Yeast
Yeast is one of the most widely used actives in Korean hair care, and this grid gathers every product built on it. The bulk of it is beer yeast, also sold as brewer's yeast, in thinning-hair shampoos and treatments from more than sixty brands: Dr.Groot, KUNDAL, Crazy Skin, BIER LAB, HomeRose Korea, KERASYS, AVCA, HEALTERM, SU ORGANIC and many smaller labels. Sizes run from 300ml bottles to 1000ml pumps and multi-barrel cases, and most lines pair a shampoo with a matching treatment, hair pack or scalp tonic. A smaller facial corner sits alongside it, where yeast ferment filtrate does moisturising work instead: Sooryehan's Yeast Antler Collagen line, Sansim's Yeast Fermentation toner, emulsion and cream, and Fruitland's Green Tea Moisture Yeast cream and eye cream.
By Skinsli editorial Updated
Buying guide
Beer yeast in Korean hair and skin care
Two different ingredients share the word yeast on this page. In hair care it is beer yeast, the spent brewing yeast that carries B vitamins, amino acids and biotin, and it is the standard active in Korean thinning-hair shampoos. In skincare it is a yeast ferment filtrate, closer to what other brands sell as galactomyces or bifida, used for moisture and texture rather than for hair.
Both are here, and the hair side is much larger. What follows sorts out the formats, the concentrations that brands advertise, and the translation quirks that make this category harder to read than it should be.
What beer yeast is for
Beer yeast is the leftover culture from brewing, dried and filtered for cosmetic use. It carries B-group vitamins, amino acids and often biotin, which is why Korean brands position it for scalp condition and thinning hair. Products are sold under the domestic category name for hair-loss shampoo, and you will see brands stack it with other actives that share the same aim: CKD's Amino Biotin Beer Yeast Shampoo, Lador's Root Re-Boot with red ginseng, PURUNONG's black bean formula, and Dr.Groot's Beer Yeast and Biotin pairing.
Treat it as scalp support rather than a regrowth treatment. It conditions the environment hair grows from; it is not a drug.
Shampoos, and how the sizes work
Shampoo is the dominant format and the sizes are unusually large by Western standards. The common bottles are 500ml and 1000ml, with 480ml, 490ml, 688ml, 750ml and 800ml all appearing depending on the brand. BIER LAB sells its German Beer Yeast line by the barrel, in one, two, three, four and nine-barrel cases. Crazy Skin bundles shampoo with hair packs in gift sets of two, four, six and ten pieces.
Because these are cheap per millilitre in bulk, the multi-packs dominate the listings. Buy a single bottle first: yeast shampoos have a distinctive smell that some people do not get on with, and a nine-barrel case is a poor way to discover that.
Treatments, hair packs and conditioners
Most lines have a second step. HAARAZ sells Beer Yeast Treatment at 500ml and 1000ml in cotton and floral scents, AVCA a 1000ml Scalp Care Relief Treatment, ASHROLEN and POGONIA both a 500ml treatment, and vancor a Dr. Beer Yeast Protein Treatment. Crazy Skin uses the term hair pack for a 200g version. Dr.Groot offers an Intensive Care High Nutrition Cream Treatment 200ml and a Microbiome Beer Yeast Ampoule Treatment 250ml.
These sit on the lengths, not the scalp, so they do a different job from the shampoo. If your concern is scalp condition rather than hair texture, the tonics below matter more.
Scalp tonics, ampoules and essences
The leave-on products are where the actives stay in contact longest. HEALTERM sells two 120ml scalp tonics, one plain and one with erseongcho, AVCA a 200ml Hair Tonic, SU ORGANIC a Black Bean Beer Yeast Hair Tonic 150ml, and HomeRose Korea a Brewer's Yeast Hair Tonic 160ml plus a 20ml Beer Yeast Massage Ampoule. treatroom's Dermore line adds a 30ml Hair Loss Ampoule and ELIMERE a 21ml black bean version. CHAKAN sells a 15ml Beer Yeast Bomb Scalp Essence.
Small volumes are normal here because you apply drops to the scalp rather than lather. NANORECIPE's 30ml Brewer's Yeast Extract Raw Solution is the most concentrated form on the grid.
Reading the PPM numbers
Several brands put a concentration in the product name. BY OUR advertises 810000 PPM across three shampoos, Dr.RAPHA-R 770000 PPM on a German beer yeast formula, and HEALTERM 70000 PPM on two of its shampoos. These figures describe how much yeast ferment is in the formula, and they are marketing numbers rather than a regulated measure, so they are only comparable within a brand.
A higher PPM does not automatically mean a better result for you. Scent, surfactant strength and whether the formula strips your scalp will matter more day to day.
Scent and variant lines
Because yeast has a strong base smell, brands fan the same formula across fragrances. KUNDAL runs Herb Mint, Citrus Pomelo and Pigmint Tea across shampoo and treatment. AVCA covers Citrus and Lemon, Woody Mask, Tea Tree and Ylang-Ylang. KERASYS Dr. Luthier offers Pomegranate, Jasmine and Powdery Musk. ENVIN and thinkco both sell a rosemary version, and thinkco also an unscented cool shampoo.
There are also functional variants worth distinguishing from scent: cool or menthol versions from SU ORGANIC and thinkco, an oily-scalp version from Dr.Groot and HomeRose Korea, and dandruff-targeted formulas from BY OUR.
