The World of K Beauty and What You Can Learn From It (Part 1)

The world of K beauty can be blinding and definitely overwhelming. There is so much variety and I swear they add a new step every day to the ever expanding 11 step beauty routine. Combine that with language barrier in terms of understanding their marketing lingo and find useful info on the packaging while separating jargon, it’s a hell of a confusing job curating a routine for yourself if you’re new to this field.

In this article, I aim to educate you a little bit about what basic steps we’ve been accustomed into hearing since our childhood from the western mantra of skincare and how Korean beauty is different. I will also give you a short and basic introduction into the very many skin care basics and where they typically fit into a routine.

The 3 step western mantra of cleanse, toner, moisturize.

This is the basic. This has been a bible for many years for those who wished to take care of their skin before the advent of K beauty. You basically remove your makeup and wash your face. Then apply a toner (what kind? There really is no distinction between different kinds of toners in the Western world, toners are a very poorly understood species) and then you slap on some moisturizer.

Introducing the K beauty take on these steps:

K beauty offers a dazzling array of formats when it comes to products. Each of the above mentioned 3 steps are further broken down into many mini steps- each catering to the individual’s skin type. This is why K beauty is all about customization- it’s a journey- you know something about your skin from the start but as you take the plunge and customize your routine with the addition of every tiny little detail- you learn something new about your skin. In a very short period of time you will get the hang of it. And before you know it- you will be best friends with your skin, happy and smiling together and not frowning at one another in the mirror. Okay I digress, it’s personal.

So let’s get down to the very many steps and let me show you the possibilities. Remember nothing is set in stone and you can add or delete any steps you’d like and still have wonderful skin. It’s all about creating a perfectly customized routine that is sustainable and you can easily commit to depending on how much time (or money) your lifestyle(or pocket) allows. And before we proceed, please know you can incorporate a 10 step routine and not use a single Korean product, meaning you can use all western products, but stick to the philosophy and you’re good.

So what is the K Beauty Philosophy:

The idea behind Korean beauty is a heavy emphasis on ingredients and consciously choosing products which are made with beneficial ingredients. This means products with less fillers, less chemicals and less toxic ingredients. So in a way, ingredient awareness is at the heart of k beauty culture. You will see brands touting specific ingredients as their selling point as opposed to complex marketing jargon that you use contemporary western brands use. Korean beauty market is very cutting edge, a lot of research is happening and they are ever ready to introduce new and exotic ingredients into the scene. But beware, most of the research data is not accessible due to language barrier etc. and the fact their business practices still aren’t as mature as the western market so they don’t make a lot of research data available to the public etc. Hence the main source of knowledge remains beauty blogs (everyone must have a favorite! I got 3!!) and one’s personal experience (hence this blog!) Mostly the ingredients they use are proven the world over for effectiveness and usually they are a good starting point to stick to as you begin your skincare journey. Secondly, there is an enhanced use of active ingredients. It’s not uncommon for K beauty products to use upwards of 10% active ingredients in their products (and some cases up to 90%) something which is very unheard of in western world where active ingredients are scarce and products are usually jarful of fillers and parabens.  

Of course some western brands are catching up to this mantra and introducing clean, power packed formulae with minimum marketing jargon and complicated slogans around their products. One such brand comes to mind, The Ordinary. It has been making waves in the skin care industry since a while now and with lots on merit. This brand also was the main thrust behind my plunging deep into the abyss of skincare and getting to know all the yummy ingredients which we should be putting on our faces and how to resolve out problems in one big fell swoop.

In the posts to follow, you shall see a focus on good quality ingredients rather than big brand names (western or Korean alike) and you will see me rarely talk about the more established brands in this blog (such as L’Oreal or Garnier or Ponds etc.) because FILLERS!

K Beauty Routine to the N-th number of step:

So this can be disarraying but remember take a deep breath and know this is not as confusing or intimidating as it seems. You can build your own routine based on the number of steps you deem fit for your skin. Some days I would go applying as many as 12 layers on my face (sometimes 6 of which are of the same product! I know crazy right!? NO!!!) And sometimes only 3.  Anyway here I am going to break down all the steps in K beauty routine, explain you the purpose behind each.

•         1^st cleanser: this is typically an oil based cleaner and is used to remove makeup. It is the first thing you bathe your face in when you get home in the evening to remove makeup. Just kidding just applying a couple drops of this oil on your face directly and then rubbing with cotton is enough. Oil based cleansers are sometimes runny liquid oils available in pump bottles and sometimes they can be sold as solid balms in jars where you dip your fingers into (ew- but if you’re the only person using it, you can make it work)
•     2^nd cleanse: This is typically your water based face wash. Sometimes if you’ve applied a balm to remove makeup you may find it refreshing to wash your face with soap or facewash. Other times when you haven’t been wearing makeup and just want to say take off your sunscreen in the evening, only micellar water may suffice. Especially in the morning, if you don’t wake up with icky, oily face, then just wiping it gently with micellar water is all that is needed to clean your face. As a general rule, getting into a bit of science will teach you about the importance of balancing out the pH of the skin. The natural pH of our skin is neutral and most soaps on the market are highly alkaline in nature. This results in itchy, irritated skin whose barrier may have been compromised (more on that later). So opting for a facewash that says ‘pH balanced’ may be a good idea. Check out COSRX pH Balancing Face Wash. It is actually slightly acidic, which gives you the gentlest exfoliation and a nice soft skin post wash. So bottom line, if you go alkaline, you will irritate your skins barrier, and if you go acidic you will exfoliate your skin. The prime function of face wash should be too clean and maybe gently exfoliate so stay close to the neutral territory.