Beginner's guide to korean skincare
Okay first up, you gotta figure what skin type you have.
1. Oily (you tend to 'shine' all over your face after a mere few hours, have larger pores on your cheeks and nose, prone to getting blemishes, blackheads, whiteheads etc)
2. Acne-prone (you tend to get clogged pores which trigger the red angry/colourless bumps etc. If you are wondering why I classified Acne-prone on its own, it is because you can have dry skin and be acne-prone too so it's not just those with oily skin who suffer from it.)
3. Dry (you tend to have dull looking skin that itches or feels 'tight' sometimes, rough patches on your face, a more matte looking complexion.)
4. Sensitive (you may have ailments like eczema, rosacea, or experience allergies when you use products that most people use. Some allergy reactions include a burning sensation, redness, stinging, bumps.)
5. Combination (you tend to have oily skin at the forehead and nose aka T-Zone, dry skin at the jaw and chin aka U-Zone. It does not have to be these specific areas but as long as you have different areas of your face with the contrasting skin types, you have combination skin.)
6. Normal (you generally have fine pores, soft and smooth texture and no blemishes.)
It is alright if you think you have a combination of skin types because you probably do. Most people, like myself, have 2 of the skin types combined. I have combination and mildly sensitive skin especially around the lip area. My T-zone is very oily where there are visible blemishes and pimples from time to time and i'm practically always shiny there. My U-zone, on the other hand, is very dry with almost no sebum production and when I do not moisturise properly, it would itch and be really rough. As for sensitivity, when i use products that are too harsh for my skin or contain large amounts of fragrance, I experience rosacea or allergy reactions where my lips will burn and swell. To put it simply, my skin is pretty problematic where I have to source for products which can cover the needs of my 2 polar regions. Took a while, but I've figured it out and will save this for another time.
After figuring your skin type, you can briefly think about what you want in a product. Do you need a fancy one to clear up your skin problems? Just a simple one to keep your skin clean and hydrated? No fragrances/parabens/animal oils etc? Any ingredients you're allergic to or that might be too harsh for your skin?
No answer to the above questions? Don't worry, I'll save you some brainstorming. The products I'm about to recommend for each skin type are free from parabens (they stay in your skin tissues and may affect your hormones and tissue growth), clean (free from rumoured or proven toxic ingredients) and just products I would use for my mildly sensitive skin.
Honestly, if you are new to skincare and would like to start somewhere, I'd say to keep things simple. You probably only need 3 things - cleanser, toner, moisturiser. (For those with blemishes, perhaps a spot treatment product as well.)
That's it. None of that 10 step routine. You just need things to provide for your basic needs which is to cleanse, balance your skin's pH and hydrate. (hopefully at a wallet-friendly price)
*Disclaimer: yes some products are not korean but I really want to recommend my top 3 for each skin type. And those bolded in each category, are my top choices :)
1. OILY SKIN
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| Hada Labo deep clean & pore refining face wash (contains Cocamide DEA which is a surfactant-just allows the product to be dissolved more readily upon contact with water. Avoid if you mind this ingredient), SanDaWha green tea mild foaming cleanser for men (honestly, it's just marketing based on men generally having oilier skin, men and women skin don't differ), CosRX Salicylic Acid daily gentle cleanser |
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| Innisfree jeju volcanic pore toner (would recommend using it with a cotton pad), Skinmiso pore purifying toner, CosRX AHA/BHA Clarifying treatment toner (can be used with a cotton pad too) |
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CosRX oil-free ultra moisturising lotion with birch sap,
Belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb,
I'm from Vitamin tree watergel & mask |
Cleansers:
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Medicube red foam cleanser, CosRX AC collection calming foam cleanser, Etude House Soon Jung pH 6.5 Whip cleanser |
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| Medicube red toner, Somebymi AHA BHA PHA 30days miracle toner (would not recommend using this daily as AHA,BHA,PHA are all chemical exfoliants so you might over-exfoliate), CosRX natural BHA skin returning A-sol |
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| Medicube red cream, CosRX centella blemish cream, Dr jart+ cicapair tiger grass cream |
3. DRY SKIN
Cleansers:
Cleansers:
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| Missha near skin pH balancing cleansing foam, Neogen real cica micellar cleansing foam, Round a'round green tea pure cleansing foam |
Toners:
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| Innisfree green tea moisture skin, The Saem urban eco harakeke toner, Tonymoly Wonder rice smoothing toner |
Moisturisers:
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| The ordinary Natural moisturizing factors + HA, Medicube blue erasing cream, Etude house soonjung 2x barrier intensive cream |
4. SENSITIVE SKIN
Cleansers:
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dear, Klairs rich moist foaming cleanser,
CosRX low pH good morning gel cleanser,
Acwell 5.5 pH balancing micro cleansing foam
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Toners:
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| dear, Klairs supple preparation unscented facial toner, Etude house SoonJung pH 5.5 relief toner, CosRX galactomyces alcohol-free toner |
Moisturisers:
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| Medicube red erasing cream (lighten scars and blemishes), CosRX honey ceramide full moisture cream, dear, Klairs midnight blue calming cream |
5. COMBINATION SKIN
Cleansers:
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| Acwell bubble-free pH balancing cleanser, Innisfree blueberry rebalancing 5.5 cleanser Neogen green tea real fresh foam cleanser |
Toners:
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| dear, Klairs supple preparation facial toner, Innisfree green tea balancing skin EX, Son&Park beauty water |
Moisturisers:
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| dear, Klairs rich moist soothing cream, Innisfree green tea balancing cream EX, Neogen vita duo cream joan day joan night |
6. NORMAL SKIN
Cleansers:
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Etude House SoonJung pH 6.5 Whip cleanser,
Neogen real fresh foam Cranberry cleanser,
D'Alba piedmont peptide no-sebum mild gel cleanser
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Toners:
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| Acwell licorice pH balancing cleansing toner, Benton cacao moist and mild toner, Mamonde hydrating beauty water |
Moisturisers:
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| Missha super aqua ultra water-full clear cream, Tonymoly the chok chok green tea watery cream, Atrue spring green tea watery calming cream |
To put it simply, for a good and safe cleanser/toner, get one that is pH 5-6 and doesn't contain any harsh ingredients. For a good moisturiser, make sure you get one that suits your skin type and definitely, the more natural it is, the better :)
Please feel free to ask more questions by commenting. Thank you for reading this long long post!
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