When it comes to skin care, Koreans have always been an example of perfection. Everything that we use today comes from Korea including the BB creams, cushion compacts, and sheet masks. You have to admit, women from Korea have skin we dream of having! They have such simple and clear complexions just like those we see in photoshopped pictures.
In order to cope with our current skin imperfections, most of us are happy to make use of some Korean skin care tips. These powerful tips and Korean beauty hacks will elevate your skin health, and help you keep your complexion fresh and healthy.
Background of Korean Skin Care
If you want to know more about Korean beauty tips or K-beauty – another name for the same concept, keep reading! As you’ve probably guessed, Korean skincare products were manufactured in Korea, and they are typically created with their local beauty philosophy in mind.
The Korean skin care regimen and products for beauty and created for long-term use are key to success. By using these products consistently, you will also have the best results.
Basically, the routine is all about respecting the skin. You need to avoid products with harsh ingredients and take care of your skin in a natural way by cleansing, nourishing, and hydrating. Korean skin care is more about protection rather than using additional solutions to decrease the damage. If you take care of your skin, it will pay off in the long run. In the Korean beauty philosophy, prevention is better than cure.
You can also adapt Korean skin care in Malaysia. According to the International Textile and Apparel Association, the beauty industry in Korea has increased its export rates. Only in 2016, the entire exports of cosmetics were at $4.2b, which was a 61.6% increase from 2015.
Korea is also known for “glass skin” which is usually used in the beauty sphere to indicate smooth, hydrated, and clear skin.
Factors to Consider When Building the Korean Skin Care Routine
Skin care in Korea is highly prioritized. This is a good way to go – you need to care for your skin in order to achieve positive results. When creating your regular routine, you should think about the following ways to improve the results:
- Skin type – consider whether your skin is oily, acne-prone, dry, or the combination of certain states. By knowing the state of your skin, you will find the best creams for yourself.
- Brands – You should purchase some of the best products and apply them to your skin. For example, you can find Dr. Jart’s Creams, SF9, ATEEZ, Red Velvet, Momoland, and similar.
- Ingredients – they are also important as you want to keep your skins protected from dangerous products in a tube.
- Budget – you should always look for affordable products. It doesn’t make sense if you buy a product once and then stop using it because you can’t afford to buy it again.
- Time – if you want to have a skincare routine, you need to know how much time you can commit to your skincare routine.
What is the Korean Skin Care Routine Anyway?
There are many possible routines you can apply to your skin. Your routine can consist of 5, 7, 10, or 12 steps depending on your time for applying all these steps. For example, if you choose a 7-step routine, you should have these steps — oil-based cleanser, water-based cleanser, toner, essence, treatment, eye cream, and moisturizer.
You don’t need to apply the same routine in the morning and at night. During the morning hours, you can focus on moisturizing and keeping your skin protected from the sun. Extensive routines can be applied in the evenings by adding exfoliants, masks, eye creams, and similar.
Different skin types require different routines. If you have oily skin, you can continue with the double-cleansing. Dry skin may require an oil-based cleanser. If you look for toner and additional from humectants, use hyaluronic acid. Those who have combination skin will look for products that keep balance. For skin that’s more inclined to acne, you will look to avoid exfoliating until the skin becomes clear.
15 Korean Skin Care Tips and Beauty Hacks
Now, we’re at the part you’ve been waiting for. Get ready to learn about the 15 best Korean skin care tips and beauty hacks. These tips are all easy to work into your current skincare routine and some of them might really surprise you!
1. Wash Face With Rice Water
This is an efficient beauty tip that keeps your face glowing and fresh. Don’t throw away the water after you’ve washed your rice because your skin can benefit from it. After you wash your face with the rice water, your skin will feel soothed. You can even use rice water as an overnight mask. This is one of the easiest Korean skin care tips to include in your routine.
2. Exfoliate Skin With a Hot Towel
This is a tip you can practice daily. Just wet a washcloth and use upward and circular strokes to clean your face. Koreans are well-known for being able to achieve ideal skin through exfoliating. They know that in order to do so, they need to remove all the dead skin, but stay gentle all the way. Avoid following one routine, but adapt exfoliating products according to your skin’s immediate issues. You can also use water-based enzyme exfoliators, which have the power of removing the dead skin while keeping your underneath skin healthy.
3. Use Double-cleansing
By doing double cleansing, you will keep your face free from any damage. Those who have oily skin shouldn’t be afraid of this trick. According to the opinion of skincare experts, the cleansing rituals start with double cleansing. You should use an oil cleanser to take off makeup, sunscreen and continue with a cleansing foam/soap for the pores. If you don’t have enough time, you can add oil-in-micellar formula and remove mascara from your eyes as well as additional traces of makeup.
4. Face Mist to Increase Hydration
With this step, you will keep and retrigger the products you utilize. Steam your face and always keep a face mist with you. You can also purchase new masks along your way. Even the celebrities follow the same tip and you should also apply it in the daily routine.
You may want to try a blurring trick or using one or additional products with smart coverage. For example, you can use a makeup brush in order to clear undesired “blur” or any imperfections.
5. Use Toner After Showering
Toner is very useful for restoring balance and bringing moisture to your face. As soon as you wash your face, you should keep your skin wet. When your skin is still wet, just apply toner and lotion to it. This is also one of the recommendations from US dermatologists which helps you in keeping skin hydrated and free of irritation. Many women avoid putting the toner all over the face but apply it only on the forehead which could be another beauty tip.
