South Korea is revered for leading the way when it comes to skincare, with many of the products that we know and love today originating from this part of the world. 

So, if you’re looking for a way to enhance your complexion and power up your skincare routine, it only makes sense to turn your attention to the skincare tips that South Korean women swear by. Keep reading as Lavelier shares some of the K-beauty skincare secrets that you’ll wish you had known about sooner!

Invest in Sheet Masks

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that one of the most commonly heard skincare tips from South Korean women is to invest in sheet masks. After all, sheet masks were invented in South Korea and have always been a much-loved product there. The average woman will have a vast selection of sheet masks to choose from each week. Each one will be designed to help the skin in a different way. Having so many to pick from enables you to go with the formula that your skin needs the most at that time.

If your sheet mask collection has been looking a little sad, it’s time to jazz it up. Start by adding in the Coral Luminous Face & Eye Masque from Lavelier. It’s a hydrogel sheet mask, making it fantastic for when your skin is desperate for a boost of moisture.

The HydroCollagen Lift Mask from our Collagen Cooling Set Limited Edition would also be a worthy investment. This one is designed to tackle the appearance of aging, giving the skin a lifted and firmer finish.

Seek Out Hanbang Ingredients

Hanbang ingredients are ingredients that are used in traditional Korean medicine. This is a practice that dates back thousands of years, cementing its place in South Korean culture. Hanbang ingredients mainly consist of botanical extracts, but there are certain plants that are favored much more than others.

Centella Asiatica, also known as Gotu Kola, is one. This medicinal herb is packed with potent compounds. Studies show that it not only helps to lower the feeling of inflammation in the skin, but also boosts hydration levels.

Tea extracts, both green and white, are popular hanbang ingredients too, as are seaweed and chamomile. 

Wondering if there’s a product that combines all of the above? You’re in luck! The Lavelier Oceana Skin Dew Moisturizer brings together all of those hanbang ingredients, resulting in a silky cream that any K-beauty pro would approve of. It’s a great moisturizer for leaving your skin looking smooth, pore-less, and glassy – something that South Korean women strive for!

Add a Skincare Powder to Your Routine

Skincare powders haven’t yet hit mainstream channels in the Western skincare world. However, South Korean women have been using them for years and often recommend them when sharing skincare tips.

Never heard of them? Imagine a lightweight powder encased in a small jar, just like in the Lavelier Blue Algae Beauty Skincare Duo. To use it, you would empty out a small amount of powder onto your hand. Then, gently rub the powder until it turns into a liquid. You would then apply the liquid to your face, massaging it in until absorbed.

What’s the point? Because certain ingredients don’t store/travel well in liquid form. Keeping them as a solid powder helps to retain their potency. This is exactly why the Blue Algae Regenerating Powder mentioned above is so effective. With Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, which has been proven to boast potent antioxidant properties while reducing the look of inflammation, resveratrol, niacinamide, and more, the powder format enables you to give your skin an ingredient combination that you wouldn’t have otherwise been able to provide.

Sun Protection is Everything

The next of our skincare tips shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, it’s no secret that South Koreans are extremely diligent about sun protection. This is why many choose to carry around parasols on particularly sunny days – those umbrellas act as a physical shield between the skin and the sun’s brute force.

If you’d like to do the same, your skin will thank you. However, even then, South Korean women still make sure that they’ve covered any areas of exposed skin with SPF before stepping out of the house. 

If you’re guilty of neglecting the SPF over the years, find yourself an SPF moisturizer, such as the Lavelier Divine Day Defense SPF 30. This way, when you carry out your morning skincare routine, you’ll be protecting your skin at the same time. You’ll still need to top up your protection throughout the day but this will give you a great start!

Provide Some TLC With a Sleeping Pack

You may think that sleeping packs are another K-beauty product that haven’t yet made it to the Western side of the world but, in fact, they’ve been here for a while. However, they’ve undergone some branding, with most companies now referring to sleeping packs as overnight masks.

