It’s not just the novelty factor that has made salmon-sperm facials the buzziest beauty treatment on the block – the celeb-approved procedure actually delivers on its purported claims of glowier, healthier-looking skin. But if you can’t get yourself into a medical spa or doctor’s office to try it yourself, you have the next best option: PDRN serums and creams.
’s favourite PDRN skincare products at a glance:
To understand why PDRN creams and other topical products have become so popular, you’ll first need to understand PDRN itself. PDRN, or polydeoxyribonucleotide, is the active ingredient in “salmon-sperm” facials. “It’s a fragment of DNA,” says Dr Eunice Park, a dual-board-certified facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon and the founder of AIREM in New York. (Not outright sperm, as hype would lead you to believe.) According to Brian Murdock, general manager, North America, for K-beauty brand Memebox, PDRN’s restorative properties were first researched back in the 1980s, but subsequently became widely used in Korean skincare and dermatology treatments, including injectables.
The most common pro-grade treatment you’ll see is Rejuran Healing Essence. This formula uses PDRN derived from salmon sperm cells that are harvested from the fish as they literally swim into the company’s specially designed facility at the end of mating season. Park uses this formula in her practice, noting that many practitioners in Korea will administer the product via multiple shallow injections, not unlike Juvéderm’s skin booster SkinVive. Rather than injecting it, Park applies it to the skin after microneedling or lasering. “It’s like a vitamin boost to the skin,” she says.
PDRN has many skin benefits, with preclinical and clinical studies demonstrating anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties, as well as the ability to synthesise collagen and reduce hyperpigmentation. These benefits have made in-office PDRN procedures wildly popular, so it was only a matter of time until the active ingredient found its way into at-home formulas. “While topical PDRN products don’t penetrate as deeply or work as intensively as injections, they still deliver visible results over time, improving skin texture, elasticity, and overall radiance with consistent use,” says Murdock. This is especially true if you use at-home microneedling devices – those little channels created by a dermaroller will help a PDRN serum penetrate the skin more deeply.
As we dug into the research for this story, we wondered: Why salmon? “When PDRN was first gaining traction, its use started with salmon-derived PDRN because they found that salmon sperm shared similarities with DNA found in human placenta,” explains Victoria Fu, cosmetic chemist and cofounder of the podcast Chemist Confessions. To determine if your formula actually contains PDRN, just search its ingredient list for the term “sodium DNA.” “These should all include a version of DNA fragments,” says Fu. “However, the labels don’t tell you where the DNA fragments would be sourced from.”
This is important because in addition to salmon-derived products, there are now plant-based PDRN creams on the market. Yes, most studies are on salmon-derived DNA fragments, but there are a few proving the efficacy of botanical PDRN too; ginseng-derived PDRN is shown to support skin regeneration and barrier function.
Whether you’re looking for a PDRN serum made with salmon or one that will adhere to vegan beauty standards, read on – we’ve found the best PDRN skincare products to suit a variety of needs, goals, and preferences.
Dr.Reju-All
- Why it’s -approved: To formulate its bestselling serum, the doctors and pharmacists behind Dr.Reju-All included an optimised dose of the buzzing skincare ingredient PDRN for its reparative properties and layered it with hydration-boosting hyaluronate, collagen, and balancing niacinamide. The lightweight serum has an instantly soothing effect on redness and inflammation, while leaving the skin smooth and supple. It also works to heal post-blemish marks.
- Key ingredients: PDRN, hydrolysed collagen, hydrolysed hyaluronate and niacinamide
’s Ellie Davis testing the Dr.Reju-All Advanced PDRN Rejuvenating Cream
’s Kiana Murden testing the Medik8 Exo- PDRN Prismatic+ Serum
- Why it’s -approved: Tired, lacklustre skin will benefit from this clever concoction of the latest and greatest clinically proven ingredients, as well as cutting-edge technology. While a triple exosome complex with up to 151 billion exosomes acts as cell messengers to trigger tissue repair, boost collagen and elastin and reduce inflammation, a GF MiniProtein™ complex reinforces the skin barrier. To allow skin to reap all the benefits of PDRN, a molecule that activates your skin’s natural regeneration at a cellular level, patented technology ensures it’s delivered in a prismatic structure that bypasses all the usual issues of penetration.
- PDRN, triple exosome complex, GF MiniProtein, niacinamide and Lactobacillus ferment
- Product type: Serum
- When to use: AM and PM, after cleansing
- Why it’s -approved: The Barbiecore pink hue of this PDRN serum comes courtesy of its rose-derived active, which also gives the formula a delicate, unobtrusive scent that we love. Even better is the product’s performance – it helps even out uneven texture, whether that’s fine lines, enlarged pores, or even mild acne scars, to leave your skin looking as velvety and fresh as a garden rose.
- Key ingredients: Rose-derived PDRN, peptides, niacinamide
’s Ellie Davis testing the Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Serum
