PDRN and hyaluronic acid – what is the difference?

They often sit side by side on the same bottle, which makes it easy to assume they do the same thing. PDRN and hyaluronic acid are two completely different substances that happened to become popular at roughly the same time.

Here is what separates them, and why they still tend to end up in the same product.

Hyaluronic acid binds moisture

Hyaluronic acid occurs naturally in skin and in the body's connective tissue. In skincare it is used as a humectant, meaning a substance that draws in water and holds on to it.

What makes it slightly unusual is that it comes in different molecular sizes. Large molecules sit as a film on the surface. Small ones travel further into the outer layers of skin. That is why many products list several forms at once, and why you can see names like Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid and Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer on the same ingredient list.

PDRN Hyaluron Collagen contains seven such forms.

PDRN is short strands of DNA

PDRN stands for polydeoxyribonucleotide, and it is something else entirely: short fragments of DNA, drawn from salmon.

The ingredient reached skincare through South Korea. On ingredient lists it is called Sodium DNA. Look for the letters PDRN on the back of a package and you rarely find them.

We have written more about the ingredient on the page About PDRN.

Why they end up in the same product

They are not competing for the same slot in a formula.

Hyaluronic acid is one of the most common humectants in modern skincare and turns up in everything from pharmacy creams to expensive serums. PDRN is the ingredient a brand builds its identity around.

One is the base, the other is the signature. Both appearing on the label is the rule rather than the exception in Korean-influenced skincare.

How to check your own product

Turn the bottle around and read the ingredient list.

Ingredients appear in descending order by amount, down to one percent. Below one percent they may appear in any order. If glycerin sits high up, the product is moisturising at its core. If Sodium DNA sits far down, the ingredient is there, but in a small amount. That is normal.

The percentage is rarely printed anywhere. Where we have a figure, we publish it, such as niacinamide 5 percent in PDRN Eye Cream.