The facial ferment side
A much smaller set uses yeast ferment on the face. Sooryehan's Yeast Antler Collagen line covers a 140ml sap, a 140ml latex, a 30ml activator and several sets. Sansim runs a Yeast Pure Fermentation toner at 140ml and emulsion at 130ml, plus a Yeast Net Fermentation Cream 60ml. Fruitland pairs yeast with green tea in a 50ml cream and a 30ml eye cream, and ZYMOGEN sells a Brewer's Yeast Fermentation Treatment 500ml.
These behave like other ferment filtrates: light, hydrating, aimed at texture and glow. If that is what you are after, the fermented and galactomyces collections cover the same ground with more choice.
Odd words in these titles
This category has more translation noise than most. Talmomampu and Talmomopu are transliterations of the Korean phrase for hair-loss shampoo, so a product carrying either word is a shampoo. Depilatory appears on at least one BIER LAB listing and is a mistranslation of the same Korean root; it is a hair-loss shampoo, not a hair remover. Biom is Biome, as in Dr.Groot's and VIBAS's microbiome lines. Erseongcho is a herb name, and brewer's yeast and beer yeast are the same ingredient.
When two listings look like different products, compare the volume and the brand line before assuming they are.
Getting results from a yeast shampoo
Lather, then leave it on the scalp for two or three minutes before rinsing. Most of these formulas are designed for contact time, and rinsing straight away is the most common reason people report no difference. Massage with fingertips rather than nails.
Give any of them at least eight to twelve weeks before judging, since that is roughly one hair cycle. If your scalp is flaking or itchy rather than thinning, a dandruff-specific formula will suit you better than a yeast one. And if shedding is sudden or patchy, see a doctor rather than working through this grid.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is beer yeast the same as brewer's yeast on these labels?
Yes. HomeRose Korea uses both names across its own range, listing a Beer Yeast Shampoo 520ml and a Brewer's Yeast Shampoo 520ml that are the same product family, and BENTON, POGONIA and Dr.RAPHA-R all use the brewer's spelling for the same ingredient. It is the spent culture from brewing, dried for cosmetic use. Compare volume and line name rather than the English word when two listings look like duplicates.
What does Talmomampu mean in these product names?
It is a transliteration of the Korean phrase for hair-loss shampoo, and it turns up as Talmomampu, Talmomopu and a few other spellings. BIER LAB, NINEMILA, amazhim, merhent and Celica Skin all use it. One BIER LAB listing goes further and renders the same root as Depilatory, which reads as a hair remover in English but is a hair-loss shampoo. Any product carrying these words is a wash-off shampoo.
BY OUR says 810000 PPM and HEALTERM says 70000. Does the bigger number work better?
Not reliably. These figures state how much yeast ferment is in the formula, but there is no shared standard for how brands measure or dilute before quoting, so a number from BY OUR and one from Dr.RAPHA-R or HEALTERM are not directly comparable. Within one brand's range the number does tell you which formula is stronger. Across brands, judge by whether the shampoo leaves your scalp comfortable rather than by the digits in the title.
How is this different from the hair loss collection?
This page is one ingredient; that page is one concern. The hair loss collection includes black bean, biotin, red ginseng, caffeine and peptide formulas alongside yeast ones. This grid follows beer yeast wherever it goes, which includes products not sold for thinning hair at all: VIBAS's Beer Yeast 2X Curling Essence, TITAD's Beer Yeast Water Dye, and the facial ferment lines from Sooryehan, Sansim and Fruitland.
How long should I leave a beer yeast shampoo on?
Two to three minutes on the scalp before rinsing. These formulas are built around contact time, and washing straight out is the most common reason people say a yeast shampoo did nothing for them. Massage with fingertips, not nails. If you want longer exposure, the leave-on products do that job better: HEALTERM's 120ml scalp tonics, AVCA's 200ml Hair Tonic, CHAKAN's 15ml Beer Yeast Bomb Scalp Essence or treatroom's 30ml Dermore ampoule.
Do these smell of beer?
The base does have a distinct fermented note, which is exactly why so many brands sell the same formula in several fragrances. KUNDAL offers Herb Mint, Citrus Pomelo and Pigmint Tea; AVCA has Citrus and Lemon, Woody Mask, Tea Tree and Ylang-Ylang; KERASYS Dr. Luthier runs Pomegranate, Jasmine and Powdery Musk. thinkco sells an unscented cool version if you would rather have neither. Buy a single 500ml bottle before committing to a multi-barrel case.
What are the yeast products that are not for hair?
A small facial set built on yeast ferment filtrate rather than beer yeast. Sooryehan's Yeast Antler Collagen line covers a 140ml sap, a 140ml latex and a 30ml activator, plus a Yeast Moisture Gland Multi Cream 75ml. Sansim runs a Yeast Pure Fermentation toner and emulsion with a Yeast Net Fermentation Cream 60ml. Fruitland pairs yeast with green tea in a cream and eye cream, and NANORECIPE sells a 30ml Brewer's Yeast Extract Raw Solution. They work as hydrating ferment essences.
How long before a yeast shampoo makes a difference?
Plan on eight to twelve weeks, which is roughly one hair cycle, and use it as your regular shampoo rather than occasionally. Beer yeast supports scalp condition; it does not restart follicles, so nothing on this grid is a substitute for medical treatment. If your shedding is sudden, patchy or comes with soreness, see a doctor first. If your main problem is flaking and itch rather than density, a dandruff formula will serve you better than any of these.