Dr.Althea 345 Relief Cream Review: New Formula (Ver.2) vs Old, Every Ingredient Checked

Last updated: October 2026

Every few months a K-beauty cream becomes the cream. Right now it’s Dr.Althea’s 345 Relief Cream, the little tube that pops up every time someone’s skin is having a tantrum.

I have type 1 rosacea and combination skin, so a cream with “relief” in the name gets my attention fast. It also gets my suspicion (calming creams love hiding fragrance or oils my face hates). So I went to read the ingredient list, start to finish.

And that’s where it got interesting. There isn’t just one 345 Relief Cream. There are two very different ingredient lists out there under the same name, and if you’ve got seb derm, the difference between them is a big deal. So here’s how to tell which one is in your hand, and who I’d point each one at.

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Worldwide

• SkinSeoulCodeNEVEEN
• YesStylein linkCodeNEVEEN15
• STYLEVANACodeINF10NEVE
• Olive YoungShips worldwide, except the USin linkCodeNEVEEN20

UK

• LOOKFANTASTICCodeLFTFNEVEEN
• Boots

Europe

• PiyonnaShips to the EU onlyCodeNEVEEN
• KoreanSkincare.comfor shoppers in Europe

Tap a code to copy it. The ones marked in link are added for you when you click through.

What is the Dr.Althea 345 Relief Cream (and which version have you got)?

It’s a soothing moisturizer in a 50ml tube from Dr.Althea, a Korean brand. The “345” sounds like a code you’d need a decoder ring for. iHerb’s listing spells it out: 3 blemish-care ingredients, 4 nourishing ones and 5 soothing ones. Cute – mostly it tells you there’s a lot going on in here.

SkinSort now lists the 56-ingredient version as the old one, with a newer 38-ingredient version replacing it. Some shops, Amazon included, sell the new one as Ver.2. The new list has tea tree leaf water as its second ingredient, which the old one didn’t have at all. Shops can sit on older stock for a while, so I’d flip the box over before you buy.

Quick box check: if tea tree leaf water is the second ingredient, you’ve got the new one. If cyclohexasiloxane is 4th and polyglyceryl-10 stearate is 10th, it’s the old one.

The good ingredients in the new formula, and what they do

Positions below are from SkinSort’s list for the current version. Niacinamide and panthenol both land in the top third of the list, which is where I like to see them in a calming cream.

Using it with other products? Check how it layers with your routine in my free routine checker.

Is the 345 Relief Cream good for rosacea?

For my kind of redness, the new list looks a lot friendlier than the old one. Niacinamide and panthenol sit fairly high up, and centella turns up three ways further down. The new formula is also alcohol-free and EU-allergen-free. I couldn’t spot an essential oil anywhere on it.

Two things I’d flag, though. Tea tree leaf water is 2nd. It’s basically a gentler, water version of tea tree oil, but a patch test is still smart if your skin leans sensitive. I’d try it on your jaw for a few days before it goes anywhere near your cheeks. The other is camellia sinensis leaf water, aka green tea water, at 30th. It counts as a fragrance ingredient because it’s mostly there for a light tea scent.

For rosacea, the old 56-ingredient version is a different story. It has lavender flower extract 25th, an EU-listed allergen that can irritate, plus turmeric and calendula extracts that count as fragrance ingredients. If your box has those on it and your face is very reactive, I’d pass.

If you want to check it against your own skin, paste the full list into my skin ingredient checker. It flags what’s worth a second look for rosacea, fungal acne, seb derm and pore clogging. My Korean skincare for rosacea post has the products that actually helped my redness, and the gentle Korean skincare for sensitive skin roundup is good for bad-skin days.

Is the Dr.Althea 345 Relief Cream fungal acne safe?

Short answer: the new one comes much closer, the old one doesn’t. And this one matters, because a calming cream is exactly what people grab when their face is flaring, and a seb derm flare is the worst possible time to feed the yeast.

On the new 38-ingredient list, SkinSort found no flagged fungal acne triggers. Caprylic/capric triglyceride, 10th on the list, is made of C8 and C10 fatty acids, the gold standard oil for fungal acne-prone skin.

