Re20 Skin Booster vs Rejuran: Which One Does Your Skin Actually Need?
If you have been researching skin boosters in Singapore, you have almost certainly come across both of these names. They get mentioned in the same breath, compared in the same forum threads, and offered on the same clinic menus — which gives the impression they are two versions of the same thing.
They are not. They are built from different materials, and they ask your skin to do two different jobs.
Understanding that difference is the whole decision. Once you know which job your skin needs doing, choosing between them becomes straightforward.
The Short Version
Rejuran sends an instruction. Re20 delivers the material.
Rejuran is built around polynucleotides — fragments of DNA, derived from salmon, that act as a signal. Injected into the skin, they prompt your fibroblasts to get back to work repairing and producing collagen. The treatment does not supply collagen itself. It tells your skin to make its own.
Re20 works from the opposite direction. It uses human acellular dermal matrix — a micronised powder made up of the structural proteins skin is built from. Rather than signalling your skin to produce material, it supplies that material directly: collagen, elastin, and the supporting proteins that hold the whole structure together.
One is a message. The other is a delivery.
That distinction explains almost everything else about how the two behave — including who they suit.
What Is Rejuran?
Rejuran belongs to a category called polynucleotide or PDRN treatments. The active component is purified DNA fragments extracted from salmon, chosen because their molecular structure is compatible with human skin.
Once injected, polynucleotides are understood to stimulate fibroblast activity. Fibroblasts are the cells responsible for producing collagen and elastin, and their activity declines with age. The treatment is essentially an attempt to wake them up.
Because the effect depends on your own cells responding, results build gradually. Most patients need three to four sessions spaced two to four weeks apart, with maintenance every three to four months after that. Nobody walks out of a first session transformed — and any clinic suggesting otherwise is overselling it.
Polynucleotides have been studied reasonably well in aesthetic medicine, including in randomised clinical trials reviewed for skin rejuvenation and scar outcomes.
At our clinic this treatment is offered as Korean PDRN Healer, with variants formulated for specific concerns — including a thicker version for acne scarring and a lighter one for the under-eye area.
What Is Re20?
Re20 takes a different approach. Instead of stimulating your skin to produce structural proteins, it provides them.
The product uses human acellular dermal matrix (hADM) in micronised powder form. "Acellular" means the cells have been removed, leaving only the structural scaffolding behind — the extracellular matrix, which is the framework that gives skin its firmness and resilience.
That scaffolding is roughly 89% collagen, 3% elastin, and a small percentage of glycosaminoglycans including hyaluronic acid, alongside other structural proteins. In other words, it is close to the composition of the skin's own supporting matrix.
The treatment protocol is shorter than Rejuran's — typically two to three sessions around four weeks apart.
We offer this as our ECM Skin Booster, and the focus is on skin texture, firmness and structural quality rather than hydration alone.
Side by Side
Rejuran | Re20 | |
Source | Salmon DNA (polynucleotides) | Human acellular dermal matrix |
How it works | Signals fibroblasts to repair | Supplies structural proteins directly |
Main composition | Purified DNA fragments | ~89% collagen, 3% elastin, GAGs |
Primary focus | Repair, healing, skin quality | Texture, firmness, structure |
Typical protocol | 3–4 sessions, 2–4 weeks apart | 2–3 sessions, ~4 weeks apart |
Maintenance | Every 3–4 months | Longer interval |
Works best for | Compromised, inflamed or healing skin | Structural laxity and texture |
Which One Suits Which Concern?
This is where the decision usually settles.
Rejuran tends to suit you if:
Your skin is reactive, inflamed or recovering — after acne, after laser, or simply sensitised
You have acne scarring you want to address gradually
Your main complaint is skin quality: dullness, roughness, poor healing
The under-eye area is your focus — the thinner formulations are designed for it
You are younger and your fibroblasts still respond well to stimulation
The logic: if your skin's repair machinery is intact but underactive, a signalling treatment makes sense. You are restarting a process, not replacing it.
Re20 tends to suit you if:
Your main complaint is texture and firmness rather than irritation
You are noticing enlarged pores and loss of tone
Your skin feels thin or structurally weak rather than inflamed
You want a shorter treatment course
You are older, or your skin has been through significant sun exposure, and its own production has slowed considerably
The logic: if the raw material is depleted and your cells are producing slowly, supplying the structural components directly is more efficient than asking tired fibroblasts to produce them.
