Zero Pore One-Day Serum
Reviewed by SerumTruth Editorial · Updated July 2026
A well-priced, mostly gentle PHA-led exfoliant with a genuinely disclosed total acid percentage and a sensible 2% niacinamide alongside it. The headline "10-peptide" and copper-peptide story is the weakest part of the label, an undosed marketing add-on rather than a real second active. Buy it for the acid blend, not the peptide claim.
- Evidence23 / 30
Strength of the research behind the key actives
- Gluconolactone (PHA): moderate evidence
- Glycolic Acid: strong evidence
- Salicylic Acid: moderate evidence
- Niacinamide: moderate evidence
- Copper Peptide (GHK-Cu): moderate evidence
The average of the key actives’ evidence grades.
- Potency21 / 25
Dosed at studied levels, not fairy-dusted
- Gluconolactone (PHA) (15.2% acid blend): dosed at a clinical, high-end level for its category
- Glycolic Acid: below the 1% line, treated as fairy-dusted
- Salicylic Acid: below the 1% line, treated as fairy-dusted
- Niacinamide (2%): dosed at a studied level
- Copper Peptide (GHK-Cu): below the 1% line, treated as fairy-dusted
How strongly the actives are dosed, led by the strongest, not how many there are.
- Delivery & stability16 / 20
Delivery tech + packaging that protects fragile actives
- Delivery: standard
- Packaging: airless, opaque
- Air- or light-sensitive actives (Copper Peptide (GHK-Cu)), so packaging is scored.
Delivery tech plus packaging, and packaging only counts when actives are fragile.
- Formulation5 / 10
Disclosure, active breadth, and ingredient generation
- 2 of 5 actives disclose a concentration
- 5 key actives (breadth credit caps at 3)
- Current-generation or synergistic: Gluconolactone (PHA)
Disclosure, active breadth, and current-generation or synergistic actives.
- Value15 / 15
What a month of use costs vs. the category
- About $8 per month to use
- $26 for 30 ml, used about once a day (about 0.3 ml each time), so a bottle lasts about 3.3 months
- Frequency is set by Glycolic Acid, which is used no more than 7x a week, so a bottle stretches further
What a month of use costs: full marks at $6 a month or less, the floor at $60 a month or more.
Tap any row to see how its score was built.
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no cost to you. It never changes our score.
What’s inside
| Active | Disclosed | Dose |
|---|---|---|
| Gluconolactone (PHA) | 15.2% acid blend | Clinical |
| Glycolic Acid | n/a | Below 1% line |
| Salicylic Acid | n/a | Below 1% line |
| Niacinamide | 2% | Studied |
| Copper Peptide (GHK-Cu) | n/a | Below 1% line |
Medicube discloses a combined 15.2% AHA/BHA/PHA complex and a separate 2% niacinamide on the box, but does not break the 15.2% down acid by acid. The ingredient order is telling: gluconolactone (PHA) lands right after water, doing most of the work, while salicylic acid and the lactic/glycolic acid pair sit much further down the list, behind the preservative system, so on position alone they read as a small minority of that total. Centella asiatica and madecassoside round out the soothing side, in an opaque airless pump. The marketed "10-peptide" complex, including a copper peptide (GHK-Cu), does not appear in a prominent spot on the published ingredient list, so treat it as an undisclosed, likely trace-level bonus rather than a dosed second active. This is a nightly leave-on exfoliating serum, not a rinse-off peel.
How it’s delivered
Air- and light-sensitive actives (vitamin C, copper peptides) lose potency fast in the wrong packaging, so delivery and the bottle are scored, not just what’s on the label.
The actives, explained
Cosmetic information for general education, not medical advice. The SerumProof score reflects our reading of publicly available research and formulation disclosures. See how scoring works.