The bit I’d still keep an eye on is C14-22 alcohols at 8th. It’s a fatty alcohol blend that can include cetyl and stearyl alcohol, the pair with actual lab evidence for feeding malassezia, and sodium stearoyl glutamate turns up 24th as well. Neither gets flagged by the checker, but on a bad seb derm week I’d reach for a cream with a cleaner label.

The old version has three fungal acne triggers: polyglyceryl-10 stearate (10th), glycine soja sterols (48th) and PEG-40 castor oil (49th). Polyglyceryl-10 stearate is stearic acid hooked onto a chain of glycerin, and malassezia (the yeast behind fungal acne and seb derm) can feed on stearic acid.

Honestly? If I had seb derm on my face and found the old tube on a shelf, I’d leave it there. If you want creams that are already screened, my seb derm safe Korean moisturizers post has nine, and my seb derm face skincare directory has even more.

How to use the 345 Relief Cream

It’s your moisturizer step. iHerb’s directions say to use it after serum, so it goes near the end of your routine, with sunscreen on top in the morning.

Because it’s built around soothing stuff like panthenol and centella, it’s the kind of cream I’d reach for on retinoid nights, when my skin wants something comforting on top.

What the 345 Relief Cream feels like on skin

Think silky gel-cream. It’s smooth and light with a little creaminess to it, and it slips across your skin and thins out as you massage it in. What’s left behind feels soft and hydrated without any grease, and the finish is more natural than glossy (your own oiliness and whatever’s underneath will change that a bit).

People mostly love how comfortable it is, and some with combination skin say it moisturizes without making them oilier. Not everyone’s a fan, mind you. Some say it feels oily or leaves a layer on their skin. Others find the hydration fades too soon.

Who I’d recommend it to, and who I wouldn’t

I’d point you at the new version if you’ve got combination or oily skin that still gets red and cranky, and you want a calming moisturizer with niacinamide and panthenol near the top. Very dry skin might want something richer on its own.

Over 40? It’s a calming cream first and an anti-aging cream second. The new list drops the adenosine the old one had, though it keeps resveratrol and adds sodium DNA (PDRN). For dark spots, my Korean skincare for hyperpigmentation post covers what I’d add.

Buy the 345 Relief Cream hereUp to 25% off at LOOKFANTASTIC with code LFTFNEVEEN

Where to buy the Dr.Althea 345 Relief Cream, and the discount codes

For a bigger order, my where to buy Korean skincare in the UK guide shows which of nine shops came out lowest when I price checked them.

These are the shops I’d use. LOOKFANTASTIC has my biggest code, and SkinSeoul, YesStyle, STYLEVANA, Olive Young and BuyBeautyKorea all take one of mine too. It’s also at Korean Skincare for shoppers in Europe, Skindays, iHerb, Boots, Cult Beauty and Sephora UK (no code at those). Each code has its own page with the details and FAQs: my LOOKFANTASTIC discount code page, my SkinSeoul discount code page, or all my discount codes in one place.

FAQs

What does 345 mean in Dr.Althea 345 Relief Cream?

iHerb’s listing says it stands for 3 blemish-care ingredients, 4 nourishing ingredients and 5 soothing ingredients. Resveratrol, tannic acid and niacinamide are the blemish-care three.

Is the Dr.Althea 345 Relief Cream fungal acne safe?

The new 38-ingredient version comes much closer, with no plant oils or long-chain esters, but C14-22 alcohols sit 8th, a fatty alcohol blend that can include cetyl and stearyl alcohol. The older 56-ingredient version isn’t, because it has polyglyceryl-10 stearate, glycine soja sterols and PEG-40 castor oil.

Is the 345 Relief Cream good for rosacea?

The new list has niacinamide and panthenol fairly high up and no essential oils, which looks friendly for redness. Tea tree leaf water is the second ingredient, so patch test first if your rosacea is very reactive.

How do I know which version of the 345 Relief Cream I have?

Check the ingredient list on the box. If tea tree leaf water is second, it’s the new version. If cyclohexasiloxane is 4th and polyglyceryl-10 stearate is 10th, it’s the old one.

Does the Dr.Althea 345 Relief Cream have fragrance?

There’s no added parfum on the new list. Green tea leaf water does count as a fragrance ingredient, because it mostly adds a light tea scent.

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