This year I have made resolutions that I can stick to. The first is taking better care of my skin. Living in Korea has opened my eyes to a lot of things. Skin care regimen is one of them! If you've visited any of the Korean cosmetic stores, or even turned on the TV Its difficult to escape images of youthful looking Korean women, with amazingly glowing skin! it seems clear that Investing in your skin works like an ISA, it will pay off in the long run if you start as soon as you can.
Did you know that the average Korean woman uses 18 products per day on her skin! So for the majority of us westerners that are more familiar to the humble face wipe this can be a bit of a shock! Koreans are noted globally for having amazing skin, however this notoriety doesn't come without serious time and dedication.
The key to glowing healthy skin seems to be in the process by layering products in different stages. Layering seems to be the way forward when it comes to keeping skin at its best. The tricky part is finding out what does what!
The Korean market is saturated with products ranging from serums to emulsions. Don't no your emulsion from your essence? I'l break these products down for you so you can see for yourself what does what, and most importantly the correct process!
Cleanse
This is the first stage of the process and one that we are all quite familar with. The difference when doing it Korean style is to double cleanse. Koreans usually use a foam cleanser followed by a cream cleanser. Or for really stubborn makeup a cleansing oil. Double cleansing is effective especially when using strong BB creams that leave residue.
Tone
Once your skin is completley make up free you need to tighten the pores and remove all the dead cells and leftover residue from the cleanser. Toners are a must have staple item in a skin care regime! Plus they feel nice and refreshing!
Essence/ Serum
I have included these together and will explain the difference. These products should be used before your moisturiser and shouldn't replace your moisturiser. The difference between the two is moisturisers have larger molecules, and serums / essences have smaller ones meaning they can penetrate the skin and work from the inside. This is why they can correct a number of skin problems, such as dryness, enlarged pores and skin pigmentation. The benefit of using serums is that they tend to only use pure extracts, which also means you will find these to be the most expensive part of your routine.
The difference between an essence and a serum is the consistency. I would recommend using essence as part of your morning routine, as it's easily absorbed into the skin and lighter than a serum. Serums are best used at night, when you have time to let them fully soak in and allow them to work their magic overnight. Wait 10 minutes with both products before you move onto the next step to enable them to soak in.
Balancing water/ Water balance cream
This step is great for the dry winter months as these products deliver deep hydration for skin. They are usually gel based and easily absorbed.
Emulsion
The only emulsion i'd ever heard of pre Korea was the stuff you paint on walls! Korean emulsion is a light moisturiser which is great for oily skin. Depending on your skin type / season you might want to choose your own moisturiser.
Now you know your emulsions from your essences, the hard work begins! Deciding what products to use and where to buy from!! First you need to understand your skin type then the rest is trial and error!! Luckily most Korean cosmetic stores give samples and in Innisfree you can actually buy trial size versions of the popular ranges. Have you used any skin care ranges that have worked for you? If so drop me a line!
7 comments:
Hi Nicola.
It is true I just discover about Korean beauty and skin care regime. Anyhow, I am using Nivea cleanser since I was 16-25years old and then decided to change to St Ives,more acne and the days start using Oxy and Clearsil makes my acne from worst to terrible. I drove to The Bodyshop and buy the entire line of Tea Tree set and after 6 months my skin was better, and after that its just maintain the skin. Now i am using similar product from Yves Rocher just improve the pores. Since I am 29 now, I need to start on anti-ageing products. SKII is so expensive and is there any other alternative that you can suggest.
Hi Shakirah,
I am working on Part 2 of the anti ageing blog at the moment. I will be posting shortly with more information on what to look for in products, and some suggestions of what's good to use on the Korean beauty market. Hope you find this useful. If you still have more questions feel free to email me :)
wah! you own high end product like sulwhasoo :0, I'm not that surprised hear that 18 product XD yeah because their skin is very flawless.
I use skincare but not the full line, I mean my facewash is Skinfood black sugar & Garnier acno fight, my toner is wonder pore series,my essence is 2 product from The History of Whoo, and I do use mask from different brand, yeah because not all skincare from 1 set suit with me.
Thanks for sharing ^^
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Hi Nicola,
Nice to read your blog. I gain a lots of information. I'm not surprised to hear that Korean use 18 products. Well, even though I'm an Asian, i used more than 18 products too.. Thanks to my little sister who has very sensitive skin. Once her skin start irritated, she will give away her skin products to me. It's fun getting experiment with different products to find out which products suit your face.
Found a lot of helpful stuffs here in your blog, thank you.
I just started doing this routine (4 days and counting) and I can pretty much say that it is working REALLY WELL. I am using Etude's Green Tea Cleansing Foam, Wonder Pore toner, Moistfull Collagen First Essence and their Bright Fit BB Cream. My skin has never felt so great.
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