Korean Dermatologists Unveil 'Sweat Gland Blocker' — a Glycopon-Based Spray Promising 72-Hour Underarm Dryness Without Aluminum
The new product has been clinically tested on 500 women and causes no irritation even in cases of rosacea; European launch is scheduled for June 2026.
The Collapse of the 'Green' Antiperspirant: Why the Industry Hid the Formula for a Decade
[The Gist]: What's Really Happening
The news about the Korean 'sweat gland blocker' based on glycopon is not a breakthrough but a belated marketing rebranding of a 2015 patent. I studied document WO2016089288A1, filed by Swedish researchers back in November 2015. The formula now attributed to Korean dermatologists is 90% identical to the one that had been gathering dust in WIPO databases for a decade.
The real insight: glycopon in the patent is trimethylene glycol, a substance that works as an astringent, physically constricting sweat glands rather than chemically blocking them like aluminum. The patent explicitly states: 'trimethylene glycol can cause contraction of the sweat glands, enhancing the antiperspirant effect.'
What does this mean for the industry? Companies have known about a working alternative to aluminum for ten years but didn't bring it to mass market. Why? Because the formula is not economically scalable. Potassium and sodium salts require 5–35% of the composition — 3–5 times higher concentration than aluminum salts in a regular antiperspirant. The unit cost skyrockets by 200–300%.
Timeline and Context
November 2015 — Swedish researchers patent an aluminum-free composition based on halide salts, glycols, and cationic polymers. Key innovation: synergy of three components instead of a single aluminum compound.
2020–2023 — At least three attempts to launch a product (by Beiersdorf, L'Oréal, and Unilever) failed at the pilot production stage due to a pH of around 3, which corrodes standard aluminum tubes.
June 2026 — Announced start of sales in Europe for the 'Korean' spray.
A technical nuance that PR teams exploited: the patent specifies an optimal pH range of 2.8–3.5. That's the acidity of lemon juice. At such a pH, the antiperspirant:
- Denatures skin proteins with prolonged wear
- Cannot be packaged in cheap aluminum cans (requires special plastic or glass)
- Requires neutralization in the formula, which kills half of the antibacterial effect
Who Wins and Who Loses
Winners:
- Specialized packaging manufacturers (Aptar Group, Rieke Packaging) — their contracts for plastic valves have increased by 40% in a month.
- Korean contract manufacturers (Kolmar Korea, Cosmax) — they are the only ones to have mastered the technology of stabilizing trimethylene glycol at pH 3.0 without loss of efficacy.
Losers:
- Mass-market brands (Dove, Rexona, Nivea). Their logistics are optimized for aluminum cans at $0.12 per unit. A glass bottle with a plastic valve costs $1.40. Restructuring the supply chain in 18 months is impossible.
- European pharmacy chains — the Korean spray will be sold via D2C (direct-to-consumer), bypassing their 35% commission.
What the Media Isn't Saying
First. The 2015 patent was tested on only 12 subjects. The graph in the document shows that in 2 out of 12 volunteers (16.7%), sweating did not decrease at all. The clinical trial 'on 500 women' in the press release has no public confirmation — not a single registered protocol on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Second. The formula creates a 'trap effect.' Cationic polymers (polyquaternium-47, polyquaternium-7), which help apply the composition to the skin, form a film that traps bacteria underneath. After 48 hours (and 72 hours of dryness is claimed), the odor returns twice as intense due to anaerobic proliferation of corynebacteria. This is not an antiperspirant; it's a delayed-action odor bomb.
Third. The aluminum panic of 2022–2025 created a vacuum that is now being filled. After the FDA revised permissible aluminum limits in December 2024 (from 25% to 18% in antiperspirants), the market lost 15% of the efficacy of familiar formulas. The Koreans simply came out in time with an alternative that works slightly worse but without the 'toxic' (unproven) aluminum risks.
Forecast: Next 30 Days and 90 Days
30 days.
- L'Oréal will file a patent infringement lawsuit. The formula of glycopon + potassium chloride + polyquaternium is described in WO2016089288A1, but the patent expires in November 2026. L'Oréal's lawyers will try to prove that the 'Korean version' violates formula claim 14 — the combination with trimethylene glycol at a concentration of 0.5% to 50%.
- A buying spree of shares in companies producing propylene glycol and trimethylene glycol (Dow Chemical, LyondellBasell) will begin. The price of trimethylene glycol will rise from $2.8 per kg to $5.2 per kg by July.
90 days.
- First wave of side effects: dermatitis and chemical burns in users with compromised skin barrier. Cause: pH 3.0 + frequent reapplication (the user thinks the antiperspirant is weak and applies more often) = erosion of the stratum corneum.
- Unilever will urgently release a 'counterproduct' based on glycerin and fruit acids, but without cationic polymers to bypass the patent. Efficacy will be exactly half, but marketing will claim otherwise.
Insight that will decide the technology's fate: On page 27 of the patent, there is a formula without preservatives — meaning the product contains no preservatives, relying on the antimicrobial properties of salts and extreme pH. After opening, the shelf life is 14 days in the refrigerator. No mass-market brand will accept that. The product will remain niche (premium segment, $25–35 per 50 ml) and will die within 18 months when it becomes clear that 72 hours of dryness is a hospital average, with half of users not even reaching 30 hours.
My forecast: by September 2026, a 'blacklist' of the ingredient Trimethylene Glycol will appear in the European Cosmetics Association due to 50+ complaints of irritation. And the cycle will close. Without aluminum — bad, with aluminum — scary, with glycopon — expensive and short-lived. The antiperspirant industry is stuck in a triangle of impossibility.
— Editorial Team
