea. These ingredients are perfect for dry or sensitive skin, especially during seasonal changes.
Recommended Products:
- Slowchaga Essential Cleansing Balm – Enriched with Slow Chaga, plant-based oils, ceramide NP, LHA, BHA, AHA, hyaluronic acid complex, and tea tree extract. Provides deep cleansing, sebum control, and hydration.
- Glow Firm Face & Eye Serum – Contains Slow Chaga, eight peptides, niacinamide, bakuchiol, and an amino complex. Gently brightens, hydrates, and firms skin, even around the delicate eye area.
BHAB Slowchaga Essential Cleansing Balm
BHAB Slowchaga Essential Cleansing Balm
Bonajour
Bonajour understands that skin thrives on natural ingredients rather than harsh chemicals. The brand focuses on researching high-quality extracts and delivering their benefits directly into skincare. Bonajour products are CGMP certified, Cruelty-Free, The Vegan Society certified, and come in FSC-certified packaging, supporting a sustainable and conscious approach to beauty.
Among Bonajour’s products, the Ginger line truly shines. It’s gentle, deeply hydrating, and incredibly soothing, making it perfect for sensitive or stressed skin. Although the Green Tea line is another product often mentioned alongside it and is equally well-known for its mildness, our personal pick is the Ginger line.
Recommended products:
- Ginger Aqua Relief Cream – Non-comedogenic and low-irritant, this cream soothes and strengthens the skin barrier. It combines ginger water, hyaluronic acid, zinc PCA, LHA, panthenol, and skin-lipid components like ceramide, cholesterol, and fatty acids in a balanced formulation.
- Ginger Toner Pads – Packed with the same soothing ingredients (minus the lipid components), these pads act like a calming mask, perfect for use after cleansing on sensitive or irritated skin.
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![[BONAJOUR] Ginger Aqua Relief Toner Pad for Sensitive Skin, Gentl...](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41z-oXmsP8L.jpg)
Whipped
Whipped has a quirky, charming appeal. Inspired by a mother’s carefully crafted recipes, the brand carefully selects each ingredient with the same love and attention. Whipped is certified by The Vegan Society in the UK, reflecting its commitment to clean, ethical beauty.
The pack cleanser is a top pick. Its whipped-cream-like texture and playful pastel colors make it fun to use, while delivering excellent skincare results. You can choose products tailored to your skin type, but the most popular are Mugtree and Jojovender.
Recommended products:
- Mugtree Cleanser combines mugwort powder, tea tree oil, centella asiatica extract, niacinamide, salicylic acid, and madecassoside. It helps calm pores and balance oil, making it ideal for oily or combination skin prone to breakouts.
- Jojovender Cleanser blends jojoba seed oil, lavender oil, provitamin B5, niacinamide, and Aquaxyl. It’s designed to hydrate and relieve internal dryness, perfect for dry or dehydrated skin.
Formulier
Formulier is a Korean vegan skincare brand that approaches skincare like a sommelier pairing wine with a meal, analyzing products to create the perfect formula for each customer. It stands out as one of the few Korean brands certified by COSMOS for international natural and organic standards and verified by the Korean Vegan Association. Formulier also uses eco-friendly packaging with FSC-certified materials and soy-based ink.
The brand focuses on natural and organic ingredients suitable for dry and sensitive skin. All products are dermatologically tested through Dermatest and clinical irritation trials, ensuring safe, gentle care. Formulier is ideal for those seeking natural, gentle skincare with high-quality organic ingredients and eco-conscious values.
Recommended Products
- Pure Green Tea Cleansing Foam – A mild, slightly acidic cleanser with 98% natural ingredients, including plant-based essential oils, flower mushroom extract, coconut-derived surfactants, hyaluronic acid, green tea water, and yuzu extract. It cleanses without leaving the skin tight or dry.
- Flaxseed Ampoule 48 – Lightweight, fast-absorbing ampoule with 100% natural ingredients and 48% flaxseed extract, delivering hydration deep into the skin while leaving a fresh, smooth finish.