As you may have guessed from our other skincare tips, South Korean women love face masks. So, it only makes sense that a mask designed to be worn overnight was going to be a huge hit. The fact that these masks are allowed to remain on the skin for longer than the standard 10-15 minutes enables them to really soak in. All of those potent ingredients have more time to dive down into the deeper layers of your complexion.

If you’d like to add a sleeping pack to your skincare routine, the Lavelier Seagrass Cymosilk Masque won’t disappoint. Remember the hanbang ingredients we mentioned earlier? This mask contains plenty of them. From goji to acai, this mask combines much-loved botanicals with several cutting-edge compounds, including peptides, sodium hyaluronate, and squalane.

Refrigerate Skincare For a Refreshing Boost

If you’re looking for skincare tips that will have your skincare routine feeling more indulgent, you’ll love this one; refrigerating skincare products. While you may not want to do this in the winter, applying chilled products to your skin is the perfect way to perk up the look of your skin.

Of course, this method comes with a couple of other benefits too. The cool temperatures will also work to lower the feeling of inflammation. This will leave your skin looking more balanced.

Even better, many active ingredients remain stable for longer when refrigerated. You may be able to extend the shelf life of your skincare products, ensuring that they retain their potency.

Double (or Triple) Cleanse at Night

When it comes to South Korean skincare tips, you probably expected to see double cleansing on the list. It’s a game-changing technique that first became popular in South Korea before making its way over to Western countries. 

The purpose of double cleansing is to ensure that no impurities are left behind on the skin. An oil-based cleanser is used first to clear away oil-based impurities. This is then followed by a water-based cleanser, such as the Lavelier Biology Mousse Cleanser, to tackle water-based impurities.

With that said, many South Koreans are now taking their cleansing regime a step further by carrying out a triple cleanse. This involves starting with a cleansing tissue or wipe before following up with an oil-based cleanser. Finally, a water-based cleanser or a cleansing foam is used.

Although you don’t need to double or triple cleanse twice a day, doing so in the evenings can be very beneficial. This ensures that you don’t take any dirt, pollutants, or other impurities to bed with you. All of these would have otherwise interfered with how your skin cells naturally regenerate and repair damage while you sleep.

Don’t Exclude Your Neck

Many Western skincare routines focus solely on the face, ignoring the neck. However, this isn’t how things are done in South Korea. Instead, South Korean women usually bring their entire skincare routine down to their neck and chest area, giving this part of the body the same TLC that the face receives.

This makes a huge difference since the skin on the neck and chest is actually very delicate. It’s more similar to the skin on the face than the skin on the rest of the body, meaning that it does best when included in a facial skincare routine.

Of course, you could always go the extra mile and invest in some neck-specific products. The Lavelier Coralline Collagen Firming Neck Cream is an amazing moisturizer that smooths and tightens the appearance of the skin on the neck. Meanwhile, the Coral Smooth + Hydrate Neck & Chest Mask is a hydrogel sheet mask designed specially for the décolletage. 

A 10-Step Skincare Routine is Worth Your Time

The 10-step Korean skincare routine is famous all over the world, yet there are still many skeptics. People argue that a 10-step routine simply isn’t necessary. They say that you can give your skin all that it needs with fewer products.

There’s no denying the truth behind this, but there’s also no denying the fact that 10-step routines can produce some fantastic results too. As many women in South Korea would say, putting the effort into carrying out such a long routine can really pay off in the future.

Of course, when it comes down to it, your skincare routine should ultimately be as long as your skin needs it to be. If you have very sensitive skin that reacts easily to products, a simple routine would be far more beneficial. However, if you have several skin concerns that you’re hoping to address in a short space of time, a longer routine could help you to achieve your skin goals much sooner.

South Korean Skincare Tips From Lavelier

South Korea is known for being a leader when it comes to skincare, so it only makes sense to turn to this country if you’re on the hunt for some new skincare tips. There’s so much that can be learned from the world of Korean skincare, and understanding how to incorporate those different techniques into your own routine and lifestyle is what will bring you the very best results.

Click here to check out more bestselling skincare products from Lavelier.