The Glass Skin Guide: Korean Skincare for Beginners

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3.23.2024

By: Rosemarie Jacob

Korean skincare has been in the spotlight ever since the beginning of the pandemic when skincare content exploded.

Korea has been a pioneer of culture, from K-pop to kimchi showing up on TikTok influencer videos, but nothing compares to the impact of Korean skin. Starting with the glass skin look, this described skin that is so clear, so smooth and free of blemishes, it almost looks like glass.

This trend saw a plethora of copycat terms, like glazed-donut skin or vampire skin, also coming into the fold. It all comes down to the same idea: skin that is taut and hydrated, looking like a smooth surface that reflects light off its glossy exterior.

Curating a routine can be confusing, especially if you’re a beginner. The benefit of K-beauty is that it is relatively cheaper with more advanced formulations compared to many Western products, though other regions have been trying to copy the type of products coming out of Korea.

K-beauty also uses unique, beautiful ingredients like tiger grass, lotus water, black rice, green tea and more to really nourish the skin and provide the building blocks to maintaining a healthy skin barrier. Below is a guide to the order and type of products in a solid K-beauty routine.

The array of products available can be overwhelming and cause confusion to those new to skincare. Photo by Rosemarie Jacob.

Cleansing

Cleansing is oftentimes the most damaging step of a skincare routine. While you want to remove all traces of makeup and pollution from the day’s activities, you also don’t want to strip your skin of all its natural oils. Korean beauty has pioneered the double cleansing method, consisting of an oil-based first cleanser followed by a water-based second cleanser, to accomplish this delicate balance.

First Step: Oil Cleansing

For the first cleanse, you use a cleansing oil or cleansing balm. It is as it sounds, an oily product that breaks down your makeup and sunscreen as you massage it with dry hands onto dry skin.

Popular products:

Beauty of Joseon Ginseng cleansing oil
Iunik Calendula Complete cleansing oil
Purito From Green cleansing oil
Beauty of Joseon Radiance cleansing balm
I’m from fig cleansing balm
Pyunkang Yul Deep Clear cleansing balm
Numbuzin No. 3 cleansing balm

Second Step: Water-Based Cleanser

Known as the second cleanse or water-based cleanser, this is the cleanser most Western audiences are familiar with. K-beauty focuses on gentle cleansers, mainly to remove any residue leftover from your first cleanse, as well as infrequent cleanses to prevent overwashing the skin. If you don’t feel too greasy in the mornings, consider just rinsing your face with water before going on to the next steps.

In regards to cleanser strength, start with a gentle, creamy cleanser, such as the Isntree Yam Root Vegan cleansing milk. If you feel that is not enough, move up to a gel cleanser, such as the Heimish All Clean Green Foam. You could also mix and match; if you need to cleanse twice a day, see if a gentle cleanser can be used in the morning and the more heavy-duty one at night. A seasonal approach could also work; in the drier months of fall and winter, stick to creamier cleansers to keep your skin moisturized. Once the humidity starts to pick up, break out the gel cleansers that can give you a deeper clean.

Popular products, organized roughly by most gentle to least gentle:

Isntree Yam Root Vegan Milk cleanser
Sioris Cleanse Me Softly Milk cleanse
Heimish All Clean Green Foam
Beauty of Joseon Green Plum Refreshing cleanser
Rovectin Aqua Gentle cleansing gel
Abib Deep Clean Foam cleanser
Torriden Balanceful cleansing gel

Creamy cleansers are better for dry skin, while a gel cleanser can suit those who are more oily. Photo by Rosemarie Jacob.

Hydration Station

That glossy sheen that always radiates off classic glass skin is never from grease, but rather the healthy glow of extreme hydration. This seems to plump out fine lines and have skin looking radiant. The K-beauty secret to this is toners and essences. They seem very similar and are often used interchangeably, though there are slight differences.

Third Step: Toners

Toners are extremely watery, runny, and easy to adopt into any routine. After cleansing, simply splash some toner into your hands and pat it in or pour it from the bottle directly onto your face. The seven-skin method used to be popular, where people would put on seven layers of toner to achieve maximum hydration, but one or two layers is more than enough. Toners are mainly composed of water and typical hydrating compounds like hyaluronic acid and glycerin, but additional ingredients like green tea or rice ensure your skin will be replenished of any moisture lost in the cleansing step.

Popular products:

Benton Deep Green Tea toner
Goodal Vegan Rice Milk Moisturizing toner
Jumiso Waterfull Hyaluronic toner
Mixsoon Bifida toner
HaruHaru Wonder Black Rice toner
P.Calm Barrier Cycle toner
Hyggee Own Vegan Calming toner
SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Toning toner

Fourth Step: Essences

Essences are unique from toners because the superstar ingredient is ferments. The craze behind this product most likely originated from the SK-II Pitera essence. Rumor has it that workers in a sake brewery were noted for their incredibly youthful, soft hands, especially compared to their relatively aged faces. The fermented yeast was found to be responsible, which workers would mix by hand all day long. This specific ferment was isolated as Saccharomycopsis and formulated into the very expensive Pitera essence. Luckily, many other strains of skin-beneficial bacteria have also been found, and are available for purchase in a variety of well-formulated, affordable products.