Formulier Pure Green Tea Cleansing Foam
Formulier Flaxseed Ampoule 48
Formulier products aren’t widely available on international online stores. If you love stocking up on Korean skincare directly from Korea, consider using a Korean proxy shopping service to access their full range of COSMOS-certified products.
House of Dohwa
House of Dohwa is a Korean vegan skincare brand whose name means “a beautiful person like a peach blossom.” It combines traditional Korean ingredients with modern skincare science, creating natural, functional beauty. Certified by Korea Vegan, the brand emphasizes clean, gentle formulations that are kind to your skin and the environment.
House of Dohwa draws on the rich heritage of Icheon, famous for its high-quality rice once offered to royalty. Rice extracts are the star ingredient, delivering soothing, brightening, and moisturizing benefits that leave skin healthy, radiant, and calm.
Recommended Products
- Rice Bran Toner – A gentle, hydrating toner with rice bran extract, rice extract, chrysanthemum extract, and EWG green-rated ingredients for smooth, nourished skin.
- Makgeolli Toner – Combines galactomyces ferment filtrate, yeast/rice ferment filtrate, adenosine, ceramide, rice extract, and niacinamide to boost brightness, elasticity, and hydration.
Dear, Klairs
Dear, Klairs is a Korean vegan skincare brand focused on sensitive skin. Certified by The Vegan Society and PETA, with FSC-certified packaging, it combines gentle, effective skincare with environmental responsibility. The brand’s formulas are mild, making them easy for anyone to try without irritation.
Recommended Products
- Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop – A 5% pure vitamin C ampoule with a gentle pH of 3.5. It helps improve skin texture and brightness without irritation, thanks to centella asiatica extract, 5 EGF peptides, 5 amino acids, and hyaluronic acid. Free from artificial colorants and fragrance, it is suitable for sensitive skin.
- Gentle Black Fresh Cleansing Oil – A lightweight, non-sticky cleansing oil made with 85% plant-derived ingredients. It gently dissolves makeup and impurities without leaving residue, making it perfect for the first step of double cleansing.
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Bring Green
Bring Green is a Korean vegan skincare brand that started at Olive Young, one of Korea’s major beauty retailers. The brand embraces naturalism, selecting ingredients that care for skin every day. EVE Vegan-certified, Bring Green offers effective products for acne-prone and sensitive skin at very affordable prices.
Recommended Products
- Tea Tree Cica Soothing Toner – Balances oil and moisture while gently exfoliating. Its hydrating, calming texture cools and soothes irritated, heated skin.
- Zinc Teca Blemish Serum – A potent acne-fighting serum with highly concentrated Centella asiatica key components (Teca), combined with Zinc PCA to control sebum and care for pores. This helps reduce breakouts effectively.
Why Vegan Skincare?
Choosing vegan skincare is about more than ingredients. It’s a mindset, a way to align beauty with ethics, sustainability, and self-care.
- Gentle on Your Skin – Plant-based ingredients tend to be milder and more compatible with sensitive skin. You get care without compromise, avoiding irritation that can come from harsh chemical additives.
- Packed with Natural Goodness – Oils, extracts, and botanicals like avocado, rosehip, green tea, and centella are naturally rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and nutrients that nourish your skin and promote a healthy glow.
- Cleaner, Transparent Formulas – Vegan products often skip common irritants like parabens, sulfates, and synthetic fragrances. Ingredient lists are easier to understand, giving you confidence in what you’re putting on your skin.
- Kind to Animals – True vegan skincare never uses animal-derived ingredients like beeswax or lanolin, and never tests on animals. Choosing these products supports compassion and cruelty-free practices.
- Environmentally Friendly – Plant-based ingredients and thoughtful, recyclable packaging reduce environmental impact compared to conventional beauty products.
- Works for Every Skin Type – Vegan products work with the skin’s natural composition, offering hydration without causing imbalance or breakouts.
- Aligned with Your Values – Vegan skincare lets you support brands that prioritize ethics, sustainability, and conscious business practices while still enjoying high-performance results.
Takeaway
Korean vegan skincare proves that ethical, sustainable choices don’t mean compromising on results. Even if you’re not vegan, incorporating these products into your routine is a mindful way to care for both your skin and the world around you.
