Ever noticed the Korean’s beautiful, porcelain skin like they have no pores at all? Sometimes I wonder if it’s because of their genes, diet or climate. And it’s a relief to know that those assumptions are wrong – those factors I mentioned earlier contribute to their beautiful skin but it’s not the key to get glowing skin. It requires hard work to achieve perfect skin and when it comes to makeup, Koreans have a different approach to it compared to others. Koreans include skincare as part of their culture and start being proactive from a very young age rather than solving skin problems only when they occur. They treat their skin and their complexion like an ultimate investment.
Korean skincare routine has been tagged as “million skincare” and with that, we start to worry with the time, effort and of course, the budget. Fret not, it’s actually just an 8-step for the morning routine and 10-step for the night routine. Not bad, right? And they do this. every.single.day and night. It will just take you like 15 minutes max and you’ll get a glowing skin upon waking up.
This is how Koreans do it. Read and learn.There will be personal touches to this article since the writer also do these steps. So I assure you that Korean dewy, glowing skin is POSSIBLE.
Morning Routine – The Korean Way
The Korean morning routine consists of 8 steps. Yes, it may sound extensive but their effort did not go unnoticed. These women know that they have the most beautiful skin in the world!
Step 1: Wash face with water.
When you wash first thing in the morning, cleanse your face with water only. It removes the impurities that settle on the face during the night and it helps in hydration, too.
Step 2: Toner
Toner balances the skin’s pH level keeping the skin free from deep-seated dirt. It further helps to absorb the next products you’ll be applying.
Step 3: Essence
Essence is a watery substance that hydrates the complexion and restores the youthfulness of the skin.
Don’t let your skin be dehydrated.
Don’t let your skin be dehydrated.Step 4: Ampoule
Ampoules are similar to serum but they have higher number of active ingredients that target specific skin concerns. They’re used as a booster when your skin badly needs the extra help.
Ampoule target a specific skin concern. Step 5: Serum
Serums have concentrated formulas with active ingredients that also target specific skin concern such as wrinkle, dark spots or dehydration.
targets specific skin concern just like ampoules. Step 6: Eye cream
Using an eye cream is very important in the Korean skincare routine. The skin under the eye lacks moisture (same with the neck) because there are no sebaceous glands that produce natural oils and the skin surrounding it is the thinnest — that’s why the first few signs of aging can easily be seen on the skin surrounding it – so it’s important to keep this area hydrated and protected all day long.
Prevent your age from showing thru your eyes. Step 7: Moisturizer
Then apply a soothing moisturiser on the entire face for long lasting all-day hydration.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Step 8: Sunscreen
Since it is impossible to avoid the sun, they always see to it that they apply sunscreen everyday even if they’re just at home. Protecting the skin on a daily basis from UV rays will avoid the development of dark spots, wrinkles, and fine lines.
Protect your skin against the sun. Night Time Routine – The Korean Way
Korean’s night time routine consists of 10 steps. It is overwhelming, yes, but each one has its own important role to play to keep the skin young, healthy and glowing. It is similar to the daytime routine except:
Step 1. Pre-cleanse.
This removes the dirt and makeup accumulated through the day. First, remove your makeup using a facial towelette (facial towelette, not the table napkin since it’ll leave traces of fibers on the skin) and a liquid remover. And then draw out sebum and other bacteria using a gentle oil-based cleanser and lukewarm water.
Remove makeup, for the start.Step 2. And then cleanse again.
Koreans believe that the most important step in their skincare routine is the cleansing. It is the key for a radiant and acne-free complexion that is precisely why they opt to cleanse again using a cream or foaming cleanser. Massage the skin on your face in circular motion.
Cleansing the face is a key step to have a smooth skin. Step 3. Exfoliate
They exfoliate at least twice a week using a gentle enzyme or bead-based exfoliator to remove dead skin revealing a smoother skin.
Remove those dead skin cells. The following steps are similar to that of the daytime routine: toner, essence, ampoule, and serum.Step 8. Sheet mask.
Now, this is my personal favorite. Anyone who had a chance to watch a Korean movies would know that they are obsessed with masks. It is a cloth saturated with skin-loving ingredients! It perfectly delivers a deep hydrating and anti-aging treatment.
Followed by Eye cream and moisturizer – for the night time moisturizer, choose one that gives the skin enough hydration through the night as the skin repairs itself during night time.Another Korean thing is the Face Mist. You can skip this but to truly experience the Korean feel of their skincare routine, I’d say this is a must. You can refresh your skin in the middle of the day by just spritzing ample amount that’ll provide a nice dose of moisture throughout the day.
Mist provides moisture throughout the day.Whether you follow these steps or not, you should always remember to hydrate your body, have enough sleep, and rest well. These are the fundamental needs of the skin in order to be glowing and healthy.
With these steps, you’d be able to pull off a healthy skin with “less makeup and more skincare”. It would be exciting to use hashtags like: #iwokeuplikethis, #nofilter, or #nomakeup. Let’s start the journey towards achieving that Korean beautiful skin!
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