Anybody who has been using K-beauty products for a long time will agree that Korean skincare is worthwhile. However, if you’re trying this skincare option for the first time, you’ll most likely find it intimidating. Well, many factors contribute to why most beginners find practicing this skincare routine very hard & complex. These include:
- Too many steps (up to 10 steps or more) to practice daily.
- There are too many skincare products to choose from.
- A wide range of unfamiliar ingredients.
Are you finding it daunting to practice Korean skincare as a beginner? If yes, you need to understand you’re not alone, as many experts today also felt the same way when starting with K-beauty products. In the next section of this post, you’ll discover a few easy ways to get started quickly with this skincare.
Understanding the traditional Korean skincare
Today, the traditional Korean skincare routine focuses on two different areas:
- How to address different skin problems
- Effective ways to maintain skin balance and overall health.
For these things to be achieved, this skincare option combines roughly 10 steps or more. They include:
- Double cleansing
- Exfoliating
- Sheet masking
- Toning
- Essence
- Serum
- Eye cream
- Sunscreen
- Face cream
As a beginner, you currently find Korean skincare daunting to practice because of its multiple steps. To make this skincare option less intimidating, we’ll be cutting down the steps to 5 crucial ones. This will make it a lot easier for you to practice the most important steps, especially as a beginner. As you become more experienced, you can always add more steps to your skincare regimen.
Try these 5 easy skincare steps instead
Instead of following the 10 steps, you can get started with these 5 crucial steps:
- Double cleansing (first oil cleanse + second foaming cleanse)
- Toning
- Skincare actives
- Moisturizing
As a beginner, we’ll explain each of the aforementioned steps in a simple way.
Double cleansing
When we say “double cleansing,” we’re simply referring to the importance of washing your face twice.
- For the first cleanse, all you need is an oil-based cleanser that is to be massaged onto dry skin. This process will help you eliminate makeup, excess sebum and other impurities from your skin. One K-beauty product worth trying today is Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Cleansing Oil. After emulsifying with a small amount of water, it can be washed off thoroughly.
- The second cleanse requires the use of a water-based cleanser. This process will help you remove sweat and other leftover residues from your face. You can try out this COSRX Salicylic Acid Daily Gentle Cleanser.
Bottom line: double cleansing in Korean skincare routine is crucial because:
- It ensures thorough cleansing of the face.
- The first cleanse encourages deep pore cleansing.
- Double cleansing helps to enhance your skin’s absorption of active ingredients in your skincare, as you are working with a clean canvas.
Toning
Unlike double cleansing, toning is designed to get your skin prepared for serum and moisturizer. This step involves the use of a toner to balance your skin’s pH level. It further removes residual impurities from your skin and helps with the gradual layering of hydration. Korean toners are typically quite gentle and are infused with an array of active ingredients.
K-Beauty toners are available in all kinds of different formulations. Some of them are designed to exfoliate the skin and remove dead cells. A good example is the Anua BHA 2% Gentle Exfoliating Toner. Some other products are made specifically to hydrate the skin. A good example is the Anua Birch 70 Moisture Boosting Toner.
Skin treatments (actives)
People have different skin problems today. As previously mentioned, one of the goals of Korean skincare is to help treat these conditions.
- For instance, if you have dehydrated skin, you need serum rich in hyaluronic acid to boost the skin’s hydration levels.
- For dark spots/hyperpigmentation, choose a product with niacinamide and Vitamin C as its active ingredients. A good example is this Anua 10% Niacinamide + 4% TXA Dark Spot Correcting Serum.
- If you have uneven skin tone, you need a reliable K-beauty product with Vitamin C to even out the skin.
Moisturizing
Moisturizing in K-beauty means using products that keep your skin soft and hydrated. To achieve this, you need K-beauty creams with hyaluronic acid as their active ingredient. You can also select products that have ceramides as the active ingredient, as this will help to strengthen the skin barrier. These products will prevent skin irritation and dryness. You can visit KBeauty Australia today to find the best moisturizers for your skin.