Are They Dupes? The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution VS Cosrx AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid

Last Updated on May 24, 2026 by Giorgia Guazzarotti

Have you tried getting your hands on a bottle of The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution? Good luck. This stuff sells out faster than hot cakes. They literally can’t make enough of it. It’s that good. But, in the meantime, how’s a girl going to get her glycolic acid fix?! Worry not. Korean skincare has you covered. Cosrx AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid has the same concentration of glycolic acid. Does it work as well? Is Cosrx AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid really a dupe for The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution? Let’s find out!:

What Do These Glycolic Acid Exfoliants Have In Common?

GLYCOLIC ACID TO EXFOLIATE SKIN

Glycolic acid is the smallest member of the Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs) family, a group of exfoliants that dissolves the “glue” that holds skin cells together so they can slough off. Because it’s so small, glycolic acid penetrates skin deeper than other AHAs, like lactic acid. That makes it more irritating, especially for sensitive skin.

But also more effective. With glycolic acid, you see results way faster. From the first use, your skin looks smoother, brighter and softer. It softens wrinkles, fades away dark spots and gives you a youthful glow. Bonus points: glycolic acid also hydrates skin. If you’ve got dry, sun-damaged skin, this is the right exfoliating acid for you.

Related: AHAs vs BHA: Which One Should You Use?

Want more affordable dupes of your fave high-end skincare products? Download your FREE Dupes cheat sheet below and start saving money on skincare:

What Else Is In These Glycolic Acid Exfoliants?

THE ORDINARY GLYCOLIC ACID 7% TONING SOLUTION

• Aqua (Water): Just water, everything else dissolves into it.
• Rosa Damascena Flower Water: Rose water, the stuff left over when you steam-distil damask rose petals to get the essential oil. It’s soothing and mildly anti-inflammatory, but it can irritate sensitive skin.
• Centaurea Cyanus Flower Water: Cornflower water, those little blue wildflowers. It’s soothing, slightly astringent, has some antioxidant activity.
• Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Water: This isn’t the thick gel you’d slap on a sunburn. It’s the more watery, fluid fraction of aloe leaf. Still soothing, still anti-inflammatory, still hydrating, just lighter.
• Propanediol: A humectant made from corn sugar that pulls moisture into the skin. It also works as a solvent, helping other ingredients actually penetrate and do their job.
• Glycerin: It’s a humectant that pulls water from the environment and from deeper layers of your skin up to the surface.
• Triethanolamine: A pH adjuster. Glycolic acid needs to sit at a low pH to actually exfoliate, but the formula as a whole can’t be pure acid or you’d be burning your face off. This helps find the middle ground.
• Aminomethyl Propanol: Same job as triethanolamine, tweaking the pH so the formula is effective but not irritating.
• Panax Ginseng Root Extract: Ginseng. Antioxidant-rich, has some evidence for brightening and supporting collagen, mildly anti-inflammatory.
• Tasmannia Lanceolata Fruit/Leaf Extract: Tasmanian pepper berry, has some anti-inflammatory properties that help offset some of the irritation potential from the glycolic acid.
• Aspartic Acid: An amino acid that’s part of your skin’s natural moisturising factor – the stuff your skin makes on its own to stay hydrated.
• Alanine: It’s an amino acid your skin already makes naturally as part of how it keeps itself hydrated. 
• Glycine: Smallest amino acid there is, and it’s doing more than just hydration. It plays a role in collagen synthesis too.
• Serine: Really good at holding onto water. It’s hygroscopic, so it actively attracts moisture. Keeps skin feeling hydrated and soft.
• Valine: Essential amino acid (your body can’t make it) that’s supporting the barrier and moisture balance here.
• Isoleucine: Same family as valine, same job, barrier support and hydration, another piece of the puzzle.
• Proline: It’s literally a collagen building block.
• Threonine: Amino acid, NMF component, helps with moisture.
• Histidine: This one does double duty, NMF humectant AND antioxidant. So it’s holding moisture in AND helping neutralise free radicals.
• Phenylalanine: Another essential amino acid your body can’t produce on its own, rounding out the natural moisturising complex.
• Glutamic Acid: This one actually converts into PCA once it hits your skin, which is one of the most effective humectants your skin naturally makes, so it’s hydrating you now and turning into something even better at it.
• Arginine: Beyond the usual NMF moisture stuff, this amino acid has been studied for barrier repair and wound healing.
• Pca: One of the most effective humectants your skin naturally makes.
• Sodium Pca: Sodium salt version of PCA, more water-soluble, even more hygroscopic, easier to work with in formulas. Same hydration job.
• Sodium Lactate: Sodium salt of lactic acid, it’s acting as a humectant, keeping skin soft and hydrated.
• Fructose: Fruit sugar. Works as a humectant here that draws moisture to the skin.
• Glucose: Another sugar that hydrates skin.
• Sucrose: Table sugar, essentially. It’s hydrating too.
• Urea: It’s naturally in your skin as part of the NMF, and at lower concentrations like this it’s a seriously effective humectant.
• Hexyl Nicotinate: A niacinamide derivative that causes a warming, flushing sensation by bringing more blood to the skin’s surface. It helps other actives penetrate better. If you have really reactive skin, that warm flush feeling can be a lot.
• Dextrin: A carbohydrate derived from starch that thickens the formula and gives it a bit of slip.
• Citric Acid: An AHA, but at this point in the formula it’s almost definitely just adjusting the pH rather than exfoliating.
• Polysorbate 20: An emulsifier, it keeps ingredients that don’t naturally want to play together (like certain extracts or oil-soluble bits) blended into the formula properly.
• Gellan Gum: A natural gelling agent from bacterial fermentation. Gives the formula a slight gel texture and slip so it doesn’t just run straight off your face.
• Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate: A chelating agent that binds to metal ions (like calcium or magnesium) that can get into formulas from water or packaging and destabilise everything. Keeps the formula stable and the preservatives working properly.
• Sodium Chloride: Literally table salt. Used here to adjust the formula’s viscosity and texture.
• Hexylene Glycol: A multitasker. Humectant, solvent, and it also helps other ingredients penetrate the skin better. It’s also got mild antimicrobial properties so it contributes a little to preservation.
• Potassium Sorbate: A preservative derived from sorbic acid, it stops mould and yeast growing in the formula.
• Sodium Benzoate: Another preservative. This one targets bacteria and works really well in acidic formulas.
• 1,2-Hexanediol: It’s a humectant but also a preservative booster that enhances the effectiveness of the other preservatives in the formula.
• Caprylyl Glycol: It’s a skin-conditioning humectant AND a preservative booster.

