It goes a bit like this: a balm or oil cleanser (1), a foaming cleanser (2), an exfoliant (3), a toner (4), an essence (5), an ampoule or serum (6), a sheet mask (7), an eye cream (8), a moisturizer (9), and then either a thicker night cream or sleeping mask or an SPF (10).
This step is not recommended for daily use. If you have sensitive skin, you'll only want to exfoliate once a week. If you have a tougher complexion, you can do it more regularly (about three times a week).
Conclusion. You do not need to practice a 10-step skincare routine to get the results you want. Skipping breakfast and missing out on night-time chats with people are not worth it... especially because your skin may look even better with only a 3-step routine.
In Korea, skin is always first. They value skin as being more important than makeup or fashion. Their skin secret is that they are using alternative, animal and natural ingredients that a lot of popular skincare brands hadn't really considered using in the past.
Charlotte Cho, founder and CEO of Soko Glam, even coined the term “10-step Korean skincare routine,” to help to describe the intricate routines people in South Korea used during their night and daytime routines.
Skincare is More Important than Makeup
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.
Skin care is highly valued in the Korean culture. Korean skincare focuses on prevention, making it more effective than traditional Western beauty techniques. In South Korea, parents teach their children about skin care very early on. Their children quickly learn the importance of cleansers, SPF, and moisturizer.
Majority of the ingredients used in Korean skincare are safe, even the most exotic ingredient such as snail slime are typically safe. Though most Korean skincare brands are cruelty free, and some brands are even vegan friendly by opting for natural traditional ingredients to be used in their products.
Based on tradition, Koreans only used natural and harsh-free ingredients to create the clear, glowy, and natural-looking skin through multiple generations that made K-Beauty products better and so popular today. Natural Korean makeup can still be made today for people to try at home by making your very own face mask.
“Glass skin is a term for exceptionally smooth, even-toned and lustrous skin that's so flawless it has the appearance of glass,” says skin care blogger and K-beauty expert Jude Chao. “It's simply a clear and elegant way of describing a certain type of enviable complexion,” she adds.
“I do three things to my face: supply moisture, remove dead skin cells through cleansing, and self-massage. I call it the "3-3-3 law”. In the morning, I put whitening toner, moisture cream and sunscreen with BB or CC cream on my face. In the evening, I just apply moisturiser or vitamin cream after a thorough cleansing.
But what is it exactly? In short, the '7 skin method' is the process of layering three to seven layers of toner or an essence-and-toner-in-one onto your skin immediately after cleansing. As for the name, Koreans call toning and essence products "skin," thus, the seven-skin method was born.
If you're a fan of the 10-step skin care regimen that Korean beauty is known for, chances are you're familiar with the term “glass skin”: a smooth, clear, and intensely hydrated complexion that makes “dewy skin” seem dull.
Step 8: Lotion/Emulsion.
Korean beauty products are incredibly advanced when it comes to ingredients and formulations because the Korean beauty R&D labs are pushed to extremes as Korean women continue to raise the bar for beauty products – in a culture where skincare is an extremely serious pursuit and the standard for “flawless skin” is ...
Korean products are significantly cheaper than their western counterparts because manufacturing costs are lower in Korea. There is also stiff competition between companies to offer the “best for less”. Beauty-obsessed Koreans are always on the lookout for the next “Big Thing” in skincare.
According to one survey, the highest-quality beauty products come from Japan, the United States, and France (in that order).
This is why Korean women live by the rule of double cleansing, double eye mask and double hydration in their skincare regimen. The step cleansing method includes a foaming face wash followed by an oil-based cleanser. This clears the skin of every last bit of makeup and dirt from face.