Flawless skin requires no witchcraft. Just a 10-step skincare regimen. Ya we were overwhelmed too at first. But building a customized skin care routine is the ONLY way to address concerns specific to your skin. Sadly, there is no magic bullet or one-product-fits-all solution. Check out the much touted Korean beauty secrets & the K-Beauty 10-step skincare regimen, the reason for Korean women’s flawless, luminous complexions. Here goes!
The first step is the same as the age-old routine, cleansing. But any ordinary cleanser won’t do. Korean women use an oil based face cleanser to remove oil-based remnants of SPF, mascara, foundation and lipstick. The way you use the facial cleanser is equally important! Massaging your face in circular motions with the cleanser increases circulation, giving you brighter skin! Massage away!
Yup, you read that right! Cleansing is a huge part of the Korean skin care routine. The belief is that one must spend enough time taking off all that gunk from the face if one has spent 30 minutes putting it on in the first place! This step requires you to use a water-based makeup remover. At the end of the first two steps your skin will be feel super clean and sans dirt and grime. But wait, we’re just getting started!
This process sloughs off dry skin and cleanses out clogged pores. At the end of this step your skin will look fresher and visibly brighter! Though this step doesn’t have to be repeated daily, it’s advised twice or thrice a week if you have normal-combination skin. Sensitive skins need a once-weekly exfoliation only.
This one is familiar to most! Skin toner helps balance the skin’s pH levels and prepares it for the steps to follow. Please note, it’s important to use a gentle skin toner that doesn’t dry your skin out. You can simply dab it in on your skin with a cotton ball or apply on fingertips and massage all over your face.
Think of essence as the heart of a Korean skin care routine. A bit dual purposed, essence is a kind of toner and skin serum hybrid that hydrates skin and aids in cell repair and turnover. Apply directly to freshly toned skin with your hands and pat in.
These are concentrated versions of an essence with a whole lot of active ingredients. Now that your skin is fully prepped for absorption, immediately follow up with a lightweight yet intensive treatment to boost elasticity and maintain skin health. Just tap, tap, tap away the product, lovingly encouraging it to seep into skin and work its magic. This step helps in correcting and perfecting your skin, especially if you’re plagued by pigmentation, wrinkles, dullness or acne.
This Korean invention has taken the world by storm! These face shaped sheet fabrics are soaked in powerful serums packed with skin loving ingredients such as Hyaluronic Acid and Vitamins. Keep the sheet mask on for about 20-30 mins on a cleansed face to give your skin time to absorb all the magical goodness from the mask. You can use a sheet mask twice or thrice a week.
In the battle against wrinkles, your eyes are always the first to show signs of fatigue. Prevent crows’ feet with a revitalizing eye cream that delivers penetrative moisture to the delicate and thin under-eye area. This will take care of common under-eye concerns such as wrinkles, dark circles and dullness.
Depending on your skin type you can now use a face cream that works for you. This helps in locking in moisture to keep your face soft and supple.
Korean’s are obsessed with sun protection! This is an essential and extremely important step taken very seriously by all. Sunscreen helps protect your skin from sun damage, wrinkles, pigmentation, tanning and a host of other woes! This is actually pretty non-negotiable across most countries actually!
If you decide to give this routine a go, we would love to hear how it worked for you! Stay tuned as we share a lot more on K-Beauty!
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