COSRX AHA 7 WHITEHEAD POWER LIQUID

• Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Water: This is basically water that’s been infused with apple extract. It brings trace amounts of fruit acids, antioxidants, and sugars that can help moisturise skin.
• Butylene Glycol: A lightweight humectant that pulls moisture into the skin and helps keep it there. It also works as a solvent, helping other ingredients – like the glycolic acid – dissolve properly and penetrate better.
• Water: It helps dissolve ingredients, creates the right consistency, and makes the whole thing spreadable and comfortable on skin.
• Niacinamide: Vitamin B3, and honestly one of the most versatile ingredients in skincare. It helps with brightening, reducing redness, strengthening the skin barrier, and minimising the look of pores.
• Sodium Hydroxide: This is a pH adjuster.
• 1,2-Hexanediol: A multitasker that acts as both a humectant and a mild preservative booster.
• Panthenol: This is provitamin B5, and it’s a humectant and a skin-soother – it draws water in, helps the skin heal, and reduces that tight, stripped feeling you sometimes get after acids.
• Sodium Hyaluronate: The sodium salt form of hyaluronic acid, which means it’s smaller and can actually penetrate the skin more easily. It holds onto a ridiculous amount of water relative to its size, which keeps skin plump and hydrated.
• Xanthan Gum: A natural thickener and stabiliser derived from fermented sugar. It gives the formula its texture.
• Ethyl Hexanediol: Another preservative booster and mild humectant.

WHICH FORMULA IS BETTER?

The only thing these two exfoliants have in common is the same concentration of glycolic acid. So, not really dupes, are they? But if you have a looser definition of dupe, i.e. a product that shares the same active ingredients and who cares if the rest of the formula is different, read on.

