You’ve probably heard the buzz surrounding Korean skin care and its promise to give you the most amazingly soft skin you’ve ever had. But what is it about Korean skin care that makes people rave about it? And is it somehow better than American or Western skincare brands? Well lucky you, you’ve come to the right place—because we’re about to dive in and tackle the differences between Korean and American/Western skin care, and why we think Korean skin care products are worth checking out.
You’ve probably heard the buzz surrounding Korean skin care and its promise to give you the most amazingly soft skin you’ve ever had. But what is it about Korean skin care that makes people rave about it? And is it somehow better than American or Western skincare brands? Well lucky you, you’ve come to the right place—because we’re about to dive in and tackle the differences between Korean and American/Western skin care, and why we think Korean skin care products are worth checking out.
What’s The Difference Between Korean and American Skincare?
Before we dive into all the reasons Korean skin care is so great, it’s helpful to understand what the difference is between Korean skin care and American skincare. In our experience, the difference between Korean skincare and Western skincare can be summed up pretty simply. In Western skincare, there’s an emphasis on clarifying and taking things OUT of the skin (with clay masks, etc..) whereas in Korean skin care there is an emphasis on putting good things IN the skin (with masks that hydrate, brighten, and moisturize).
In Korea, this approach to skin care means that skin care is seen as a way to heal skin problems and prevent problems before they occur. There is also a lot of experimentation with many different high-quality ingredients as a great way to put more good things into your skin.
In America, there is a much larger focus on concealing skin problems with makeup and using fewer skincare products. There’s not a lot of experimentation with ingredients and certainly not as much time spent applying and using skincare.
Why Is Korean Skin Care Considered the Best?
Korean skin care is considered the best for a number of reasons including cost, quality, and simply being fun to use. While you might not know much about Korean skincare yet, we’re pretty sure you’ll be thinking about trying out some Korean skincare products once we’ve shared why they’re so awesome.
1. Inexpensive
That’s right—while there are Korean skin care products that cost a pretty penny, the majority of products are really, really cheap. This makes it easy to stock up on your favorite sheet masks, lip masks, eye masks, exfoliators, serums, ampoules...you get the idea. And don’t let the low price point fool you. Just because these products won’t break the bank, doesn’t mean they aren’t fantastic quality.
2. Variety
Finding the perfect skin care in America can be difficult. There are options for products if you have oily skin and dry skin but it can still be difficult to get the right balance of products. With Korean skin care, there are endless ingredients to choose from for all skin types. Plus you can try different products and combinations of products until you get the right skin care combination to suit your unique skin needs.
3. Natural Ingredients
While lots of companies in America use natural ingredients in their products, we’re willing to bet there are a few natural ingredients used in Korean skin care you haven’t heard of yet. Snail mucus is a very popular ingredient that is believed to help even skin tone, moisturize skin, and reduce hyper pigmentation. So yeah, snail mucus. It might sound a little weird at first—but trust us, it does amazing things for your skin.
4. Inventive
Korean skin care is always moving forward and developing new products with better and better ingredients. Because of the innovative approach to skin care and beauty products, K-beauty has gained a lot of interest and attention in the global market. One of the most popular K-beauty trends in recent years are cushion foundations. These light to medium coverage foundations store their formula in a mirrored compact with a sponge for easy, on-the-go application.
5. Beautiful Skin
Korean skin care education starts young, and Korean women think about caring for their skin from a very early age. There is even a belief that some foods play a role in keeping your skin beautiful and young. This emphasis on skincare is reflected in Korean skin care products that focus on using high-quality ingredients to promote beautiful skin.
6. Quick and Easy
While a 10-step skin care routine might not sound quick and easy, more and more Korean skin care brands are combining steps to simplify the skin care routine into just a few steps. Plus, Korean beauty brands are often made to be quickly applied on-the-go so you can touch up or apply your makeup wherever you happen to be.
7. Preventative Care
While a lot of Western skin care is focused on addressing problems or concerns you already have with your skin, Korean skin care if focused on preventing these concerns in the first place.
8. Super Fun
To top it all off, Korean skin care is just super fun to play around with. Fun textures and formulas with adorable packaging make playing with Korean skin care a blast—with beauty benefits.