Are You Taking the Right Steps to Care for Your Skin? Treat Your Skin to K Beauty+ A Walk Through the Korean Skincare Routine (2019)

In the past few years, the buzz around Korean skin care or K-beauty has become hard-to-miss particularly if you are a beauty enthusiast (and even if you aren't!)

Glowing clear skin is something that every woman dreams of, which comes naturally for a lucky few. But for most others, it can be achieved only with the right skin care routine and the right skin care products. Korean skincare burst into the global scene around ten years ago bringing with it a new entirely philosophy of skincare that intrigued many.

It was the K-pop and K-drama craze which introduced the world to the uniquely flawless skin of Korean women. Their clear dewy skin that barely needed any makeup naturally evoked interest in their beauty routines and products.

As people learnt more about it, the trend took off and found popularity globally when many found that it worked.

In the Korean context, good skin is not just having no breakouts or wrinkles, it is about having healthy, blemish-less, fresh-looking skin with the inner glow which has no need for any concealment using makeup.

A major reason for Korean skincare catching on so much is its approach towards skin concerns. Rather than applying harsh chemicals to attack issues like breakouts or lathering on heavy creams to fix dryness, the K-beauty takes a gentler approach. It also enables you to tackle core issues rather than treating the symptoms.

The famed Korean glass skin is the result of a carefully put together routines that use carefully formulated products.

When you adopt the Korean skincare method, you'll realize the need to readjust your outlook on caring for your skin, your diet and how you choose skin care products. Changes like drinking more water, assessing ingredients before buying any product, dedicating time for your routine slowly becomes second nature, especially when they show results.

Korean beauty taps into the country's ancient traditional knowledge to develop products. Companies use Ingredients that have been known for centuries as potent solutions but develop the actual formulations using scientific research and processes. This ensures you get the best of both worlds.

The use of chemicals is at a bare minimum in the majority of formulations of Korean beauty product. Products are created such that they do not cause damage to the skin (when used with care). The focus is on natural ingredients - primarily herbs but also some eyebrow-raising ones like snail mucin and bee venom!

Rather than the one size fits all approach, K-beauty helps you choose products that specifically address your problems. Products are developed around particular ingredients, and skin concerns so you can figure out if its for you. This allows you to create a skin care regime that can be more effective and help you sort issues at the root.

Korean beauty has become synonymous with the 10-step routine, often putting off newcomers, but these ten steps cover the entirety of the Korean philosophy to skin care.

In actual practice, the routine is flexible and you can pick and choose the steps that suit your particular skin profile and issues. it also does not take a huge amount of time, 10 minutes tops to finish the routine! When you see results you, like many others, are likely to find the daily routine meditative and way of self-care!

Also known as oil cleanser this is a product that sets apart K-beauty. Oil cleansers form the foundation of the Korean routine. Using oils as the major ingredients they break down and remove oil based impurities, whether that's makeup or grease.

The oil cleanser is followed by a gentle foam cleanser that removes the water-based impurities like grime and sweat. This double cleansing ensures all the impurities that clog pores and cause breakouts are removed from the surface of the skin.

Exfoliation is the process of removing dead skin that accumulates daily. There are primarily two kinds of exfoliation - physical and chemical. Physical is where products like scrubs or masks are used whereas chemical is where certain mild acids are used to improve skin turnover.

Toners are products that prepare your skin for the next steps - they remove any residue left from earlier steps and balance the skin's moisture levels after the cleansing process. Offering a great many choices by way of ingredients, you can pick based on what you want the toner to focus on. For example, some toners are geared to reduce acne forming bacteria while others simply add more moisture to the skin,

Essences are light formulations that contain blends of active ingredients that deliver multiple benefits such as hydration, anti-ageing, reduced pigmentation etc. Considered as a very important step as it helps in improving the skin at an overall level.

These products feature highly effective ingredients in a concentrated form for tackling specific skin problems such as acne, fine lines or dry patches They are usually used only on the problem areas and are on the pricier side.

Yet another product that found tremendous fame thanks to Korean Beauty. Sheet masks mimic facials, delivering beneficial ingredients directly onto the face, forcing the skin to absorb. These masks may look scary but they are a wonderful way to rest the skin and treat it with healing ingredients. Recommended 2-5 times a week.

The delicate skin around the eyes needs special care as they tend to show lines and dryness first. Using gentle creams with highly beneficial ingredients help the skin around the eye reduce dark circles and damaged skin,

After all that hydration, this step is where it gets sealed into the skin. A moisturizer (and there are separate ones for day and night use!) uses heavier ingredients to seal the moisture in and provide the skin with ingredients like ceramides to plump it up.

Sunscreen is an essential part of Korean skincare. Sun damage is relentless and causes lasting issues, so protecting your skin is a must do.

Night creams nourish the skin and help it rejuvenate and heal itself as you rest.

