It’s a well-known fact that Koreans love their beauty routines. And it pays off! Whether young or old, man or woman, their skin always looks flawless and glowing – all due to the fact that they spend a considerable amount of time on various beauty products. But it’s not only about BB-creams and awesome concealers (although Korean cosmetics are pretty amazing), it’s also about proper diet, antioxidants, and natural beauty hacks. Here are 8 Korean beauty secrets every girl should know.
Face cleansing
If you think that cleaning your face once is enough – you’re totally wrong! One skin-cleansing procedure should consist of two, sometimes three steps. First Korean beauticians recommend using a cleansing tissue to remove the first layer of impurities. It’s gentle and doesn’t require using water. Next, use an oil-cleansing product to remove sunscreen, makeup, and other oily impurities. Then, when your face is wet, apply a cleansing foam for a stronger effect – it will thoroughly cleanse your pores.
Face massage
Koreans are really big on face massages – you can find one at any beauty parlour as it is just as popular as doing a manicure. You can do a facial massage at home after a hot shower – use circular and tapping motions to work on your forehead, cheekbones, jaw, and cheeks. It greatly improves blood circulation and keeps your skin healthy, adding a beautiful dewy glow.
Sunscreen
Korean women know a thing or two about the damage sun can cause to our skin. Their skin is incredibly gentle and pigmentation can occur quite often. That’s why no Korean girl or woman leaves the house without applying some UV cream. The stronger, the better! They also use gloves, wide hats, and even umbrellas for protection.
Dewy skin
One of the biggest Korean beauty trends is dewy, radiant skin. There’s even a special term for it – mul-gwang. We can all agree that dewy, glowing skin looks youthful, fresh, and beautiful, so this is something every woman should strive for. The secret is in the hydration! Using all kinds of moisturizing products helps to even out the tone, smooth out and hydrate your skin to perfection. Sheet masks, mists, and special pearl-infused creams are among the top products that will help you achieve the dewy skin effect.
Snail products
If you’ve ever looked into buying Korean cosmetics, you might have noticed that many products contain snail slime called mucin. That does sound a bit unappetizing and it’s definitely not a vegan ingredient, but if that doesn’t bother you, then go ahead and try a mucin-based cream. Mucin will hydrate your skin, all the while restoring its natural glow and dewiness. It also removes redness and irritation. Some beauticians even recommend it as an anti-ageing treatment.
LED face masks
LED treatment, also known as light therapy, has been all the rage lately in Korea. The technique is not so new, but it was originally developed for astronauts to help them with skin health and tissue repair. Light therapy used to be a treatment you could get only in a beauty salon, but now there are LED devices you can use at home, too. According to experts, different types of LED lights have different effect on human skin and can significantly boost its health, reduce inflammation, and treat breakouts.
Internal health
As much as Korean ladies love their skin rituals, they also understand that a balanced diet and gut health are incredibly important if you want to look beautiful. If something isn’t working properly inside, it will definitely show on your skin, so their ‘beauty’ treatments aren’t only external, but also internal. Balanced lifestyle, enough sleep, proper diet, vitamin and mineral supplements – these are a few of the things that can boost your beauty inside out. Holistic approach to life also matters – be mindful about everything you do and your mental state. Use the time of your beauty routine to relax and enjoy yourself.
Exfoliation
Just like all women around the world Korean women know that it is essential to exfoliate your skin and remove dead cells once in a while. Nevertheless, their approach is different as they don’t have a set routine and see what their skin needs the most on a day-to-day basis. Some days your skin can take a proper exfoliation procedure, but other days it may be more sensitive and you should take that into consideration, altering your beauty routines according to that. There is a variety of exfoliating products you can choose from, depending on the needs of your skin – retinols, powders, masks, and even special water activated enzymes to experiment with.