Korean Skincare is all about prevention and using natural ingredients to create positive routines for your skin. Korean skincare products often include lots of natural ingredients that allow your skin to replenish and hydrate. In other parts of the world, the focus is on excessive makeup, and this can make it difficult to understand Korean methods of skincare. If you find yourself wanting to know more about this topic, then look no further—you’ve come to the right place! 

From skin-care routines to some of the Best Skin-care Products out there, we’re going to be giving you a total beginner’s guide to Korean Skincare. We’ll explain some of the most popular products out there, some of the fundamental ideas that will lead you through the next stage of your skincare journey.

What Is A Korean Skincare Routine?

Korean Skincare routines are all about specific problems and personalized solutions. The truth is that there are lots of different types of skin and lots of different issues that you might run into. This means that each person is unique, and will need to create a routine that’s personalized to them. So then, you may be wondering, why do we even use ‘Korean Skincare’ as a title—but this is all to do with the underlying ideas that give us guidelines for daily routines and the best products to buy. 

One of the most common examples of a Korean Skincare Routine that you might see touted is the idea of a 10-Step Routine. Before we go into further details on this, we want to make sure that you know this is dependent on your own needs, and there could be parts of this that you could remove or include to better fit your own skin. 

A Basic 10-Step Korean Skincare Routine

Although you may want to remove many steps of this routine, let’s take a moment to understand what it looks like in its entirety. We’re going to go into detail on each step so that you can understand the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how.’

1. Oil/Cream Cleanser – This is often the first step in a Korean Skincare Routine and allows you to wash some of the dirt and makeup from your face. Makeup and dirt can hide in your pores, so this oil or cream cleanser allows it to loosen.
   
2. Foaming Cleanser – Next up we have a simplistic step that is there to cleanse your face. Foam cleansers are great at this because they are gentle on your skin.
3. Exfoliator – It’s important to note here that you won’t be using an exfoliator every single day. It’s best used 2-3 times per week and is important because it will remove dead skin cells or any embedded dirt on your face for smoother skin and a softer complexion.
4. Toner – Toner is used to prepare your skin for more extensive products. It does this by balancing your skin’s pH. There are lots of different toners you can buy but we would suggest getting a light one to begin with.
5. Essence – Essences are light creams that exist to give your skin a host of good ingredients to help enhance complexion and hydrate your skin. Some of the most popular ingredients for effective essences include yeast, birch juice, and rice extract. 
6. Treatments – This next step is all about targeting specific skin problems. Treatments are usually only applied on the affected area of skin, and it’s important not to overdo this step. This one can be skipped if you don’t find yourself struggling with any specific skin ailment. 
7. Sheet Masks – Sheet masks are one of the most popular and commonly adopted aspects of Korean Skincare routines. Sheet masks are often infused with ingredients such as green tea, rose or cucumber, and give you a chance to relax as your skin is treated.
   
8. Eye Cream – This next step specifically targets your eyes. It’s all about making them look softer and reducing any kind of puffiness. This is one of the most delicate steps of the process and one you should apply gently.
9. Moisturizer – If you’ve ever engaged in any kind of skincare routine, then you’ll know well enough how moisturizing works. It’s all about smoothing your skin and plumping it up where it needs to be. Moisturizer is typically used two  times a day. 
10. Sun Protection – This is the final part of the Korean Skincare Routine, and a step you can easily tick off if you live somewhere that doesn’t get too much sunlight. 

Final Thoughts

So that was our beginner’s guide to Korean Skincare. Although the ten step routine might seem like overkill, there’s a lot you can take from it and you’ll notice that it saves ample time in order to target specific skin problems and look for solutions. We hope that this guide has given you some insight into Korean Skincare and that you now have a good place to start.