What are the best products for Korean skin care routines, what are the steps of a Korean skincare routine? Is the ten step Korean skincare routine necessary?
It sounds excessive and OTT when you first hear it, but the Korean ten step skincare routine can actually be less pore clogging than just slapping on a couple of different products and being done with it! It can even be a great Korean skincare routine for oily skin and combination skin.
This is because a ten step routine forces you to a) cleanse thoroughly each time and b) use LESS of MORE lightweight, water-based skincare to achieve the same level of hydration as piling on one thicker layer of lotion or cream.
The catch though, is that you need to ensure that none of the individual ingredients in each of the ten skincare products you use clash with each other, which could neutralise each other’s efficacy at best, or worse, cause severe skin irritation and breakouts. See our post on what not to mix for more details about this.
As a general rule, you should layer your skincare from the thinnest to the thickest formulation. Apply water-based formulations first, then lotions, then creams, then facial oils.
Step 1: Oil Cleanse
In super simplistic terms - water and oil don’t mix, but oil dissolves oil…and makeup, sunscreen, and other skincare we apply on our face contains oil-based substances! This is why an oil cleanser is needed to “melt” these substances first so they can then be washed away without you needing to scrub at your face for extended periods of time. We recommend trying the Heimish All Clean Balm or the Farmacy Green Clean Balm, as both of these work well in getting rid of grease on our face without damaging the natural skin barrier.
By the way…some of the skincare we recommend are available on iHerb, which we use to buy a lot of our organic skincare. You can use our code AEJ0519 at checkout to get 5% off.
A lot of people also rave about the Banila Co Clean It Zero Cleansing Balm (Style Korean)(Althea)(Beautynet Korean)(Jolse), though keep in mind it can leave a residue, which needs to be washed off thoroughly.
If you are starting off with a completely bare face anyway, you can skip this step and use one gel cleanser.
Conversely, if you are wearing heavy makeup, you may need to go in with a dedicated makeup remover as well, to remove the remaining makeup residue (e.g. an eye makeup remover like the Neutrogena Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover if you are using heavy eye makeup). For general makeup removal, try the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water or the Garnier Clean Sensitive In Waterproof Make Up Remover.
Step 2: Gel Cleanse
The addition of a second cleanser is not to strip your skin of its natural lipid barrier, but instead serves the reverse process!
That’s right, it’s better for your skin to use two gentle cleansers rather than scrubbing aggressively for extended periods of time with one cleanser.
Make sure to leave cleanser on your face for less than one minute.
In general, we recommend gel cleansers over foaming cleansers because the latter tends to be too drying for people unless you have oily skin. For instance, we recommend the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermo-Cleanser (rather than the foaming version), because it does a good job of cleaning combination skin without making it too dry.
I have combination skin, and personally use the Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser (vitasprings) because it’s the most effective cleanser I’ve found that does the best job at removing sebum (for all skin types) while not drying out the skin. However, it does contain parabens, so you can experiment with different cleansers to find one best suited to your skin type. I’ve tried many other “cleaner” cleansing skincare products without parabens, but they either dehydrated my skin or left my skin feeling oily.
Step 3: Exfoliate
Exfoliation can take the form of physical or chemical exfoliation.
For this step, we recommend using a chemical exfoliant, i.e. alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), beta hydroxy acids (BHAs), or poly hydroxy acids (PHAs).
These are best applied before any moisturisers so that they are better absorbed into the skin.
AHAs (e.g. glycolic, citric, lactic acid) are water soluble and therefore work on the skin surface.
Some of the best AHAs that we like are the COSRX AHA Whitehead Power Liquid (Olive Young)(Style Korean)(Althea)(Beautynet Korean)(Jolse), The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2%, and the KraveBeauty Kale-Lalu-yAHA, as they are relatively gentle on the skin while still helping to exfoliate dead skin cells and fading postinflammatory hyperpigmentation and dark spots over time. You do need to be patient and use these for a few months to see results.
BHAs (e.g. salicylic, tropic acid) are lipid soluble, and thus work on both the skin surface and can penetrate a little deeper into the pores.
In general, you should stick with AHAs as your go-to exfoliant unless you find they aren’t effective. BHAs, being more moisture-stripping, have tended to only work for us if we have oily skin and need to minimize pores and blackheads, otherwise it can be a little too harsh and stripping.
