Versus

Numbuzin No.5 Vitamin Concentrated Serum Versus Cos De BAHA Azelaic Acid 10% Serum with Niacinamide

Serum
Serum
Korean Brand South Korea
Korean Brand South Korea

Updated on April 08, 2025

Overview

What they are

These products are both cruelty-free and reef safe serums. They have a total of 4 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain hyaluronic acid and niacinamide

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for fighting acne, anti aging, dry skin, brightening skin, sensitive skin, oily skin, reducing pores, scar healing, dark spots and better texture

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, oils, parabens, silicones or sulfates

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that needs an update? Let us know.

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and see relevant ingredients

What's inside (and what isn't)

What's inside (and what isn't)

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

found in both products
No.5 Vitamin Concentrated Serum

Water

Skin Conditioning

Butylene Glycol

Humectant
1 / 0 Helps hydrate Dry Skin Icon

Niacinamide

Smoothing
Niacinamide IconGood for Oily Skin IconHelps reduce Skin Redness IconHelps reduce irritation IconGood for Minimizing Pores IconHelps with Anti-Aging IconGood for Dark Spots IconGood for Scar Healing IconHelps fight Acne IconHelps brighten skin Icon

Panthenol

Skin Conditioning
0 / 0 Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconHelps reduce Skin Redness IconHelps reduce irritation IconGood for Scar Healing Icon

Tranexamic Acid

Astringent
Helps reduce irritation IconGood for Dark Spots IconGood for Scar Healing Icon

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Smoothing

Niacinamide is a multitasking form of vitamin B3 that strengthens the skin barrier, reduces pores and dark spots, regulates oil, and improves signs of aging.

And the best part? It's gentle and well-tolerated by most skin types, including sensitive and reactive skin.

You might have heard of "niacin flush", or the reddening of skin that causes itchiness. Niacinamide has not been found to cause this.

In very rare cases, some individuals may not be able to tolerate niacinamide at all or experience an allergic reaction to it.

If you are experiencing flaking, irritation, and dryness with this ingredient, be sure to double check all your products as this ingredient can be found in all categories of skincare.

When incorporating niacinamide into your routine, look out for concentration amounts. Typically, 5% niacinamide provides benefits such as fading dark spots. However, if you have sensitive skin, it is better to begin with a smaller concentration.

When you apply niacinamide to your skin, your body converts it into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). NAD is an essential coenzyme that is already found in your cells as "fuel" and powers countless biological processes.

In your skin, NAD helps repair cell damage, produce new healthy cells, support collagen production, strengthen the skin barrier, and fight environmental stressors (like UV and pollution).

Our natural NAD levels start to decline with age, leading to slower skin repair, visible aging, and a weaker skin barrier. By providing your skin niacinamide, you're recharging your skin's NAD levels. This leads to stronger, healthier, and younger looking skin.

Another name for vitamin B3 is nicotinamide. This vitamin is water-soluble and our bodies don't store it. We obtain Vitamin B3 from either food or skincare. Meat, fish, wheat, yeast, and leafy greens contain vitamin B3.

The type of niacinamide used in skincare is synthetically created.

Learn more about Niacinamide
Skin Conditioning

Panthenol is a common ingredient that helps hydrate and soothe the skin. It is found naturally in our skin and hair.

There are two forms of panthenol: D and L.

D-panthenol is also known as dexpanthenol. Most cosmetics use dexpanthenol or a mixture of D and L-panthenol.

Panthenol is famous due to its ability to go deeper into the skin's layers. Using this ingredient has numerous pros (and no cons):

Like hyaluronic acid, panthenol is a humectant. Humectants are able to bind and hold large amounts of water to keep skin hydrated.

This ingredient works well for wound healing. It works by increasing tissue in the wound and helps close open wounds.

Once oxidized, panthenol converts to pantothenic acid. Panthothenic acid is found in all living cells.

This ingredient is also referred to as pro-vitamin B5.

Learn more about Panthenol
Skin Conditioning, Solvent

1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse. 

It is a:

  • Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
  • Emollient, helping to soften skin
  • Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
  • Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives 
Humectant, Skin Conditioning

Sodium Hyaluronate is hyaluronic acid's salt form. It is commonly derived from the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid.

Like hyaluronic acid, it is great at holding water and acts as a humectant. This makes it a great skin hydrating ingredient.

Sodium Hyaluronate is naturally occurring in our bodies and is mostly found in eye fluid and joints.

These are some other common types of Hyaluronic Acid:

Learn more about Sodium Hyaluronate

When to use

957 Routines
66% use in am
34% use in pm
89% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->
678 Routines
40% use in am
59% use in pm
83% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->

Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

Numbuzin No.5 Vitamin Concentrated Serum 47 ingredients

3.3 /5
from 33 ratings
No Scent (14) Hydrating (12) Broke Me Out (12)
ThomasvV's avatar

Thomas VV

5 months ago
Review

This serum is one of the best all-round anti-oxidant and dark spot serums containing:
- vitamin c
- Glutathion!!
- 5% niacinamide
- Q10
- Alpha Arbutin
(Unfortunately they removed TXA)

Skin type: combi acne prone

This is not just a dark spot serum, its a perfect anti-oxidant serum in the morning. Glutathion is a killer ingredient and the concentration of Vit C is low.

My acne Show more

#great value
#hydrating
#absorbs well
#no scent
Nel5950's avatar

Nel5950

3 months ago
Review

Works perfectly how its advertised, the changes it made to my redness and acne were done overnight. In addition to it combating irritated skin, it is hydrating as well. It’s not perfect since it hasn’t worked for my fungal acne and texture wise it is a little sticky but it absorbs into my skin very quickly. I find the shea butter can be an issue for me personally in skincare since it will also Show more

#great value
#hydrating
#broke me out
#sticky

Cos De BAHA Azelaic Acid 10% Serum with Niacinamide 13 ingredients

4.5 /5
from 12 ratings
Great Value (7) Absorbs Well (5) Works Well (5)
BubbIes's avatar

BubbIes

1 year ago
Review

I was so excited to try a product with what seemed like no comedogenic ingredients, but I suspect all the extracts broke me out pretty badly. I’m talking deep, painful cysts. I think I saw a nice effect on skin brightness, but that’s the only upside unfortunately. This also left a chalky white residue at times.

#great value
#broke me out
#irritating
Clover's avatar

Clover

2 years ago
Review

I’m on my third bottle
Want a simple, hydrating, scentless, and affordable azelaic acid serum? Look no further! Azelaic acid is well tolerated by many and for me I’ve noticed great improvements regarding redness. There was a short period of time when I cut this out of my routine, and that’s when I noticed how much it had been doing to reduce redness in my skin. This serum also contains aloe Show more