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PDRN vs Glycolic acid: Which One Actually Suits Your Skin? (NZ Guide)
Two ingredients, one question: which does what for the look of your skin, and do you need both? Here is glycolic acid (an alpha hydroxy acid, AHA) beside PDRN, plainly.
| PDRN | Glycolic acid | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | PDRN is polydeoxyribonucleotide: DNA cut into short fragments, in skincare almost always from salmon. It arrived in Korean skincare and is now on New Zealand shelves in serums and ampoules. | The smallest and best known of the exfoliating acids. It loosens the dull outer layer of dead cells so it comes away sooner than it would on its own. |
| What it is for | A PDRN serum is used for the look of plumper, more hydrated, smoother skin. The visible part is hydration: a well made PDRN serum sits on a humectant base and skin looks fuller while you use it. | Skin looks brighter and smoother after a few uses, with makeup sitting better. Overdone, it looks shiny, feels tight and stings. |
| How it feels | Watery, light, settles in about a minute. It is the kind of serum that suits a roller. | Watery toners and serums that tingle. The tingle is the point, up to a point. |
| When to use it | Night, on clean dry skin, most nights. | Night, one to three times a week for most people. Never on the same night as a roller. |
What glycolic acid is
The smallest and best known of the exfoliating acids. It loosens the dull outer layer of dead cells so it comes away sooner than it would on its own.
What glycolic acid does for the look of skin
Skin looks brighter and smoother after a few uses, with makeup sitting better. Overdone, it looks shiny, feels tight and stings.
PDRN, briefly
PDRN is polydeoxyribonucleotide: DNA cut into short fragments, in skincare almost always from salmon. It arrived in Korean skincare and is now on New Zealand shelves in serums and ampoules. A PDRN serum is used for the look of plumper, more hydrated, smoother skin. The visible part is hydration: a well made PDRN serum sits on a humectant base and skin looks fuller while you use it.
Using them together
Not together. An acid and a roller on the same night is too much for the surface of anyone's skin. Alternate them, and give your skin a plain night in between if it looks pink.
Which to pick
Glycolic acid if your skin looks dull and rough and you want a weekly reset. PDRN for the nights in between, to keep skin looking hydrated and calm. This is one of the more useful pairings in skincare, as long as they are never the same night.
Questions people ask
Can I roll a serum on after glycolic acid?
Not the same night. Roll on the nights you do not exfoliate.
Which gives smoother looking skin faster?
Glycolic acid, visibly, within a use or two. PDRN is slower and gentler and does not carry the risk of overdoing it.
Where Silka fits
Silka is a PDRN serum with a microneedle roller head on the bottle, made and shipped from New Zealand. The roller is the most practical way we know to put PDRN on every night: the head spreads the serum evenly across face and neck, nothing is left behind in your palm, and the whole routine takes about a minute, which is the part that makes a habit last.