Cosrx AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid has the simpler formula: glycolic acid aside, it has a bunch of humectants and niacinamide. Humectants are moisture magnets: they attract water from the air into the skin, keeping it hydrated. I’m not surprised, this essence has so many. Korean skincare is all about hydration, remember? Niacinamide is another of my fave ingredients. It does everything: it hydrates skin, reduces the appearance of fine lines and dark spots, it treats acne, soothes irritations and rosacea… You name it, it does it.

The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution, on the other hand, has more types of water to keep your skin hydrated and ginseng to fight wrinkles. Ginseng is super popular in Korea so I’m surprised the Cosrx essence doesn’t have it too. Oh well, suffice it to say it’s full of antioxidants that can fight off free radicals before they give you wrinkles and dark spots.

Related: 4 Things I Learned From Korean Skincare

What’s The Texture Like?

Both are watery. We’re talking apply-to-a-cotton-pad-and-watch-it-disappear watery. Neither has any slip, richness, or gel-like quality. If you’re expecting something that feels like an essence or serum, you’ll be surprised.

The Ordinary’s version is slightly yellowish (think flat apple juice) and absorbs without leaving anything on the skin. It dries down matte and completely neutral, like you’ve applied nothing at all. The COSRX is clear with an ever-so-slight viscosity – barely perceptible, but it’s there. It absorbs just as quickly and also leaves no residue.

The difference in texture between these two is minimal in practice. Both disappear into skin within seconds.Where they actually differ is in how skin feels after. The Ordinary leaves skin feeling normal. The COSRX leaves it feeling a little softer, a touch more comfortable. The humectants and panthenol do something the plain watery formula of The Ordinary doesn’t.

What’s The Fragrance Like?

The Ordinary has a faint, slightly vinegary smell. It’s barely there, inoffensive, and gone immediately. Not a concern. The COSRX is a different story. Despite being based on apple fruit water, it smells nothing like apples. It has an acrid, chemical, and strong smell. Neither product contains added fragrance, which is the right call for an exfoliating acid. The COSRX smell is just the nature of the formula – glycolic acid at a working pH doesn’t smell charming.

What’s The Packaging Like?

The Ordinary comes in a large bottle with a nozzle cap. It’s utilitarian to the point of being almost clinical, which fits the brand. The nozzle is useful for controlling flow, but the bottle is easy to overpour if you’re not paying attention, and product dispensed onto the cotton pad can run off fast given how watery the formula is.

The COSRX comes in a clear pump bottle. The pump is a better delivery system for a liquid this thin: you get a controlled amount each time, and the clear bottle means you can see exactly how much you have left. Both products are fragrance-free, dye-free, and packaged without unnecessary extras.

How To Use Them

Both are used the same way: apply after cleansing, on dry skin, before the rest of your routine. Soak a cotton pad and swipe across the face, avoiding the eye and mouth area. Then wait (ideally) 10 to 15 minutes before layering anything else on top, to let the acid do its work at the right pH before you disturb it.

Neither should be used with retinol, high-concentration vitamin C, or other direct acids on the same night. Both require daily SPF the morning after. AHAs thin the uppermost layer of dead cells, which increases sun sensitivity. Start slow. Once or twice a week until you build enoiugh tolerance you can use them every other night.

Which Of The Two Should You Go For?

• If you have dry skin, Cosrx AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid wins hands down. It’s way more hydrating. It’s Korean – how could it not be?
• If you’re missing niacinamide from your skincare routine, Cosrx wins again. Niacinamide is something everyone needs in their skincare routine. Period.
• If you’re on a budget or want to add ginseng to your skincare routine, go with The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution. 

Thing is, there really isn’t a good or bad answer here. Both products exfoliate your skin equally well. So, which one you go for depends on personal preference. And I can’t decide that for you.

Related: Why You Should Add Niacinamide To Your Skincare Routine

Price & Availability

Cosrx AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid: $18.00/£16.00 at iHerb, Look Fantastic, and Yes Style

The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution: $13.00 at Beauty Bay, Cult Beauty, The Ordinary, and Ulta

Is The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution A Dupe For Cosrx AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid?

Nope. The only thing The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution and Cosrx AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid have in common is the active ingredient: 7% glycolic acid. They both exfoliate skin well: whichever one to go for totally comes down to personal preference!