When it comes to skincare, South Korea is well known for its innovation and high-standards in beauty and skincare. K-beauty products are now sought after around the world. The high-quality products are made from natural ingredients to protect your skin. Besides that they have managed come up with routines where each step is well-curated to ensure that it provides value to your skin.
The skincare routine below ensures that the pores are well cleaned, dead skin scraped off, that the skin stays hydrated. Furthermore, nutrients stay locked in the skin and also prevent it from harmful UV lights. The goal of the Korean skincare routine is to help achieve a healthy and young looking skin.
Let us look at one of the best Korean skincare routines you should try.
1. Makeup remover (Cleansing oil)
The first step is actually a part of a process referred to as double-cleansing. The cleansing oil is the product applicable in this step as it helps to breakdown grime, oil, and makeup gently before washing them away cleanly. Some cleansing oil will come with a pump, while others will come as a balm that melts on the skin. Although they can come in, either way, the application is the same. That is massaging at least a quarter of the dollop on your dry skin and rinsing it off after 20 seconds.
Typically, most people just use water and soap to wash the makeup off, but what they don’t know is that doing so clogs the pores and doesn’t help in removing all the dirt and makeup. That’s why it’s advisable to use an oil-based makeup remover or cleanser such as coconut oil.
2. Water-based cleanser
The most important lesson that we have learned from K-beauty is double-cleansing. It makes our faces clean without irritating or stripping it off, thanks to the gentle formulas used in these two steps. After rinsing the oil away in the first step, next, you need to use a water-based face wash to cleanse your face for the second time. If you have dry skin, then you can opt for a cleanser that is in the form of a cream, use foam fo oily skin or gel for both skins.
3. Exfoliator
Exfoliating the skin is recommended to be done twice a week. But this highly depends on your skin sensitivity since some skins are very sensitive. Doing this helps the skin to slough off the dead cells; hence the room is created for rejuvenation and growth of younger skin. Exfoliating your skin makes your skin appear younger and also helps it to absorb products better than before. This is an easy step because all you need to do is massage an exfoliator on your skin gently for 5 minutes. Then rinse off the dead skin and exfoliate with lukewarm water.
4. Toner
Although washing your face following the double cleansing method helps to remove makeup oil and dirt, it can also strip off natural oils from your skin. In this case, you need to balance your skin using a Toner. Besides, this step is very crucial since it helps dampen your skin as well as balancing the skin hence avoiding any sorts of breakouts. Toner also helps your skin to absorb products better. You can dab it on cotton wool or sprinkle on your face, then massage the skin working outwards.
5. Essence
After cleansing and prepping your skin, the next thing you need to use is an essence. This might seem like a small move to most of you, but it is the heart of Korean skincare. This is because it acts as a serum or toner for repairing, hydrating, and cell turnover. In this step, your skin is well catered for hence making your skin looking supple and young. Some will argue that toners and essence are basically the same things. But what they don't know is that you can not get everything from toners, and that's why you need essence for the supplements.
6. Sheet Mask
This is one of the easiest and important steps in this routine. It takes only around 15-20 minutes. Although there are many different types of sheet masks, they all have the same goal, which is keeping your skin hydrated. Some skincare evaporates as they dry; hence if not locked in, they will just go into waste. This step is very important for K-beauty because it helps to lock in ingredients as you hydrate and add more layers. I tend to use the rest of the essence that is left in the packaging for my feet, ankles and elbows. No wasting of good stuff!
7. Serum/Ampoule (Treatment)
Just like we restore or hair by treating it, the skin too needs the same. Skin treatment targets pigmentation, wrinkles, acne, dull skin, fine lines, dark spots, etc. You can use either a serum or an ampoule for your skin treatment. However, an ampoule is highly concentrated with these active ingredients; hence it should only be used when need be, for example, after bad night sleep or a night out. Always apply ampoules and serums before any creams, oils, and lotions
early in your routine since they are thinner than moisturizers.
8. Eye cream or Eye Serum
It is important to take care of your eye area because it is the most delicate skin on your face. Doing so helps you to avoid aging of the skin, bags, and wrinkles. Eye serum are highly concentrated that are meant to be fully absorbed into your skin and is able to penetrate the skin deeper than eye creams. Although this cream is very thick, making it hard to layer it under your makeup during the day, it can act as a good source of hydration at night. For mature skin, using serum as first layer and then eye cream as second layer if need a bit of extra TLC around the eye area. Use your weakest finger, such as the ring finger, to apply eye cream or eye serum all-around your eyes, including under your eyes and over the lids.
9. Moisturizer
When it comes to any skincare routine, moisturizing is always the non-negotiable step. This layer acts as a barrier locking inside all the hydrating products that you have added in the above steps. The skin needs to stay hydrated for it to function properly and also for restoring health. Moisturizers come in different types to suit all the skin types. For example, a richer cream formal is best for the dry skin, while a gel formula sits an acne-prone skin and oily skin better. But, if you want a little bit of everything, you can choose an emulsion or lotion, which is a cross between gel and cream and thinner than a cream.
10. Sunscreen
This step is very important since it shields your skin from the harmful effects of UV rays. It is essential to make it a habit to apply sunscreen every morning before you leave the house. Furthermore, you can follow all the above steps well, but if you fail to protect your skin from the sun, then you will have done nothing.
Final thoughts
These ten steps have been tested and proven to work by many skincare lovers across the world. The best thing about this routine is that it helps to achieve a glowing and more even skin tone. Some people do it twice a week while others do it daily, and all it takes is 15 minutes of the day to skincare. Once you start following these steps, you will notice it’s not that intense at all, and you will grow to love the ritual.
