Here at Peach & Lily, as a Korean beauty brand and destination, we celebrate Korean beauty brands and also the beautiful ingredients, innovations, and practices that come from Korea and throughout Asia.
Here’s a round-up of some of our favorite Korean skincare techniques for how easy they are to do at home while making a big impact on your skin:
7-skin layering method
Popularized in Korea, consider this your easy instant hydro-facial. Simply pat in seven layers of a hydrating essence for plumped up hydration. As our skin absorbs a hydrating, humectant-rich, fast-absorbing formula layer by layer, moisture is locked deep into skin helping bring about a rich glow and happily hydrated skin. Pro-tip: apply this technique on damp skin to have humectants grab moisture. Either splash water onto clean face and lightly dab off with a towel leaving skin damp or quickly mist with a hydrating mist like the Glass Skin Veil Mist. Then follow up with a humectant-rich essence like the Wild Dew Treatment Essence. Pat onto skin using clean hands and pat into skin in seven consecutive layers.
“Banshinyok”
The Korean half-bath helps boost circulation. Fill your tub with very warm water, sit upright until your belly button is submerged in the water. Leave your arms and rest of belly button-up outside the water. The difference in temperature helps boost circulation. Remember to keep the water very warm and not hot, as hot water can be irritating to skin. And keep your bathroom at comfortable room temperature. This half-bath is typically practiced for anywhere from ten to twenty minutes. You may notice a light sweat that forms as your circulation is boosted. Be sure to drink a tall glass of water afterwards to hydrate. Make sure to stand up slowly and carefully from the tub. And of course, only do this half-bath, if warm baths and steam rooms in general are OK for your health. While we typically associate bath time with a relaxing ritual, the half-bath can be invigorating while relaxing. A morning or mid-day half-bath can be a great way to boost energy. Pro-tip: mask while you half-bath – we especially love the pore de-gunking Pore Proof Perfecting Clay Mask for a deep pore-clean in a humid half-bath environment.
Double Cleansing
Double cleansing is practiced in many different countries, but is especially popular in Korea for how thoroughly and gently skin is cleansed down to pores, easily dissolving oil-based impurities and keeping skin “baggage-free.” Remember oil attracts oil, so oil cleansers are ideal for drawing out and breaking down those oil-based impurities found in your SPF, makeup and excess sebum. Only using water-based cleansers can actually further push down oil-based impurities into pores as water and oil detract from each other. So, be sure to use an oil-based cleanser first especially in the evenings when you’re removing your SPF and makeup. For water-based cleansers, we recommend low pH, non-drying cleansers that leave skin hydrated and refreshed while respecting your skin barrier. In the mornings, depending on your skin and how heavy in oils your night time routine was, opting for just a water-based cleanser can be perfectly supportive of skin health. Our esthetician pick for a double-cleansing routine for all skin types is the Peach Pudding Makeup Cleanser and the Power Calm Hydrating Gel Cleanser.
60-second rule
Buzzed about in recent years by Korean “skinthusiasts” online, we love the notion of taking a full 60 seconds to thoroughly cleanse skin – then applying a hydrating toner or essence within 60 seconds of cleansing skin as damper skin absorbs products better. Be sure to use a gentle cleanser that doesn’t strip skin dry like the Power Calm Hydrating Gel Cleanser and to massage every nook and cranny of skin. Pro-tip: you can even incorporate a quick lymphatic drainage massage (massage lightly from center of face, towards your outer face, and then sweep down towards your clavicles) as you cleanse.
We hope these tips were helpful, Peaches! As always, if you have any questions, please leave below.
Cheers to radiance!
The Peach & Lily team
