Women in Korea have a long history of making their own rice water to wash their face because of the long-established skin benefits. "It's a natural moisturizer that helps slow aging, reduce dark circles, fade age spots, and brighten skin," says Kim.
Unique to Korean skin care regimens, essences are formulated with fermented ingredients and are meant to hydrate and protect skin. Think of an essence as somewhere between a toner and a serum.
Since ancient times, Koreans have only used natural, harsh-free ingredients for their skincare routines: green tea, “snail slime”, bamboo extracts, propolis, and honey are just some examples of the elements they used and have passed through generations.
Age is no bar for skincare
According to Cho, preventative skincare in Korea begins when you start applying sunscreen or wearing hats and clothing that protect you from sun exposure at six months old. “Not only does this prevent sunburns, but it also hinders sun damage that can contribute to ageing later in life.
Steam is one of the most important things that Koreans follow. It opens up your pores and gets rid of all the dirt and gunk present in them. Either taking a steaming shower or using steam machines to achieve the same can be a great start to your Korean skin routine.
In Korea, people like to wash their hair every day because of environmental pollution (fine dust, gas emissions, etc). Whereas people in America generally tend to wash hair every 2-3 days due to the common perception that it's much healthier for your hair.
It's the result of an extensive skincare routine and naturally sourced hydrating extracts present in almost all Korean skincare ranges. For people who don't know, glass skin is flawless skin that is pore-less and translucent. It refers to almost baby-like bouncy skin because their skin is the healthiest.
Rice waterAnother effective way of keeping your skin glowing is applying fermented rice water to your face. This fermented rice water helps in eliminating damages caused due to UV rays. This water also helps in the formation of collagen that directly helps your skin look like glass.
"Koreans value glowy, hydrated skin and would be unhappy if their skin started peeling or becoming dry," she adds. With those emollient ingredients in mind, "moisture, lots of moisture" is unsurprisingly Seoul-based board-certified dermatologist Dr. Cho Yun Joo's top advice for people dealing with acne.
In fact, harsh active ingredients Americans have long sought out to combat signs of aging, particularly retinol, are much less popular in Korea because Koreans prefer to avoid their drying and irritating side effects, Dr. Chang says.
Korean skin care focuses on using natural ingredients and is ahead of the game in beauty product innovation. American skin care has traditional creams and toners but Korean skincare is unique. Korean skin care products have many forms - puddings, jelly creams, hydrating gels, peeling gels, sheet masks, etc.
Exfoliate With A Damp Cloth
Exfoliation is a healthy skincare practice, but Koreans have taken it to the next level. They use a soft cloth dipped in warm water to scrub their face. It is gentle on the skin and can give you clean and clear skin. All the dirt and oil get stuck on the cloth, thus giving you bright skin.
Koreans exfoliate their skin regularly to prevent buildup of dead skin cells and to maintain a smooth, radiant complexion. Depending on their skin type, some Koreans may exfoliate daily while others may do so every other day or a few times a week.
Japan, China and other countries located in Asia have a rich diet of vitamins (specifically A and C, which benefit skin elasticity) and minerals including antioxidants from fruits and green tea. The Asian diet is very low in saturated and total fat.
If you want to have Korean-style glass skin, you should use honey as it contains various components that are beneficial not only to the skin but also to the hair. Make sure to use only organic honey, which is high in nutrients & antioxidants and help to keep your skin flawless and smooth.
In their paper titled GWAS Identifies Multiple Genetic Loci for Skin Color in Korean Women, published in the dermatological publication Journal of Investigative Dermatology, results showed that two of the discovered genes are believed to be the world's first discovered skin pigmentation-related genes and highly ...