PHAs (e.g. gluconolactone, lactobionic acid) are gentler than AHAs but penetrate even less than AHAs because the molecular size is larger. We are currently on the lookout for an organic PHA to recommend, and we’ll let you know once we do! Subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to find out.
Make sure to only apply one AHA, BHA, PHA, or other acid at any one time, in order to be gentle to your skin. Also avoid applying AHAs and BHAs with skincare containing peptides, since the low pH of acids will interfere with peptides.
Also make sure to limit the use of these chemical exfoliators to 1-2 times a week! And skip this step in the morning.
If you’re finding that your skin is still getting irritated with this routine, only exfoliate in parts of your face that really need skin brightening effects, such as dry patches and to fade post inflammatory hyperpigmentation after breakouts have subsided. Alternatively, you can start off by washing off the product after 5 minutes and not let it remain on your face.
Step 4: Tone
For dry skin or climates, try the Laneige Cream Skin Refiner Mist (Style Korean)(Jolse) or Hada Labo Premium Lotion (Olive Young)(dokodemo)(Jolse) (which has the properties of a moisturizer but the form of a toner). We find that the Laneige Cream Skin Refiner Mist (Style Korean)(Jolse) is a particularly intricate formulation that strikes a great balance between being wonderfully hydrating but not too thick, in a mist form!
There are also a range of more affordable toner options though they may have a lower concentration of active ingredients.
Two brands to check out are Isntree and Secret Key. In particular, try the Secret Key Milk Brightening Toner (Style Korean)(Beautynet Korean)(Jolse) and the Secret Key Aloe Soothing Moist Toner (Style Korean)(Beautynet Korean)(Jolse), as well as the Isntree Green Tea Fresh Toner (Style Korean)(Jolse) and Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Toner (Olive Young)(Style Korean)(Jolse). Another one in this category that comes to mind is the Etude House SoonJung pH 5.5 Relief Toner. These products are pretty good at evening skin tone and conferring a glow to the skin, and contain antioxidant ingredients such as green tea. However, check the specific ingredient lists of each. If you have had previous reactions to ingredients like hyaluronic acid or aloe, you should take care. Always do a patch test first to be sure.
Step 5: Apply Essence
Essences work similar to serums, in that they are thin but hydrating formulations packed with active ingredients that help subsequent layers of skincare to absorb better in the skin.
They act adjuncts for the rest of the nine steps in the routine, and also help to achieve a dewy Korean glass skin look.
We recommend the COSRX Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence (Style Korean)(Althea)(Beautynet Korean)(Jolse), which also contains 2% niacinamide. This essence has helped to give our complexion an increased radiance, and has been great for general skin brightening. Read more about the effects of different niacinamide percentages on your skin in this post.
There are also a lot of skincare ingredients you shouldn’t combine with niacinamide! Read our post on skincare ingredients not to mix.
To help fade any dark spots and post inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and for anti-aging effects, we like to use The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%, but we apply it only onto offending areas, not all over our face, to minimise the risk of irritation.
If you are looking for an alternative to the SKII cult favorite, the SK-II Facial Treatment Essence (dokodemo), give the IOPE Bio Essence Intensive Conditioning (Althea)(Jolse) or the Neogen Real Ferment Microessence a go. These contain saccharomyces ferment filtrate, which we find works well as a humectant to help draw moisture into our skin and help reduce the appearance of fine lines.
If you are looking for a really hydrating essence, try the Primera Miracle Seed Essence (Althea). This is packed with a few key ingredients, including saccharomyces ferment (for anti-aging), nelumbo nucifera germ extract (for skin conditioning), and niacinamide. This essence has done wonders for us in making our skin look more youthful, and to fade pigmentation when used for a period of at least 6 months.
If you are suffering from acne, this could be good time to try the Skinfood Royal Honey Propolis Essence. Skinfood does a good job at working with propolis in this formulation. Propolis is an ingredient which studies suggest has antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. While it can’t get rid of acne, it can help with soothing your skin during this process.
Centella asiatica is another great ingredient to look out for potential anti-inflammation effects. The AHC Minimal 10 Watery Essence (Olive Young) contains one of highest concentrations of centella asiatica among the essences, at 98%, and we find this helps to calm our irritated skin during breakouts.
If you are looking for an essence with minimal ingredients and something a little different, another essence to look out for is the Make P:rem Chaga Concentrate Essence. This contains only three ingredients, the active ingredient being mushroom extract (chaga). Chaga is used as an ingredient in some Korean skincare. It has associations with skin strengthening, and has made our skin feel more plump and bouncy after a few months.
