Brand Comparison
Ilso vs Dr. Althea
A head-to-head comparison of two popular K-beauty brands. Which one is right for your skin?
Our Pick
Dr. Althea
Higher editor rating (8.8 vs 8.5)
Ilso
Ilso has quietly become a Hwahae darling in 2025 with its watery sebum-melting formulas. Beloved by Korean beauty editors for the way it dissolves blackheads and oxidized sebum without a single scrub bead in sight. The brand is small, focused, and consistently top-ranked on Olive Young.
Pros
- ✓ Hwahae 2025 Best Peeling winner
- ✓ Pore-friendly without irritation
- ✓ Watery, mess-free textures
Cons
- ✗ Limited line-up
- ✗ Newer to the global market
Dr. Althea
Dr. Althea is the dermatologist-led K-beauty brand quietly outperforming its more-hyped peers on every actives-forward product. The 147 Enriched Cream (147 active and adjunct ingredients in one barrier cream) is the reason Reddit's AsianBeauty community keeps pointing new people here. No sparkly packaging, no K-pop collab — just well-built formulas with peptide, ceramide, and panthenol stacks that hold up under scrutiny.
Pros
- ✓ dermatologist-led clinical approach
- ✓ 147 Enriched Cream is a legitimate barrier workhorse
- ✓ minimalist, no-nonsense branding
- ✓ every product is actives-first
Cons
- ✗ brand voice is drier than its peers
- ✗ distribution outside Korea and Sephora is limited
- ✗ packaging photographs less well than the K-pop-adjacent competition
