If skincare is important to you, then you’ve probably heard about the Korean skincare routine, a regimen that has grown in popularity over the last few years.
The routine works to prevent damage and protect the skin against harmful factors, such as sun exposure and environmental pollutants. We love much how much of its focus is on prevention. It's easier to prevent a problem than it is to solve one.
Additionally, this famous routine promotes “glassy” or “glass” skin, meaning skin that is smooth, unblemished, and sufficiently hydrated. Essentially, glass skin is so healthy, it appears transparent. Who wouldn’t want that?
Does the Korean Skincare Routine Work?
The popular skincare routine produces effective results, but it’s important to use good skincare products and be consistent – which is difficult, considering it’s a 10-step routine.
Are 10 Steps Really Necessary?
The most common K-beauty routine does have 10 steps, but you can find Korean skincare routines as short as five steps and as long as 12. Whichever you choose, your focus must always be improving the skin with gentle, all-natural ingredients to guarantee long-lasting results.
The 5-Step Routine
If you don’t have time or money for 10 steps, we recommend starting with 5 essential ingredients and building it up from there. These steps include:
- Oil Based Cleanser
- Water-Based Cleanser
- Toner
- Moisturizer
- SPF
Use these products every morning. If wearing makeup, remember to apply your makeup five minutes after applying moisturizer, and then follow up with SPF 30. Sunscreen should always be the final step in your morning routine.
Oil Cleansing – Step 1
In K-beauty, they start with an oil cleanser because of the product’s dissolving properties.
- It helps to remove impurities from the skin, like dead skin, makeup, pollutants, and dirt.
- Cleans out clogged pores, removing blackheads and whiteheads
- Removes excess oil from the skin
So, if you have oily skin, don’t be afraid to start off with this step.
An alternative to an oil-based cleanser is micellar water. It has fewer benefits but breaks down dirt, oil, and makeup, which makes it easier for your second cleanser to thoroughly cleanse the skin.
Second Cleanser – Step 2
Water-based cleansers are next on the list and easy to find whether you’re shopping at a drug store or getting a prescription from your dermatologist.
Water-based cleansers are any type of cleanser that lists water or water-based products as its first ingredients. For example, aloe vera, tea, and other ingredients that are predominantly made of water are also water-based cleansers.
We recommend using Gle Foaming Face Cleanser. It removes dirt, sweat, and the impurities that the oil-based cleanser left behind for a thorough cleanse.
Toner – Step 3
Toner is an essential step in K-beauty. They use gentle, hydrating toners, not ones with harsh ingredients that burn more than they benefit. Toners can help balance the skin’s pH level and can also help the skin absorb other ingredients more effectively, such as your moisturizer.
Moisturize – Step 4
In the 5-step skincare routine, you skip the following products:
- essence
- ampoule
- serums
- eye cream
Instead, you jump directly to applying moisture. However, we think it’s important to apply eye cream, as standard moisturizers cannot nourish the skin beneath your eyes as an eye cream will do. The skin under your eyes is delicate, and thinner, and produces fewer oil glands. Therefore, it requires more hydrating ingredients that are heavier than found in your basic moisturizer.
We recommend applying Gle for Dark Circles under the eyes.
Consider it a part of your moisturizing step. Simply apply a pea-sized amount gently to the skin under your eyes. Voila! Now you can move on to moisturizing with Gle Face Moisturizer with Niacinamide.
Moisturizers seal in the hydration from the previous products, but also nourish and further hydrate the skin. Thanks to niacinamide, the Gle moisturizer also relieves age spots, sunspots, and hyperpigmentation.
SPF – Step 5
The final step in the Korean skincare routine is applying SPF. We recommend 30, which offers roughly 98% protection against UV rays.
As you can see, K-beauty doesn’t have to be intimidating or time-consuming. Start off simple and then incorporate additional products when you feel it’s necessary!