Step 6: Pat on a Serum
Serums are usually also water-based, but have a high concentration of active ingredients - you can choose based on whether you are after specific ingredients, such as peptides (good for anti-aging), antioxidants (for anti-aging and reducing pigmentation), or brightening agents.
Serums tend not to be as occlusive as moisturizers, as they don’t contain mineral oils, petrolatum, lubricants and thickeners such as seed/nut oils.
We recommend The Ordinary "Buffet", which is a serum containing peptide complexes which have helped to reduce the appearance of our fine lines and facial folds. Focus this on dehydrated areas rather than all over your face (especially if you have an oily T zone), as it has a relatively viscous consistency.
The Rovectin Skin Essentials Aqua Activating Serum (Style Korean)(Jolse) is another good serum to try, containing one of our fave ingredients, niacinamide. This feels incredibly hydrating for our skin, and we feel skin becoming more elastic and bouncy after use. The La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum is also a favorite for making our skin feel more youthful and radiant, though keep in mind it contains alcohol.
These serums contain hyaluronic acid, or sodium hyaluronate, which is a water-soluble form of hyaluronic acid. Take care if you have had previous reactions to hyaluronic acid and always do a patch test first.
Another active you can look for in serums is L-ascorbic acid.
L-ascorbic acid is the active form of vitamin C. On the face of things, it has many benefits for the skin, including brightening the skin, improving skin tone, reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, and fading pigmentation. One of the best organic serums containing vitamin C that we reach for is the Drunk Elephant C Firma Day Serum, which has helped to fade pigmentation for us when applied consistently (daily) for 6-12 months.
However, L-ascorbic acid and other forms of vitamin C can be very unstable unless kept in optimal conditions. For more detailed information on how to maximise the efficacy of L-ascorbic acid in the presence of light, see our evening skincare routine post here.
The other precaution with L-ascorbic acid is, that we don’t recommend using it together with skincare containing niacinamide.
Finally, look for serums containing alpha arbutin. Also known as glycosylated hydroquinone, there is evidence to suggest that alpha arbutin a safer alternative to hydroxyquinone. The latter was traditionally used for skin whitening and to tackle hyperpigmentation even though it was associated with risk of serious side effects including cancer, which was exacerbated by exposure to UV radiation. The evidence suggests that alpha arbutin minimises this risk. For the purposes of this discussion, we are only discussing non-prescription formulations of alpha-arbutin.
To be safe, we recommend keeping alpha arbutin in your night time skincare routine. Also restrict your use of alpha arbutin to no more than 3 months at a time. We like using the The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin 2% + HA. Using this product for 3 months has been effective at reducing the appearance of postinflammatory hyperpigmentation and freckles on our skin.
Step 7: Put on a Facial Mask!
This is the ultimate pampering step. Feel free to light a candle and sink into a warm bath while completing this.
For a quick “pick me up” gel mask for dry skin, try the Skin Inc. Pure Deepsea Hydrating Mask, which contains algae extract. This mask is great at giving our skin a boost of hydration overnight.
Among the affordable sheet masks we like are the Innisfree Second Skin Masks (Style Korean)(Jolse). You can choose different targeted ingredients depending on your skincare needs, such as for moisturizing, nourishing, firming, soothing and brightening effects. Keep in mind these masks generally contain alcohol, castor oil, and fragrance, which can be irritating for some people.
In terms of more mid end mask options, one of our favorites is the Papa Recipe Bombee Honey Masks (Style Korean), which contain honey, propolis and royal jelly extract. This mask is incredibly soothing for our skin, and leaves it feeling extra radiant, plump and hydrated after use.
If you are ready for some pricier sheet masks to indulge in, try the Su:m37 Secret Programming Mask (Jolse), which has been our holy grail for many years. This contains over 80 natural fermented ingredients that act as antioxidant powerhouses together, such as pear juice, grape, barley seed, ginseng root, rye, soybean, black tea and hyacinth ferment. Our skin is extremely dewy and soft are using this. However, keep in mind that if your skin reacts badly to too many extracts, these may not be the masks for you.
Follow the instructions on the mask for how long to keep it on for, and make sure to use any excess left on your neck and hands!
Step 8: Facial Moisturizer
As discussed above, the choice of which moisturizer to use will depend on a lot on individual factors, including your skin type, concurrent skincare products used, and climate. See our rundown of the best moisturizers here.
