Over the last couple years, we’ve received a lot of questions about Korean beauty - everything from the fun trendy things to the serious skincare deep-dives. We have a customer service team, and our founders personally provide thoughtful answers to all these questions. Over time, we realized that we were getting many of the same questions, so we wanted to start sharing these questions and answers with everyone, here, through our Korean Beauty Skin Tips.
Here are 5 FAQs from our loyal customers to start us off:
1. Why is Korean skincare so popular nowadays?
More consumers are becoming aware of Korean skincare brands and how effectively and gently they’re formulated - then they try some and they’re hooked! It also helps that beauty editors and bloggers love to buzz about the K-beauty products that they’ve also fallen in love with.
Korean beauty products are incredibly advanced when it comes to ingredients and formulations because the Korean beauty R&D labs are pushed to extremes as Korean women continue to raise the bar for beauty products – in a culture where skincare is an extremely serious pursuit and the standard for “flawless skin” is unparalleled, a very exciting industry ecosystem develops where companies and labs rise to meet the challenge and ultimately, create beauty products that deliver results through supremely high quality ingredients and in a gentle way. To boot, Korean women want their products smelling delicious, packaging to look chic and the texture to be sorbet-soft. The saying is true: an industry will only ever be as good as their consumers demand.
2. What is the 12-step Korean skincare regimen?
We’ve got that covered for you:
Demystifying the Korean skincare regimen
Example of the Korean skincare regimen
3. What are your favorite hydration products?
It depends on skin type, but here are some notable bestsellers on our site for each skin type:
Dry skin:
Aromatica Organic Argan Oil: Not all argan oils are created equal. This one is completely unadulterated and in its purest form. This seeps right into the skin and keeps skin super supple, filled with antioxidants and tremendously hydrated.
Normal/Combination skin:
Cremorlab Smooth Pudding: This mineral-rich thermal water based cream is heavenly and truly pudding-like. Your skin will be mochi-soft and incredibly supple. A Michelle Phan-loved brand. Well, just about everyone loves this product and brand - definitely a must-try.
Oily skin:
Be the Skin’s pore line for the way it delivers a unique cocktail of luxurious botanical and herbal ingredients deep into the skin’s dermis to dramatically boost hydration without any oiliness or heaviness. We love that it’s great for even sensitive skin. Sebum production is kept at bay while still keeping skin hydrated. We can’t keep this in stock all the time, as it is one of our biggest repeat purchases. It works!
4. Are your products safe for people with skin allergies?
It really depends on what the allergy is. Having said that, Korean beauty products in general, and the ones that we curate tend to be more naturally and gently formulated that can help minimize product-related skin irritations. A good way to explore new products is to patch test on the jaw, neck or behind the ears and see if there are any reactions before diving face-first into new territory.
5. What are the key differences between American and Korean skincare practices?
This is a whole other blog entry on its way, but here are some key differences:
1) More heightened emphasis on cleansing the skin - a pillar for healthy skin
2) Extraordinary emphasis on hydration
3) Hyper-targeted serums that focus on very a la carte skincare needs
4) Nourishing the skin versus stripping it dry
5) Tons and tons of products layered on top of each other for maximum penetration and efficacy
The result is that there are more steps in the regimen and product categories that don’t quite exist in other countries - or until they catch on (essences, ampoules, sleeping masks, face masks, finishers, patting masks, etc.).
Any lingering questions? Leave them in the comments below or in the “Ask” section of the blog (you’ll see this on our header), and our in-house Korean skincare experts will be sure to gather the most frequently asked questions and provide the answers.
