Korean skin care secrets.

Koreans have the best skin you can imagine. Their skin is radiant, glowing, fresh, pale, flawless and perfect as a dream. Korean skin secrets are one among the most searched on the internet. But if you ask a Korean all they say is that, there was never a secret. They give deep importance to their skin care routines and start it at a very young age. Taking care of their skin is even part of their culture.

There are many Korean products in the market that are being sold in the name of their skin care routine. The other prominent thing about their routine is the number. 10 step skin care routine, 15 step skin care routine. But the skin care is basically the same. They break down into detailed steps. That’s it. So here, I will tell you about how Koreans break normal skin care routines into detailed and more effective routine.

1. Cleansing:

Cleaning your make up, oils, dusts off your face is the basic purpose. Koreans break down this to different steps. They do an oil based cleanser to remove the makeup and then foam based cleanser to clean off the oil and a gel based cleanser to clean any residue left by the earlier cleansers or otherwise.

2. Exfoliating:

Removing the dead cells is another prominent step in any skin care routine. Koreans detail this as well. They do double exfoliating to make sure the youthful cells are on the outer. During the cleansing step the second foaming cleanser usually has smalls exfoliating beads in them which would help in removing the overall dead skin on the face. In this step they use a daily exfoliating cream to rub in every detail of the face to remove any dead cell remaining. After which they again use the gel base cleanser to remove any residue by the exfoliating cream. This step also has a massaging effect on the skin thereby promoting increased blood flow to the face.

3. Toning:

Toning is a multi tasking step. It again cleans the skin, balances the disturbed ph balance of the skin, reduces the pore sizes and hydrates the skin. Koreans usually recommend a hydrant tonner that will not dry your skin. But here I would make an exception here that if your skin is pimple or acne prone then a mild toner will not help. A strong tonner will do the job instead. Don’t worry about the drying part as the steps further will either easy look into that problem.

4. Serum:

The word serum sounds so chemical. But actually, it is just giving your skin what it needs. In other words, serum is the food to your skin. Serum is a ‘must have’ in a Korean skin care routine. They never skip this step. There are a million of serums available in market. Some for glow, some for pimple free, some for oily skin and many more categories of serums are available on the market. So before you buy a serum, you should be clear on what effect you want it to have on your skin.

My recommendation would be, to have a readymade simple serum for your day time routine and a homemade serum for your night time routine. Homemade skin serums are quite sticky so it’s best for night time routine only. Homemade serum recipes will be shared in my next ‘home made Korean skin care’ article

 5. Essence:

This is something that only Koreans do in their skin care routines. This step is absolutely optional, as serum serves all the purpose. But in simple words it’s dessert to your skin; something extra to pamper your skin. As I am a fan of natural products I would recommend a few natural products in my next article about ‘home made Korean skin care’. I personally recommend it during the night time routine because this step basically is helpful in repairing the skin so it is always the night time that best suits it.

6. Sun screen:

The secret to Koreans ever fair/ pale skin is sun screen. Use of sunscreens is mandatory for Koreans. They start using it from a very young age. Sun causes many skin problems and they know it well. They avoid sun as much as they can with full sleep dresses, umbrellas, hoodies, caps, hats, lotions and creams and what not.

Now, how to choose a sun screen lotion; just having a high SPF level doesn’t help you protect from the skin. SPF protects you from UBB rays they causes sun burn and skin skin cancer. But the UBA rays of the sun are what damage your skin by penetrating through our skin. Therefore, while buying a sunscreen lotion make sure to have PA+++( minimum 3 ‘+’, the more ‘+’ the better) on it to protect you from the UBA rays and the SPF ( higher the number the better) to protect you from the UBB rays . Also do buy a gel based lotion incase if you are oily skinned.

7. Masks:

This is another optional step used by Koreans to save a few above steps. At times when Koreans don’t have the time or have to multitask, they avoid the serum, essence step by placing a sheet mask instead that has it in it. These masks are thin sheets of paper soaked in all goodness of serums and essence and all the ingredients listed on its cover. You can totally avoid this if you follow the above steps individually.

8. Moisturizing:

This step, seals the deal. Like to bind all the papering you have done on your face, moisture helps the skin absorb in all the goodness deep into your skin to help it work its glow out. Again, oily skinned people would be recommended to have a gel based moisturizing cream to have the best results.

So, these are the steps they do everyday twice to look flawless.

Day time routine: 3 step cleansing, 1 or 2 step exfoliating, toning, day time light Serum, sun screen and moisturizing.

Night time routine: 3 step cleansing, 1 or 2 step exfoliating, toning, night time heavy serum, essence, sheet masks (optional), moisturizing.

I have been trying these steps for the past 1 month (both day time routine and the night time routine every day) and it worked wonders from the very 1^st day. My pimples and acne stopped, my skin became more radiant and reflective and it became more bouncy. My skin is well hydrated and I have a fresh look almost every time. I use more of homemade products which I would be discussing with you in my next ‘home made Korean skin care’ article.