As the global craze for Korean skincare grew, it naturally reached Indian shores as well. Korean products are particularly suited for Indian skin which often suffers in our hot, humid climate. Particularly for those with acne-prone, oily skin, these products offer a wonderful system to manage their skin issues.


Although it was earlier extremely hard to find authentic Korean products, today Korean brands have set up stores in India! Additionally, there are several online stores that stock Korean products, which saves you from the hassle of shopping on international sites.

Online
There are several online stores that offer genuine Korean products, the major of which is Nykaa. This site has the most authentic range of products from popular Korean brands. The prices too are not very expensive here.

Tempted to give it a try but think the 10 step process a little too much? Worry not, we have created a basic Korean skincare kit for Indian skin that you can try. Use our recommendations to dip your toes into K-beauty and see if the approach works, without you having to spend too much(relatively!).

For the first step of cleaning out the day's grime or any makeup you have on, try out the Klairs Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil. It's a well-reviewed product that helps clean out the skin without drying it out. The cleanser is made of oils from natural ingredients like black bean, Black sesame oil and Black currant seed oil, all of which help control sebum production and soothe the skin. This is a great option for oily skin. Order it on beautybarn.in for Rs. 1,550.

Here's yet another highly popular product but this time for dry skin. The Banila Co Clean It Zero is a balm cleansing oil that cleanses the skin while nourishing it and brightening it. This costs Rs. 1,600 on firstskin.com.

The Innisfree Green Tea Cleansing Oil is a perfect option for combination to dry skin. Featuring a special kind of green tea root extract, this product will hydrate while providing mild cleansing. Order it on innisfree.com for Rs. 1,400.

The second cleanser is similar to regular face washes, but with the major difference that it does not strip the face dry. The COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser is the top cleanser recommendation across skin types. This foam cleanser uses natural ingredients to clean without irritating the skin. You can find this on beautybarn.in for Rs. 850.

If you have oily, acne-prone skin, then the Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Toner is a fantastic option. Made using Jeju volcanic scoria that eliminates excess sebum from the skin and controls oil production, this toner is great to clear up pores and look brighter. A great option for combination skin is the Cosrx Galactomyces Alcohol-Free Toner which uses ferments to hydrate the skin. Available on beautybarn.in for Rs. 1,250.

For dry-normal skin, try the Klairs Supple Preparation Facial Toner that's available for Rs. 1,450 on beautybarn.in. Chock-full of natural herbs, this toner will help hydrate, smoothen and brighten skin.

There are primarily two types of moisturizers available - lightweight ones for daytime use and nourishing ones for night. The Cosrx Aloe Cream is a refreshing light day wear cream that perfect for oily skin and acne prone skin. It hydrates without causing that greasy look that so normal for those with oily skin. Buy it for Rs. 1,434 from kokoglam.co.in.

For those with dry skin, the Cosrx Honey Ceramide Full Moisture Cream is the best option. Made using Manuka honey and ceramides, this cream will sufficient nourishment to your skin to keep it moist and plump. Buy it for Rs. 1,650 on beautybarn.in.

If you have oily skin then consider the Missha All Around Safe Block Aqua Sun Gel which has been formulated especially for this skin type. Comprising ingredients like glacial water, this sunscreen is sweat and water resistant and protects from both UVA and UVB rays. Check it out on beautybarn.in where its priced at Rs. 950.

In the case of Night Cream, try the Cosrx Ultra Nourishing Sleep Mask which is suitable for all skin types. Comprising rice extracts, this cream helps your skin rejuvenate itself over the night. Available for Rs. 1,350 from beautybarn.in.

Korean beauty offers an incredible range of products using a variety of ingredients that promise amazing benefits. Knowing which ones to pick understandably is pretty key for this approach to work. Therefore you must spend time to analyze your skin. Find out your specific skin type, identify what issues you need to resolve whether that's acne or fine lines, and finally prioritize what you want to target with your skincare routine.

Reviews that boast of amazing results might make you want to order it all. Hold on. Don't buy a whole host of products without knowing if your skin is ready for it or even if it needs it. The 10-step process is simply a suggestion. Particularly as a beginner, you need to consider carefully pick out products, test it out and then stick to it. Adding steps further depends on several factors like how your skin is responding, fresh issues to tackle etc.

The gorgeous glass skin is sadly not going to happen overnight. K-beauty products may deliver great results but as with everything in life they need time. Some products do show improvement quickly, but nothing is guaranteed. So unless you have a bad reaction continue using the products with consistency and patience to see if they actually work.

One of the greatest things about K-beauty is its flexibility, you can pick out products that suit your skin needs. However, the flip side is that products need to give the same results to everyone. There are so many factors involved - diet, genetic, environment, skin type, stress levels - that products have different reactions. So although a product has worked for another person it may not work for you. So you need to accept that there's an element of trial and error involved in K-beauty.