Proven ingredients, innovations, and trends are just a few of the reasons why we are inspired by K-beauty. Even if you’re familiar with K-beauty routine, you might not realize that it isn’t just a regimen to clean, treat and protect your skin...it’s also a mindset! At the core of this ritual is mindful intention of self-care:
Proven ingredients, innovations, and trends are just a few of the reasons why we are inspired by K-beauty. Even if you’re familiar with K-beauty routine, you might not realize that it isn’t just a regimen to clean, treat and protect your skin...it’s also a mindset! At the core of this ritual is mindful intention of self-care:
- The intention to take extra-loving care of your skin, no matter what age you are
- The intention to use ingredients that are clean, gentle and healthy – not harsh
- The intention to repair and strengthen your natural skin barrier by layering products from the thinnest to thickest consistency, which helps lock in the benefits of each product you’ve applied while protecting your skin from the surface, inward
If following K-beauty’s suggested 10-step skincare routine seems like a daunting task to tackle for your morning and evening skincare routines, rest easy – these steps aren’t written in stone. These steps usher you through layering the products you’re choosing to use in the right order, so that your skin receives the maximum benefits. And, they also serve to help you make healthy skincare a daily self-care habit.
So, whether you are inspired to practice any or all of Korean skincare’s 10 steps, as long as you’re consistent, you’re on the right path towards achieving ageless, glowing skin! To help you understand each step, here’s what you need to know about the Korean skincare regimen or even our complete Aloisia Beauty routine:
Steps #1 & #2: Double Cleanse:
Every skincare routine should start with a clean slate, like the K-beauty ritual of double cleansing! Leveling up the usual splash-and-go, it entails using an oil-based cleanser followed by a water-based cleanser.
Step #1, Oil-Based Cleanser:
An oil-based cleanser removes makeup, dirt, bacteria and other grime, all without stripping away your skin’s essential moisture. Unlike makeup wipes, which still leave grime behind, oil-based cleansers work by attracting the oils found in makeup to truly melt it away.
- Try: NOURISH Oil Cleanser emulsifies with an emollient blend of eight essential oils like apricot kernel oil, olive oil, grapeseed oil and argan oil to leave skin clean, soft and hydrated.
Step #2, Water-Based Cleanser:
A water-based cleanser washes off any impurities left on your skin’s surface, like dirt and sweat. (Going in for a deeper cleanse)
- Try: REFRESH Jade Purifying Cleanser, with a pH of 5.4, gently foams with the purifying, high-alkaline ingredient jade+ water, ceramides, propolis, and Korean angelica to leave skin fresh and balanced.
Double-cleansing also accomplishes what makeup wipes can’t. These wipes might take care of some of the makeup, but they aren’t formulated to clean your face. Plus, they’re rough on your skin, remove moisture, and can even be the culprit of breakouts. Lastly, double-cleansing helps your skin better absorb other products and creates a clean canvas for makeup application.
Step #3, Exfoliate:
Exfoliating helps lift off dead skin cells, cleanse clogged pores, refine skin texture and boost clarity, so the next products you apply have a fresh foundation. The K-beauty difference? It’s done without the use of harsh chemicals. Some exfoliators are made with gentle ingredients like fruit enzymes to dissolve, others use light friction, and some – like our celebrity-loved GLOW Exfoliating Soft Peel – uses both!
- Try: GLOW Exfoliating Soft Peel sloughs off dead skin with papaya fruit enzymes and plant-based microcrystalline cellulose, and also moisturizes and restores radiance with sodium hyaluronate, Lipidure® PMB, arginine, and licorice root. Recommended 1-3 times per week, there’s nothing more gratifying than seeing all those dead skin cells roll away.
Step #4, Toner:
In Western skincare, toner is often skipped – there’s a misconception that toner is meant to soak up excess oil with ingredients that dry out your skin. In Korean skincare, toner is a must for all skin types! That’s because it rebalances your skin, removes any leftover impurities and product residue, and replenishes moisture loss so your skin is primed to easily absorb the products that come next.
- Try: BALANCE Moisturizing Toner features a skin-balancing blend of artemisia, ginseng, licorice root, and our proprietary ANTI-AGING & BRIGHTENING Complex, which includes fermented probiotic actives including bifida ferment filtrate and d-phytogen, and also green tea, niacinamide and adenosine.
