Korean women are known for their luminous complexions, achieved through a detailed regimen known as Korean Skin Care or K-Beauty, for short.
This unique regimen can involve up to 10 steps, more or less, that use Korean beauty products to refine, tone and deeply hydrate the skin, regardless of skin type.
K-Beauty is designed to work long-term due to its focus on consistency and personalization. Therefore, overnight results are not the goal because quick fixes can often create redness and irritation in the skin.
Korean skin care, instead, works gently on the skin and as a result, is able to produce that coveted, “lit-from-within” glow, the signature look of K-beauty, that so many women seek.
K-beauty might sound mysterious to some, and there’s no arguing that it is truly unique. It’s guided by products that contain active ingredients that have been scientifically proven to be effective, as well as products derived from Korean herbs that soothe the skin. As much as active ingredients, such as retinol and glycolic acid that resurface the skin, have become a staple for so many American women, K-beauty uses these ingredients is much lower quantities.
That’s why in K-beauty products, ingredients that resurface the skin, such as glycolic acid and retinol, are usually included in lower quantities as compared to American-based products, because K-beauty works by slowly refining skin without causing irritation.
Along with this characteristic of K-beauty is also that the routine has multiple steps, mentioned earlier.
Let’s look at how a typical K-beauty routine works:
Oil Cleansing
This is an important step because oil helps to thoroughly remove makeup and sunscreen.
- Massage the oil into your skin to ensure that all debris is being dissolved.
- Next, splash some water on your face, massaging it a bit more. This helps to emulsify the cleanser.
- Now, rinse everything away from your skin.
- Next, wipe you face with a soft wash cloth or cotton pads to make sure you have removed all traces of the oil cleanser.
Water Cleanse
Use a water-based cleanser to make sure you remove all oil residue or anything missed in the first cleanse.
- Once you dampen your face, massage this cleanser into your skin
- When all areas of your face have been properly covered in this second cleanser, you can rinse it away.
- Once rinsed, use a soft towel to gently dry your skin by pressing it against your face
Hydrating Toner
Spritz a toner onto your face and then press it into your skin. If you’d like a toner with a little more action, you can also opt for one that contains AHA or BHA to help gently exfoliate your skin.
Essence
Apply this just as you would a toner. Its purpose is to ramp up your skin’s hydration.
Ampoules
These are supercharged serums that are highly concentrated with active ingredients. Apply these by pressing them into your skin. It’s best to use them right after a lighter essence, but if you’re using a thicker essence, then before.
Masks
These could be sheet masks or other hydrating masks, and you don’t have to use them every night. Leave your mask on for at least 20 minutes, even up to a couple of hours—as long as it’s still hydrated, but once it begins to dry, that’s the time to remove it, as your skin has absorbed its ingredients.
Serum
Press serums into your skin using your fingers to ensure it gets into the crevices of your face. Because your face is already hydrated from the toner and essence in previous steps, you’ll find that you only need a small amount of serum for your entire face.
Eye Cream
Apply your eye cream using your ring fingers, gently pressing the cream into your delicate under-eye area.
Moisturizer
Seal in your previous steps with a moisturizer of your choice, by massaging it into the skin, or pressing it if your skin is feeling sensitive.
Face Oil
Korean face oils tend to be very light and are best applied after a light moisturizer, such as a gel one. However, if you have a heavier, creamier moisturizer, then you can apply these face oils before.
A pea-sized amount of oil is all that is needed to cover the entire face.
If you’re planning on incorporating a Korean skin care routine, make sure you go slowly. Introducing several new products all at once could produce a negative reaction and you might never know the exact product that your skin is reacting to.
It could actually take a few days or even a couple of weeks to find out if a product will work well for your skin. So, it’s best to just introduce one product at a time in order to see if it’s beneficial.
Disclaimer: Please note that while the information in this blog post has been researched and written from a professional perspective, it is for informational purposes only and can not be taken as professional skincare advice.