Guides
Korean hair-loss shampoo labels, explained탈모 샴푸
Korean beauty shops sell many shampoos for hair loss (탈모). The ones that went through Korea’s functional-cosmetic system say 탈모 증상 완화에 도움 — “helps relieve hair-loss symptoms”. Here is what that claim does and doesn’t mean, the four listed active ingredients and the words on the bottle.
What the bottle says
- 기능성화장품 — a functional cosmetic: the claim was reviewed by, or reported to, Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS).
- 탈모 증상 완화에 도움 — “helps relieve hair-loss symptoms”, the claim Korean rules allow. A cosmetic may not promise to prevent or treat hair loss, or to grow new hair.
- 질병의 예방 및 치료를 위한 의약품이 아님 — “not a medicine for preventing or treating disease”, printed under the words 기능성화장품.
Products that only coat hair so it looks thicker are not hair-loss functional cosmetics.
What it doesn’t mean
The MFDS puts it plainly: functional shampoos only help relieve hair-loss symptoms and are fundamentally different from medicines that prevent or treat hair loss. In October 2024 it checked 151 online ads for hair-loss cosmetics and blocked 67 that promised things such as new hair growth, preventing hair loss or thicker hair. If you are losing hair, a dermatologist can tell you what will help.
The four listed active ingredients
Korea lists these for hair-loss functional cosmetics. A company that uses something else must prove the effect with its own data, such as a study on people.
| Korean | English (INCI) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 덱스판테놀 | Dexpanthenol | The D-form of panthenol (provitamin B5). |
| 바이오틴 | Biotin | A B vitamin. The standard ingredient name is 바이오틴; 비오틴 is the old name. |
| 엘-멘톨 | l-Menthol | The form of menthol in mint oil — the cool feeling. |
| 징크피리치온 | Zinc Pyrithione | Anti-dandruff. Up to 1.0% in Korea; banned in EU cosmetics since 1 March 2022. |
Actives are used in small amounts, and a Korean ingredient list may put anything at 1% or less in any order — so they often sit near the end of 전성분.
Hair and scalp
Words on shampoo bottles, scalp tonics and hair treatments.
- 두피du-piscalp
- 모발mo-balhair (on the head)
- 모근mo-geunhair root
- 탈모tal-mohair loss
- 비듬bi-deumdandruff
- 두피 각질du-pi gak-jilscalp flakes (dead skin on the scalp)
- 지성 두피ji-seong du-pioily scalp
- 건성 두피geon-seong du-pidry scalp
- 민감성 두피min-gam-seong du-pisensitive scalp
- 손상모son-sang-modamaged hair
- 린스rin-seurinse-out conditioner
- 두피 토닉du-pi to-nikscalp tonic — a leave-on liquid for the scalp
- 두피 스케일러du-pi seu-ke-il-leoscalp scaler — a scalp exfoliator used before shampoo
- 무실리콘mu-sil-li-konsilicone-free
- 볼륨bol-lyumvolume
- 엉킴eong-kimtangles
Questions
Can a Korean shampoo regrow hair?
No cosmetic in Korea may claim that. A hair-loss functional shampoo may only say it helps relieve hair-loss symptoms, and the MFDS says such shampoos are fundamentally different from medicines that prevent or treat hair loss.
What does 탈모 증상 완화에 도움 mean?
“Helps relieve hair-loss symptoms” — the claim a hair-loss functional cosmetic is reviewed for, or reported with.
Which ingredients are behind the claim?
Korea lists four: 덱스판테놀 (dexpanthenol), 비오틴 (biotin — standard name 바이오틴), 엘-멘톨 (l-menthol) and 징크피리치온 (zinc pyrithione). A company using something else must prove the effect with its own data.
Is zinc pyrithione allowed in Korean shampoo?
Yes — up to 1.0% in dandruff shampoos and rinses and in hair-loss functional cosmetics. The EU has banned it in cosmetics since 1 March 2022.
Why do I see both 비오틴 and 바이오틴?
They are the same ingredient, biotin. 바이오틴 is the current standard ingredient name; 비오틴 is the old one, still used in Korea’s list of hair-loss ingredients and on many packs.
Got a bottle? Take a photo of its ingredient list in the label decoder — it finds these ingredients and the words above. For the other claims on Korean boxes, see Korean functional cosmetics.
Sources
- Enforcement Rule of the Cosmetics Act (화장품법 시행규칙), Articles 2 and 19 — in force 2 April 2026
- Korea Cosmetic Association — the Cosmetics Act labelling rules, including Annex 4 of the Enforcement Rule
- Regulation on the Review of Functional Cosmetics (기능성화장품 심사에 관한 규정) — in force 16 December 2025
- Regulation on Cosmetic Safety Standards (화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정), as listed in the KCIA dictionary
- Korea Cosmetic Association — ingredient dictionary (대한화장품협회 성분사전)
- Financial News — the four hair-loss functional ingredients under the MFDS notice of 16 December 2025 (18 May 2026)
- Hankyung — MFDS: functional shampoos only help relieve hair-loss symptoms and are not medicines (26 July 2026)
- CNC News — MFDS blocks 67 false “hair-loss prevention” cosmetic ads (26 October 2024)
- Segye Ilbo — MFDS finds 67 of 151 online hair-loss cosmetic ads in breach (25 October 2024)
- Kyunghyang Shinmun — hair-loss shampoos as functional cosmetics; active ingredients near the end of the list (18 August 2022)
- Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/1902 — CMR substances, including zinc pyrithione, added to the prohibited list
- CIRS — the EU ban on zinc pyrithione in cosmetics applies from 1 March 2022
Checked 27 October 2026. Rules change — the official texts above are the final word.