Acropass

Acropass (Korean: 아크로패스) is a South Korean derma-cosmetic skincare brand built around dissolving microneedle patches. It is the consumer line of Raphas Co., Ltd. (주라파스), a Seoul research-and-development company that commercialises biodegradable microneedle technology. Rather than creams or serums, Acropass delivers active ingredients just below the skin's surface through patches studded with tiny soluble cones, positioning the format as an at-home alternative to professional micro-needling.

The brand traces its origin to Raphas, which several sources record as founded in 2006 [6][3]. It reached US shoppers in late 2017 and remains active, with product lines updated and restocked across retailers as recently as 2025.

⚑ Thinner sourcing. The article relies largely on the brand's own statements (T2–T3). Glowpedia is seeking independent sources.

Acropass belongs to Raphas Co., Ltd., a company headquartered in the Magok district of Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Raphas presents itself as a research and development business focused on skin-based aesthetic medicine, and according to the company it launched Acropass as a "derma-cosmetic brand," releasing patches for skin problems and anti-aging alongside its other work. The parent firm also operates in pharmaceutical and vaccine-delivery research and sells a health-food product under a separate brand name.

The company's founding date is recorded consistently as 2006 — business databases note it was incorporated that year, with one profile giving 30 March 2006. The year Acropass itself reached consumers is reported differently across sources: a 2017 press release and several profiles describe Raphas as having "founded the brand in 2006" [6], while Korean trade press dates the consumer Acropass product line to 2012 [9]. One English aggregator instead places the brand's establishment in 2017. The 2006 date is generally treated as the parent company's origin, with the consumer line emerging around 2012 and the US market entry following in November 2017.

Raphas listed on the KOSDAQ exchange in November 2019, trading under ticker 214260 [3].

Acropass is defined by its delivery method rather than a single hero ingredient. Its patches use dissolving microneedles — marketed as "microcones" — described in editorial coverage as roughly one-third the width of a hair, fine enough that application is essentially painless [5]. Once pressed onto the skin, the cones dissolve over a couple of hours, releasing their payload below the surface. Reported ingredients across the range include hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and oligopeptide-76 in the acne patches, with EGF, retinol and PDRN appearing in other formulations.

The underlying manufacturing sits with Raphas. The company describes a proprietary process it calls DEN (Droplet Extension) technology, a method that mounts droplets of dissolving polymer and active ingredients onto a patch and extends them to a chosen length [7]. Raphas frames it as simpler than traditional moulding and able to solidify the needle shape using air rather than heat or UV light, which it presents as gentler on the active ingredients. An earlier-generation version was named DAB (Droplet-born Air Blowing). The biodegradable microneedle manufacturing technology behind the brand was transferred from Yonsei University and commercialised by Raphas [9].

Among the brand's products, the Trouble Cure microcone patch is the most widely covered. Positioned as a two-step treatment for deep hormonal and cystic acne, it pairs a salicylic-acid and tea-tree-oil swab with a microneedle patch applied directly to the blemish [4]. The Ageless Lifter, an anti-aging patch using the brand's microstructure technology, was the product chosen for the 2017 US debut [6]. The current catalogue also includes retinol "RETI-RN" wrinkle patches, pore-care and dark-spot patches, and supporting items such as calming powders and repair creams.

Acropass sums up its approach with the Korean slogan "바르지말고 붙이세요" — roughly, "don't apply, stick it on" — capturing its patch-over-cream premise. The company states its mission as "Be Your Beautiful Self." The positioning throughout is non-invasive and treatment-focused: a way to push targeted actives past the skin barrier at home without needles in the clinical sense.

In its 2017 US announcement, the brand described itself as used by "millions of women across South Korea, China and Japan" [6], pointing to a presence across East Asian markets before its Western entry. It is sold today through multiple channels, including international K-beauty retailers, and is distributed in Norway via the Glowjakt feed.

Acropass gained Western visibility largely through K-beauty media and retailers. The Trouble Cure patch was featured by Refinery29 and Elite Daily as a novel alternative to standard hydrocolloid pimple patches, with the dissolving-microneedle format treated as its distinguishing trait [4]. Charlotte Cho, founder of the US retailer Soko Glam, helped popularise the patch, describing it as the latest K-beauty innovation from Acropass; she is credited as a populariser rather than the brand's creator [5]. Coverage also drew on outside expertise, with cosmetic chemist Ginger King quoted on why enhanced penetration matters for active ingredients to work.

A clinical-style claim attached to the Ageless Lifter, reported in the brand's 2017 release, stated that users saw anti-aging effects after eight uses, with results persisting up to a month after stopping [6].

Acropass is active. It is backed by its KOSDAQ-listed parent, Raphas, and its products continue to be sold and refreshed: a 2025 retinol RETI-RN microcone line was actively stocked across retailers including Amazon, StyleKorean and Olive Young Global [10]. Its reach spans Korea and the wider Asian market as well as the United States and parts of Europe.