Women in Korea believe that essences are very important in keeping your skin clean. When we talk about essences, we think about mild, nutrient-based products that keep your skin hydrated and come after cleansing. After that, you should apply serum as well as a moisturizer to achieve a high level of hydration.
6. Intensive TLC After Makeup
Makeup can clog pores, so make sure you remove it as soon as you don’t need it on anymore. There are many facial oils that can be used after makeup to nullify its negative effects. Look for the products which suit your skin.
When you apply these products to your skin, make sure to use your fingertips (some experts recommend the fourth fingers) Thanks to this gentle pressure, you will see better results on your skin, especially when you use eye cream. Keep in mind that the ring finger puts minimum pressure on the most sensitive parts of your face.
7. Facial Massage With Serum
By massaging your skin with facial serum, you will relax the skin and make your skin glow. Use fingers to improve the effects but pay attention to the forehead, cheeks, and jawbone. Massages are very beneficial and they belong to the most important skincare secrets in Korea.
Skin massages can have anti-aging effects on your skin. As you are massaging, you’re actually improving your skin health with simple physical stimulation. It increases the circulation in your blood, lymph, and vessels, and your capillaries also become more active.
With this treatment, you can also present premature aging and improve the elasticity of your skin while also preventing wrinkles.
8. Use Chilled Face Masks
Don’t forget to place face masks in your fridge to get that extra refreshing feeling. If you’re not familiar with sheet masks, you can think of them as serum-soaked masks that should be put on the face for around 20 minutes. However, you cannot use them on a daily level which is also applied to exfoliants.
Another good idea is to use a mask while you are sleeping (overnight masks). It will renew your skin and lead to recovery. Nighttime is the best one to hyper-moisturize and you should continue with the same routine. You will see effects when you wake up.
9. Use Activated Charcoal
Activated charcoal helps in detoxification and exfoliation efforts. It’s great for cleansing your pores and helps reduce blemishes too. Activated charcoal is embedded into facial cleansers, peel-off masks and facial masks.
10. Slap Your Own Face!
Did we surprise you? Slapping the face is actually something that certain Korean celebrities swear by. It’s actually a very good tip for improving the circulation in the face. Include in your ritual and continue with gentle applications of products after that. Be sure not to hurt yourself though!
11. Drink Green Tea and Barley Tea
Tea is very important for detoxifying your body and can help give you clear skin. That’s why you should keep it in your daily routine. Barely tea is given to Korean babies from the first months of their birth to boost their skin health. It is filled in with antioxidants and by drinking it, people can improve the circulation of the blood. It also has weight loss benefits!
12. Try Ginseng
This is a very healthy plant that can be used raw or steamed. Apart from having good effects on your health, it is also good for your skin.
13. Sleep Early and Sleep Enough
Sleep is very important and you need to sleep enough to have beautiful and radiant skin. Sufficient sleep improves your complexion, but you should also go to bed at a particular time. In Korea, people usually fall asleep between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Keeping a healthy and regular sleeping schedule can do wonders for your skin.
14. Don’t Skimp on Sunscreen
Sunscreen is very important to keep the face and skin protected from the sun especially during the summer. Be sure to find a product with the adequate level of sun protection factor (SPF).
15. Sooth with Essential Oils
This is another beauty tip that helps women in keeping their skin fresh and glistening. Find the right essential oils and apply them regularly. Hydration is a very important part of your daily routine. Lavender essential oil, tea tree oil, and frankincense are key examples of soothing essential oils. What’s more, their pleasant and calming aroma is a definite plus!
Conclusion
As you can see, Korean beauty hacks appear in various shapes and sizes and you want to follow them in order to achieve the best possible effect.
Mists, masks, and moisturizers are key to accomplish the radiant and glowing effect. A quick bonus tip would be to use eye cream to eliminate those dark shadows beneath your eyes and make your skin luminous.
Even if you don’t apply all these hacks, you should follow some of them and introduce them in daily life. Green tea or barley tea for example, is easy to work into your routine. Busy women can also go for the chilled face masks as it’s a low effort skincare step.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the secret of Korean skin? How do Koreans have such good skin?
The secret of Korean skin is hydration and consistency. Apart from taking care of their skin, women in Korea apply the most natural and efficient products combined with home remedies to create radiant skin.
2. How do Koreans take care of their lips?
You can enhance your natural lip color to make your complexion look younger and more striking. Be sure to look for the products which suit your lip chemistry. For example, you can apply natural lip balms for a moisturizing effect. You can also try using a lip tint or oil. This lip oil works like butter without stickiness. This way, you get the familiar and natural pinkish tint.
3. Is Korean skin care better than western skincare methods?
Korean beauty secrets are highly reputable and many women swear by them. Although we believe there aren’t inherently “better” skincare methods, Korean skin care practices are definitely worth checking out. Western skincare focuses on removing impurities to pave the way for new skin, while Korean skincare focuses on restoring hydration and nutrients. Korean skincare methods are gentler and easier on the skin.
4. Are Korean skin care products good?
Yes, these products stand out with great quality so you can consider using them on a regular basis. There are many Korean skin care tips and you should use those which meet your preferences to the fullest.