Step #5, Essence:
An essence is like a serum’s lighter-weight counterpart for concentrated skincare treatment. Whether you’re looking to nourish, brighten or ease the signs of aging, applying an essence post-toner gives your skin a water-based burst of benefits. The application is just as pampering – it should be patted, not smoothed, onto your skin. And, this is one of those steps that you can practice every day or interchange with the next step, depending on how your skin feels.
Step #6, Serum or Ampoule (Treatments):
When layering products from thinnest to thickest, the step for serum is where we start to get into thicker territory. Serums and slightly-more-potent ampoules deliver an even higher concentration of active ingredients to treat skin concerns, are a smidge thicker in consistency, and penetrate deeply into your skin. Like step #5, you can apply a serum every day or as-needed.
- Try: RENEW Concentrated Serum helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, pump up natural collagen production, and improve brightness with our ANTI-AGING & BRIGHTENING Complex, white mulberry root, licorice root, sodium hyaluronate, and other fast-absorbing actives, antioxidants and nutrients.
Step #7, Sheet Mask:
These serum-drenched fabric masks allow for deep penetration of a concentrated treatment, create a pollutant-proof barrier, and offer relaxing downtime. You can even swap masks depending on your skincare goal that day: brightening, soothing, blemish-busting or anti-aging! Land on step #7 at least once week or more, depending on how your skin feels and the products you used in prior steps.
- Try: 7-Day Skin Care System, our award-winning sheet mask set that makes it easy to have the masks your skin is craving, on-hand!
Step #8, Emulsion:
Step #8 is where we enter into the land of moisturizers. Another K-beauty marvel, an emulsion is an ultra-lightweight, water-based moisturizer, almost liquid in texture. Emulsions hydrate your skin to keep it supple and pliable, and give it that dewy finish. Emulsions also help seal in the benefits of other products and prep your skin for the final moisturizing steps. Plus, they’re ideal for oily skin because they don’t clog your pores and are perfect for those hot and humid days when you just want a light moisturizer. And like steps #5, #6 and #7, you can use it daily or a few times a week.
- Try: LIGHT HYDRATION Emulsion delivers intense moisturization, smoothing and radiance-boosting benefits with our ANTI-AGING & BRIGHTENING Complex and plant-based squalene.
Step #9, Eye Cream:
The thin skin around the eyes are one of the first places to reflect signs of aging and damage. That’s why eye cream is the second-to-last step. Eye cream serves to hydrate, de-puff and protect the delicate eye area. Since the eyes are also a trouble-zone for makeup application, eye cream helps keep things smooth.
- Try: REVITALIZE Eye Cream brightens the eye area, reduces the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, soothes, and sits beautifully under makeup with our ANTI-AGING & BRIGHTENING complex, sweet almond oil, and houttuynia cordata. It was just named among New Beauty’s best product launches for June 2020!
Step #10 - Moisturizer:
The final layer in any skincare routine is moisturizer. Ranging from lightweight to luxuriously rich in texture, moisturizers maintain hydration, protect your natural skin barrier against the elements, and ensure all the benefits of prior products don’t escape your skin.
- Try: ULTRA-RICH Moisture Cream repairs and protects your skin's barrier, and locks in long-lasting moisture in order to maintain long-term radiance with our ANTI-AGING & BRIGHTENING Complex, sodium hyaluronate, sweet almond oil, ginseng, licorice root, and houttuynia cordata.
- Try: RESTORE Propolis Collagen Gel repairs, plumps, softens, soothes and brightens with a blend of hydrolyzed collagen, propolis, green tea, honey, mulberry bark, and licorice root.
There’s one more layer that’s non-negotiable for any morning skincare routine: SPF. Always apply an SPF over your moisturizer before leaving home for the day. It’s the first line of defense against UV rays, and helps protect your natural skin barrier from environmental damage, hyperpigmentation, signs of aging, and most importantly, skin cancers caused by the sun.
Click here to shop this story. For more skincare tips, news and discussion, connect with us a @aloisiabeauty!
-The Aloisia Beauty Team