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I Tried The Viral Korean Skincare Routine And It Changed My Life

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Unless you are living under a rock, you must have heard of the popular skincare routine, courtesy of Korea. This Korean ‘glass skin’ routine is going viral for all the right reasons; read ahead to know how to achieve it at home.
I Tried The Viral Korean Skincare Routine And It Changed My Life

I have been binging K-dramas and grooving to K-pop music way too much to not be obsessed with their flawless skin. Koreans possess spotlessly clear skin that looks like glass – and I don’t mean Pat McGrath's porcelain glass skin; this is skin that is so smooth that it appears glass-like. It’s pore-less, spot-less, even-toned, and translucent.

How so, you ask? Well, the conventional Korean skincare routine boasts 10 steps, each one essential for optimal skin health. From double cleansing with an oil- and water-based cleanser to slathering on a broad-spectrum sun protectant, K-beauty is all about unleashing your skin’s true potential. The beauty regime is centered on the objective of improving your skin barrier with a multi-step plan which involves amplifying hydration, nourishment, and protection. However, several contemporary iterations of the Korean skincare routine involve fewer steps, making it easier to follow on a daily basis. Below, we explore how to get Korean glass skin, glass skin-friendly ingredients, and more.

What Is Glass Skin?

As the name suggests, glass skin refers to skin that is so naturally flawless and radiant that it appears almost glass-like. Dewy, hydrated, and spotless, such skin resembles clear glass, sans any flaws or imperfections. However, Korean beauty isn’t skin-deep; such a complexion cannot be achieved without following a healthy diet, getting adequate sleep, and lowering stress levels.

How to get glass skin? The traditional Korean skincare routine involves 10 steps to achieve glass skin:

  • Oil-Based Cleanser
  • Water-Based Cleanser
  • Exfoliation
  • Toning
  • Essence
  • Serum
  • Mask
  • Eye Cream
  • Moisturiser
  • Sunscreen

The first two steps can be characterised as double cleansing, involving the use of an oil-based cleanser followed by a water-based formula for a thorough cleanse. Such deep cleansing ensures the removal of even the last traces of makeup, among other impurities.

Ingredients Essential For A Glass Skin Routine

Since a Korean skincare routine aims to amplify hydration, nourishment, and radiance, essential ingredients include niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, ceramides, peptides, and exfoliants. While hyaluronic acid is known to boost skin moisture, niacinamide reduces the appearance of fine lines, evens skin texture, and diminishes enlarged pores. On the other hand, vitamin C brightens your complexion while ceramides fortify the skin barrier to seal in hydration. Similarly, peptides work to support collagen production for a youthful appearance. Exfoliants are important too, as they eliminate dead cells to reveal smooth, supple skin. All in all, these must-have ingredients improve elasticity and vitality, calming the skin and boosting glow.

How Korean Skincare Is Different

In my meticulous research, here’s what I found about the Korean skincare routine steps and how they differ from the rest of the world’s practice.

  1. Double Cleansing
  2. The basis of K-beauty lies on a clean base. Their cleansing routine first involves an oil-based cleanser that emulsifies with water to remove even the most stubborn impurities such as dust, pollutants, and makeup. Once the skin is rid of these, they follow with a water-based cleanser. This cleanser removes all the residual oil and dirt and offers a super-clean base.

  3. Hydration
  4. Korean skincare routines for oily skin focus on hydration. Whether it’s serums, moisturises, or face masks, all the steps in their routine are aimed at hydrating their skin. The Korean face-masking trend is travelling the world for a reason. Even the ingredients they use are rooted in hydration.

  5. Diet
  6. Food and skin are the two things you can’t beat Koreans at. Even their diet helps them maintain their healthy skin. It involves more steamed and boiled food as compared to the rest of the world, where deep-frying, baking, and broiling are common methods. To put this info into context: less oily and fried food means fewer pores on your skin.

  7. Prevention Over Cure
  8. Unlike Western beauty trends, K-beauty doesn't focus on correcting your skin once it’s damaged. Instead, it aims at prevention so that you can avoid damage in the first place.

  9. Start Early
  10. Koreans don’t wait for their skin to get wrinkly and dull to start their skincare routine, they start young. Using sunscreen right from their teens to applying ceramides and vitamins in their early 20s to prevent photoaged skin are some practices they follow to maintain their youthful glow.

Tips & Tricks To Achieve Glass Skin Naturally

Below, we elucidate important tips and tricks on how to get Korean glass skin naturally:

  • Avoid deep-fried foods and saturated fats, as they affect your bloodstream and eventually your skin.
  • Don’t sleep with makeup or without cleansing your face. Even if you have minimal makeup on, use cleansing wipes before starting your double-cleansing routine.
  • Hydration is important, whether it is through your diet and water intake or including hydrating products in your routine.
  • Get ample sleep, roughly 7–8 hours of sleep is required for your skin to look refreshed every day.
  • Include healthy fats, vitamins, greens, fruits, and veggies in your diet to support quick cell regeneration, and improved skin health.

A Guide On How To Get Korean Glass Skin

If you’re wondering how to get glass skin, we’ve curated a quick 8-step Korean skincare regimen for fabulously flawless skin.