It’s not easy to find a lightweight moisturizer that a) doesn’t clog your pores after a whole day out and about b) sits well under sunscreen, and c) functions well as a makeup base.
Our favorite moisturizer for oily or combination skin is the COSRX Advanced Snail 92 All In One Cream (Style Korean)(Beautynet Korean)(Jolse), which is a very lightweight consistency but packs a punch in hydration thanks to ingredients like snail mucin. It also has never caused us any skin irritation or breakouts because it doesn’t contain many other extracts. However, note that it doesn’t sit well under makeup or sunscreen. You can also try the Amorepacific The Essential Creme Fluid - this contains a few extracts or oils, but keeps our skin hydrated despite being lightweight.
If your skin is on the drier side, then you may be able to layer the Moogoo Full Cream Moisturiser or the Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream EX Light. Both of these are creamy moisturizers that sink in quickly into the skin. The MooGoo moisturizer is not quite as rich as the Sulwhasoo, but both are great for dry winter days.
If you have super dry skin, you can even try layering a facial oil. There is a wide array of different facial oils, including rose hip seed oil, tamanu oil, marula oil, and hemp seed oil, to name a few. We especially like using the Moogoo Calophyllum Inophyllum (Tamanu) Seed Oil. Tamanu oil has associations with anti-inflammatory effects, and has helped us to fade our [postinflammatory hyperpigmentation]/(/how-to-fade-hyperpigmentation). But use a drop at a time as a spot treatment as all oils can conversely predispose to breakouts even if you have dry skin.
We do NOT recommend you incorporate facial oil into your daily skincare routine if you have combination or oily skin.
Step 9: Don’t Forget Eye Cream
If you can afford it, it’s better to use a different moisturizer around your eyes compared with the rest of your face. However, if that’s too pricey for the time being, moisturizing around your eyes with safe facial moisturizer ingredients can also be ok, depending on what you choose to use.
In terms of dedicated eye products, you should choose these depending on whether you are after temporary depuffing or concealment of eyebags and dark circles, versus potent anti-aging effects, which become more relevant in your 30s and up.
Our favorite eye cream of all time remains the Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Eye Cream EX, which we noticed has significantly lightened the undereye area, reduced puffiness, and lessened the appearance of wrinkles. However, more affordable options also exist, including the Mizon Collagen Power Firming Eye Cream (Jolse), Innisfree Perfect 9 Repair Eye Cream (Style Korean)(Beautynet Korean), Innisfree Jeju Orchid Eye Cream (Style Korean)(Beautynet Korean)(Jolse), Benton Fermentation Eye Cream (Style Korean)(Althea)(Jolse), Antipodes Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream and the 100% Pure Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream (100% pure). These may not necessarily contribute to significant anti-aging effects, but do still contain potent antioxidants and can help to depuff our eyes (especially products containing caffeine). The Moogoo Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate Vitamin C, on the other hand, is great for helping to correct dark eye circles.
Pricier formulations if you are looking for more water-based options include the Amore Pacific Intensive Vitalizing Eye Essence, the Tatcha Luminous Deep Hydration Firming Eye Serum and the Drunk Elephant Shaba Complex Eye Serum. If you can, we recommend you layer these underneath whichever eye cream you choose. All of these are lightweight in consistency, hydrating, and feel very cooling to the touch.
If you can splurge on it, try the Origins GinZing Eye Cream and The History of Whoo Cheongidan Hwa Hyun Eye Cream, which contain a myriad of different botanical and fruit extracts, the Elensilia Cpp Collagen 80 Intensive Eye Cream which has helped to reduce the appearance of fine lines, and the Erborian Sève De Bamboo Eye Matte cream for its cooling properties.
The Erborian Sève De Bamboo Eye Matte may not be the most effective eye cream at anti-aging, but it comes in a slim compact stick form, which is great for packing for travel.
Step 10: Slap on Some Sunscreen
If you are going outdoors (or even if you are indoors with exposure to UV light), it’s essential that you apply sunscreen as the last and final step!
UV radiation can cause pigmentation, speed up the skin’s aging process, worsen post inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and increase the risk of skin cancer. The type of sunscreen you choose will depend on your skin tone, skin type, and preference.
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P.S…this is probably obvious, but the information presented doesn’t constitute medical advice - always check with your own doctor!
