What is K-Beauty?
K-Beauty is a collective term for beauty care from South Korea. It includes everything from BB creams, facial creams, and Essence. A South Korean skincare routine can include as many as 10 steps or more.
The contents of the products are also much more concentrated than what we are used to. Products containing snail extract can contain over 90% snail secretion. Thus, well-composed products with ingredients sourced from both plant and animal kingdoms. South Korean skincare focuses on using well-tested and nourishing ingredients to hydrate and treat the skin.
Innovative Research and Development
Korea is constantly at the forefront of research and development in skincare. This results in high-quality products at reasonable prices, such as snail products, masks, and fermented/yeasted skincare products.
New and Powerful Ingredients
The contents of Korean products are much more concentrated than what we are used to. Snail creams, for example, can contain over 90% snail secretion. Thus, well-composed products with ingredients sourced from both plant and animal kingdoms.
Super Ingredients
Today's skincare consumers value natural and pure ingredients as much as possible. Therefore, K-Beauty is the obvious choice. Skincare from South Korea contains significantly fewer additives than European standards.
This, in turn, means that the shelf life is shorter than we are used to. Often 2-3 years. That said, it becomes crucial to raise awareness about the expiration date to ensure a good product.
Step 1. Oil Cleansing
Oil cleansing is the first step in K-BEAUTY. Oil cleansing is meant to remove makeup and impurities. Oil-based cleansing is especially good if you have used a lot of makeup; feel free to use a cotton pad around the eyes to gently remove eye makeup. It is a gentle and effective cleansing method that can be used by everyone, even those with oily skin.
Apply directly to the face using your hands in upward circular motions. Many believe that people with oily skin cannot use oil cleansing. On the contrary, fat dissolves fat, so the oil cleansing will break down all oil-based residues left on the skin, such as makeup, sunscreen, sebum, and pollutants.
Step 2. Water Cleansing
The next step is water cleansing. After you have removed makeup with oil cleansing, it is important to wash away remaining fats, sweat, and dirt with water cleansing.A double cleansing ensures that your face is 100% free from all possible impurities. Performing two cleansings in a row is not only done by Koreans; it is also recommended by skin specialists as it is an effective way to prevent acne. Apply a water cleanser to an already damp face using circular motions. After this double cleansing method, the skin feels wonderfully hydrated and balanced.
Step 3. Exfoliate
Peeling is more important than many think and can really work wonders for your skin. Use peeling to loosen clogged pores and remove dead skin cells so that the skin's health improves, brightens, and helps your other products to be absorbed better.You can use a mechanical peeling just like a scrub, or a chemical peeling, which has ingredients like lactic acid or salicylic acid to remove dead skin cells so that new healthy cells have space to form. Exfoliate no more than twice a week and focus on the t-zone – where blackheads tend to be particularly difficult to remove.
Step 4. Toner
After all cleansing, it's time to moisturize the skin while balancing the pH level. Even though toner can help remove any residues from your cleansing, it also prepares the skin to be extra receptive to absorb the creams that follow.
Use the toner on a cotton pad and sweep over the face after cleansing or pour a little into your hands and gently pat it onto the skin. Korean women always pat in their products as it is believed to be absorbed better and faster into the skin. You can also spray the toner over your face.
Step 5. Essence
Essences are usually a bit thinner in consistency than serums & ampoules. With a high content of active ingredients that help you moisturize, even out skin tone, smooth the skin, and reduce the visibility of wrinkles.
Essence is used after toner and before your face cream. Gently pat it over the entire face for best absorption.
Step 6. Ampoules/Serum
Dear child has many names: ampoules, serums, or boosters. Often, serums/ampoules have a thicker consistency with a more potent concentration of ingredients and are often used as precise treatments, such as for pigmentation spots or fine lines around the mouth. If you choose to add this to your routine, use it after toner/Essence and let it absorb for a few minutes before following up with a face cream.
Step 7. Sheet Masks
Sheet masks are shaped to fit your face. With holes for the eyes, nose, and mouth. Often the masks contain the same type of ingredients as Essence. The masks are made to be used once, shaped to fit perfectly on your face to seal in moisture against the skin so that it has time to absorb all the nutrients and active ingredients. The masks are used for 10-20 minutes and can be used as needed.
Step 8. Eye cream
The most sensitive area of the face is the skin under and around the eyes. Because the skin under the eyes is so delicate, it is often where the first signs of aging appear. Therefore, it is important to use an eye cream to moisturize and protect the skin as well as to reduce the risk of lines and dark circles under the eyes.
Step 9. Face Cream
The skin needs moisture to stay healthy and fresh. Korean skincare is especially known for its lotions that moisturize the skin without leaving a greasy feeling. A rich variety of active ingredients caters to both dry and sensitive as well as oily skin. There are also a number of different BB creams, which are a hybrid between moisturizer, sunscreen, and foundation coverage.
Just like all Korean skincare products, the facial creams are also made with great creativity and advanced formulations. The purpose of moisturizers is not just to hydrate the skin but also to help the serum encapsulate its active ingredients. Using moisturizer is important, for example after a face mask, as the cream also acts as a barrier and encapsulates the nutrients from the mask.
In Korean skincare, the moisturizer is applied after serum and essence.
Step 10. UV Protection
This is an important step that many skip. Sunlight consists of UVA rays that penetrate deep into the skin and cause premature aging and, in the worst case, skin cancer. That is why it is a given for us to use sunscreen, especially on the face, to protect the skin from the sun's harmful rays.