Oil-Based Cleanser

Nykaa Recommends:

Klairs Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil
Klairs Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil
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When I say Koreans know their ingredients, I mean it. This cleansing oil from Klairs has beta-carotene, rinolenic acid, sesamin, sesamol, tocopherol, black currant, black bean oil, and black sesame. All these ingredients together improve the skin elasticity, prevent evaporation of the natural moisture, gently remove all impurities, and suit all skin types.

Water-Based Cleanser

Nykaa Recommends:

The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Foaming Cleanser
The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Foaming Cleanser
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Follow your oil cleansing with a second cleanser, but this time with a water-based formulation. This foaming cleanser from The Face Shop is made with rice water, which is popular for its brightening, cleansing, and hydrating properties. This product squirts out a whipped cream-like texture that is mild on your skin and stern on impurities.

Exfoliator

Nykaa Recommends:

Klairs Gentle Black Sugar Facial Polish
Klairs Gentle Black Sugar Facial Polish
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Enriched with black sugar, shea butter, cranberry oil, vitamins A and E, and unsaturated fatty acids, this product is a great exfoliator for the skin. The grainy formulation melts the stubborn blackheads and built-up sebum to unclog your pores and reveal smoother skin. The vitamins in the scrub hydrate and comfort sensitive skin.

Essence

Nykaa Recommends:

COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence
COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence
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This step is very unique to Koreans – they use the essence of certain powerful ingredients (snail mucin, in this case) on their skin that offer precise results. This essence from COSRX is made of 96% pure skin-friendly snail mucin that prevents acne breakouts, improves skin elasticity, and helps with hyperpigmentation. This powerhouse product nourishes, repairs, and revitalises the skin.

Serum

Nykaa Recommends:

Innisfree Vitamin C Brightening Serum For 4X Clearer Skin, Controls Dark Spots
Innisfree Vitamin C Brightening Serum
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With Jeju green tea extract, oil-soluble vitamin C, and water-soluble vitamin derivatives this serum from Innisfree is formulated for four times brighter skin. Within four weeks of use, it improves skin texture by 101%! It is also a clean formula that controls dark spots and refines the skin’s ability to regenerate newer, younger cells.

Moisturiser

Nykaa Recommends:

ETUDE HOUSE SoonJung Hydro Barrier Cream
ETUDE HOUSE SoonJung Hydro Barrier Cream
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This moisturising solution retains your skin’s natural firmness and bounce. It’s devoid of any nasties and is pH-balanced for smooth, supple skin that can brave oxidative stress. Boasting 92.5% moisturising ingredients, the formula quickly penetrates the skin to replenish lost hydration.

Mask

Nykaa Recommends:

I love TONYMOLY, their packaging game is on another level, but their formulation is why I recommend it to everyone. Their sheet masks are made of three layers: water-based, micro-emulsion-based, and milky lotion-based. Together, these layers work to brighten and rejuvenate dull skin. These have 11 different ingredient masks you can try, but this rice sheet mask is my favourite, it improves skin elasticity and brightens the skin.

Sunscreen

Nykaa Recommends:

LANEIGE Watery Sun Cream SPF50+ PA++++
LANEIGE Watery Sun Cream SPF50+ PA++++
Shop Now

Finally, the last but most important step in any Korean skincare routine is protection from sun damage. This lightweight sunscreen is waterproof and hydrating. It has an SPF 50 PA++++. The water-based moist formula gets absorbed easily into the skin without leaving any white cast.

You may also incorporate the Celimax Noni Toner and Dewytree Heartleaf 100 Eye Cream in your 10-step Korean skincare regime.

Parting Thoughts

K-beauty has long been revered by skincare enthusiasts for its efficacy and commendable results. Motivated by the desire for a more natural appearance, the Korean skincare movement picked heat in 2011, still holding relevance in today’s time. Glass skin – undoubtedly the most popular K-beauty trend to come out of the East Asian country – prioritises nurturing the skin to unleash its full potential.

FAQs On Korean Glass Skin

  1. What is the 10-step Korean skincare routine?

    The 10-step Korean skincare routine involves double cleansing, exfoliating, toning, using an essence, mask, and serum, applying eye cream and moisturiser, and finishing up with a broad-spectrum sun protectant.

  2. What is the main differentiating factor in Korean skincare?

    Korean skincare can be characterised by double cleansing – a technique that involves deeply cleansing the skin twice, first with an oil-based cleanser, and then with a water-based formula. Doing so eliminates remnants of makeup and other impurities for spotlessly clear skin.

  3. Are there any side effects of Korean skincare?

    While there are no known side effects of Korean skincare, how your epidermis reacts to the formulations depends on your skin type and concerns. When curating your 10-step regimen, ensure you perform a patch test to avoid any adverse reactions on the skin.

  4. Which ingredients are the best for glass skin?

    Hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, vitamin C, ceramides, and peptides are essential to achieve Korean glass skin. While hyaluronic acid plumps, niacinamide evens skin texture, vitamin C boosts radiance, ceramides sustain the skin barrier, and peptides support collagen production.

  5. How to get Korean glass skin?

    To get glass skin, you must follow a structured skincare routine along with a nutritious diet, adequate sleep, and low levels of stress. Super dewy, luminous skin results from a combination of basic skin hygiene and a healthy lifestyle.

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