Numbuzin No.5 Vitamin Concentrated Serum Review – Healing Your Skin

Numbuzin is a exciting K-Beauty company that releases its products in skincare ‘lines’ to help group together products that help solve a specific skincare issue. You can read more about what numbers are intended to help with what in our blog here: 

Their No.5 skincare line is perfect for those struggling with blemishes and acne (as well as the pigment that can remain after both). If you’ve struggled with acne, its a dual battle between preventing further outbreaks (via exfoliation and reducing acne on the skin) and helping heal scars (which require richer, plumping treatments). 

Going aggressively with one and not the other can lead to an imbalance and ultimately damage the skin. That’s where the Numbuzin No.5 line is quite exciting, due to its high-concentrated vitamins which balance hydration (for healing spots) as well as preventing pigment formation. It is designed to be gentle, luscious and revitalizing for your glow. 

Their most famous product from this line is far and away their No.5 Vitamin Concentrated Serum. Infused with 60% Lingonberry extract, this rich and creamy serum is boosted with 5% niacinamide, 4% healing panthenol, 4% brightening tranexamic acid and a dash of vitamin C and vitamin E. All this put together gives a serum that helps reduce pigment formation on the skin, helps reduce redness and irritation and gives a deep boost of healing hydration that helps give a refreshed glow without inflammation. It’s the perfect solution to blemish-prone skin, to give a break and balance any more intense acne treatments you might be using. 

It has been a long-term beloved product used in K-beauty – but does it stand up to the hype? How does it help control acne? See the amazing before-and-after in this genuine, in-house review. 

This serum contains a complex cocktail of ingredients that are working in harmony to complete a few functions; deep hydration, reduction of acne spots and preventing scar formation (by both boosting collagen and inhibiting melanin). Once pitting scars appear on the face, they can be very difficult to remedy, so prevention in an acne outbreak is key! 

Lingonberry extract (60%): rich, hydrating extract that helps provide antioxidant action to reduce appearance of dark spots and skin damage, whilst improving skin elasticity and strength with repeated use. 

Niacinamide: brightening vitamin B3 that helps reduce uneven skin tones and textures, whilst infusing a rich, golden glow to skin. 

Panthenol: soothing and repairing vitamin B5 that helps improve moisture, reducing flaking and inflammation from skin and repairing a damaged biome. 

Tranexamic Acid: rich extract that helps soothe inflammation and redness, whilst also reducing appearance of dark spots and pigment in skin for clearer visage. 

Bifida Ferment Filtrate: biome-strengthening fermented extract that helps soothe skin, boost hydration and provides probiotics to the skin surface to protect against damaging bacteria. 

Seaweed extract: nourishing and hydrating extract that helps cool redness and inflammation, whilst preventing the natural breakdown of collagen (to reduce pitting). 

Alpha-Arbutin: active compound that helps inhibit UV damage to skin, whilst also brightening skin tone and reducing dark spots. 

Sugarcane extract: deeply hydrating extract that helps improve skin elasticity and bounce, whilst improving hyaluronic acid concentration for dewy finish. 

Neem tree extract: antibacterial and soothing extract that helps rebalance the immune system and prevent harmful overgrowth of acne-causing bacteria. 

Turmeric extract: soothing root extract that helps repair and heal the skin biome, whilst cooling flaking, irritated or damaged skin. 

Snow mushroom extract: deeply hydrating and plumping extract that carries high levels of hydration into the skin for an immediate boost to fine lines and large pores. 

Adenosine: soothing agent that helps boost collagen production and energy levels of the skin for improved healing of damaged skin. 

Ceramide: vital molecule in the skin that helps fill cracks and prevent transepidermal water loss for creamy, smoother and softer skin texture. 

Allantoin: soothing molecule that helps cool inflammation as well as boost exfoliation for improved cell turnover and refreshment of damaged, clogged skin. 

Vitamin C: enriching antioxidant that helps boost collagen formation, reduce dark spots and help reduce appearance of acne lesions. 

Vitamin E: enriching and hydrating antioxidant that helps protect the skin biome from environmental damage and boost natural hydration. 

Glutathione: powerful antioxidant that helps inhibit formation of dark spots in the skin for clearer, brighter skin texture.

Serums that are popular tend to have qualities that appeal to more and more people. This serum is gentle (good for sensitive skin), hydrating and designed to boost acne-prone skin. It's less likely to be beneficial for very dry skin, as it's more optimized for oily skin types. Otherwise, the moisturizing qualities, along with its balance for sebum and oils makes it a perfect serum for combination and acne-prone skin.

I have acne-prone and combination skin, which makes the careful balance of hydration and oil-control a difficult one to manage. It's vital to find a balance between treating acne as well as caring for the rest of your skin. Aggressive acne treatments (such as high dose retinol, rosemary or tea tree) that are not re-balanced with soothing biome-restoring agents can lead to more irritation, more outbreaks and it can be very difficult to bring things under control.

Therefore, if you are using a strong acne treatment - add something soothing and hydrating to your routine to rebalance. This serum is almost perfectly designed for that; with hydration, vitamins and even probiotics to help restore your glow. This serum is ideal for AM/morning routine use - and I used it parallel to a more aggressive PM/evening treatment. In the morning, I would use hydrating toners, probiotics and this serum - and at night counter it with azelaic acid, spicules and deep exfoliation. You will see the difference that having some soothing care can make for your skin biome:

You can see the immediate before-and-after of just two weeks use. There's an improved strength to skin, deeper hydration and reduction of pores. It's important to note I was using acne-controlling treatment - but before I found whenever I stopped the treatment, I would have an immediate outbreak. 

But with this strengthening serum, it boosted the immune function of my skin and reduced the number of outbreaks. It helps create a holistic care for your skin alongside another treatment, building strength over time to prevent spots appearing. Not only that, it helped heal active spots completely, with no appearance of spots or scarring in their place.

This serum is an amazing, brightening booster for combination and acne-prone skin. It won't “cure” your acne on its own, but alongside a good retinol, azelaic acid or tea tree treatment you'll see a reduction in spots as well as improved health and glow for your skin. Be sure to separate out your treatment types into an AM/PM routine (healing in the AM, acne treatments in the PM) for best results.

Looking for custom K-Beauty that will make you glow? Check out the spectacular range from Numbuzin, available now on Arktastic. Or check out our blogs below for more exciting K-beauty reads that will keep you glowing and gorgeous!