Can You Have Both?
Yes — and in practice, a combined plan is common.
They are not competing treatments. One restarts a process, the other supplies material. Used together, in the right order, they can complement each other: a signalling treatment to improve the skin's repair environment, followed by structural support to build on it.
What matters is sequencing and spacing. Stacking injectable treatments too close together increases swelling and makes it impossible to tell which treatment produced which result. If one causes an issue, you also will not know which to adjust.
This is a decision that should come out of an assessment rather than a package deal. Your doctor should be able to explain why a particular order was chosen for your skin.
What Neither Treatment Will Do
Worth being direct about, because expectations are where disappointment usually starts.
Neither is a filler. Neither will restore lost volume in the cheeks or build definition in the chin. If what is bothering you is facial hollowing or a lack of structure, skin boosters are not the answer — dermal fillers or collagen stimulators address that, and no amount of skin booster treatment will substitute.
Neither tightens significantly loose skin. Both improve skin quality and firmness at the surface and mid-layer. Neither lifts tissue that has descended.
Neither works in one session. Both are course-based treatments. If budget only allows a single session, it is generally better to wait and complete a proper course later than to spend on one treatment and conclude it does not work.
Neither is permanent. Both require maintenance, and how long yours lasts depends on your skin, your age and your sun exposure.
How to Choose, Practically
If you are weighing them up, the useful question is not "which is better" — it is "what is my skin short of?"
Ask yourself whether the problem is that your skin is struggling — irritated, slow to heal, scarred, reactive — or whether it is depleted: thin, lax, rough, with visible pores and lost tone.
Struggling skin usually benefits more from a signalling treatment. Depleted skin usually benefits more from structural supply.
If you cannot tell which describes your skin, that is a reasonable thing to find out at a consultation rather than guess at. A proper assessment looks at skin thickness, elasticity, inflammation and your history — and sometimes the answer is that neither is the right starting point, and something else should come first.
You can read more about how these treatments fit into the wider category in our guide to skin booster injections in Singapore, or see the full range of skin booster treatments we offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Re20 better than Rejuran?
Neither is better in general — they do different things. Rejuran signals your skin to repair itself, which suits compromised or healing skin. Re20 supplies structural proteins directly, which suits skin that has lost firmness and texture. The right choice depends on what your skin is short of, which is assessed at consultation.
Which one works faster?
Re20 typically involves a shorter course — two to three sessions rather than three to four. However, both are gradual treatments and neither produces an immediate change. Improvements develop over the weeks following each session as the skin responds.
Does Rejuran contain animal products?
Yes. Rejuran's polynucleotides are derived from salmon DNA. Re20 uses human-derived acellular dermal matrix. If either is a concern for you on personal or religious grounds, raise it at consultation — there are alternative skin booster options.
Do these treatments hurt?
Both are injectable treatments and involve some discomfort. Numbing cream is applied beforehand. Most patients describe the sensation as tolerable rather than painful, though the under-eye area is more sensitive than the cheeks.
How much downtime is there?
Both typically cause small injection bumps, mild redness and occasional bruising. Most settle within a day or two, though bruising can last longer. We would not recommend scheduling either immediately before an important event.
Can I have these if I have active acne?
Possibly — polynucleotide treatments are sometimes used in skin that is recovering from acne, because of their effect on healing. But active, inflamed acne usually needs treating first. Your doctor will assess this.
How long do the results last?
Both require maintenance. Rejuran is typically maintained every three to four months; Re20 generally has a longer interval. Longevity varies considerably between individuals depending on age, skin condition and sun exposure.
Which is better for acne scars?
Polynucleotide treatments have more established use in scarring, and there is a formulation specifically intended for it. That said, significant pitted scarring usually needs a combination approach rather than skin boosters alone — often including resurfacing or subcision.
Book an Assessment
Both of these treatments work, for the right skin. The difficulty is that from the outside they look interchangeable, and choosing by name rather than by need is how patients end up disappointed with a treatment that was never designed for their concern.
Our doctors will assess your skin and explain which approach suits it — and tell you if neither does.
Book a consultation at our Orchard or Hougang clinic.
Medically reviewed by Dr Ray Loh Hong Yuh and Dr Sy Li Lin, MOH-certified doctors at Fundamental Aesthetic Medical Clinic.
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