Special Treatment

This next section is more about the ingredients rather than the product they are formulated in. The treatment step is where specific problems are targeted, whereas most other steps are simply for routine maintenance. You may want to target skin issues like acne or dark spots, or perhaps try to reverse fine lines and wrinkles that have started cropping up around your face.

This is where active ingredients come into play. The details are a bit complicated and have a lot of overlap, but focusing on a few points can get you started on your skincare journey. Active ingredients can be present in any step of the routine, from cleansers to toners to creams. Even some sunscreens nowadays have some of these specialized ingredients to lure in more customers looking for an all-in-one solution to their skincare woes.

However, most people do not need to use active ingredients every day, so it is best to keep them in a step that you can remove from your routine when not needed. I find my actives are best suited to the serum stage, to give me a potent dose of the ingredient in a product I can easily incorporate a few times a week, while products like cleansers and moisturizers that are necessary on a daily basis are kept plain.

Fifth Step: Serums

Now, many K-beauty serums are just extensions of toners and essences, which is why these three steps blur together for many people and doing all of them can end up being overkill. The trick is to get a serum with active ingredients in it, compounds different from the regular hydrating ones. These chemicals are ‘actively’ working to improve your skin, and include exfoliating acids and retinoids.

Chemical exfoliants are used to speed up skin cell turnover, the most popular being alpha hydroxy acids and beta hydroxy acids, commonly referred to as AHAs and BHAs. Retinoids include gentle retinol derivatives all the way to prescription-strength retinoic acid, its most potent form, all of which are great for anti-aging. Vitamin C can also be considered an active, extremely useful for sacrificing itself to neutralize free radicals that lurk in the atmosphere and wreak havoc on skin.

K-beauty’s overall philosophy is about a softer approach to skin, so it has only recently delved into the world of these potentially irritating ingredients. However, this makes Korean skincare an excellent place for beginners to shop for actives, since K-beauty products still encompass the gentle, well-rounded ideology that is meant to slowly nurse your skin to health, as opposed to blasting a pimple off your face ProActive-style.

To keep it simple, focus on exfoliating acids or retinoids at night and antioxidants like Vitamin C in the morning. While antioxidants can be used everyday in conjunction with sunscreen, most people will not need to use exfoliating acids or retinol products more than a few times a week. Do not use retinoids and AHAs/BHAs together. Start with once a week, and then slowly build, giving rest days in between to treat your skin with more soothing products.

Alpha hydroxy acids are water-soluble and slough off the top layer of skin cells to reveal the new cells underneath. AHAs include glycolic acid, lactic acid, mandelic acid, and many others. Beta hydroxy acid will penetrate deeper, as they are oil-soluble, and are beneficial for those with acne.

Popular products:

Isntree Chestnut BHA 2% Clear Liquid
Some By Mi AHA-BHA-PHA 30 Day Miracle serum
Cosrx AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid
Isntree Hyper Acid AHA BHA PHA LHA 30 serum
Nacific Pink AHA BHA serum

Retinoids all stem from Vitamin A, one of the most studied ingredients in skincare. It is also incredibly potent, and slowly introducing it into your routine will most benefit your skin with limited irritation.

Popular products:

Cos de BAHA Retinol serum
Some By Mi Retinol Intense Activating serum
Anua Nano Retinol 0.3% + Niacin Renewing serum
Isntree Hyper Retinol EX 1.0
Heimish Marine Care Retinol serum

Antioxidants do as their name implies, work as a foil to oxidants that can potentially damage the skin. Vitamin C is arguably the most popular antioxidant, and a great addition to use in the morning with sunscreen to protect your skin from UV damage.

Lock It In

After cleansing, hydrating and treatment, the last thing you want is to lose all that hard work by leaving all that goodness you just applied vulnerable to transepidermal water loss, known as TEWL. Locking in the hydration is key to preventing TEWL and keeping everything you just applied on your skin and able to work its magic. A good moisturizer should do the trick, but if you want to go the extra mile, add in a few drops of oil to wake up in the morning with glowing skin.

Sixth Step: Moisturizer

This is a familiar step to most people, but there are quite an array of moisturizers available on the market today. If you are oily, go for lightweight gel creams that sink into the skin. If you lean dry, opt for a richer moisturizer with ingredients like shea butter or plant oils that will leave you nourished and protected. K-beauty offers moisturizers for every skin type.

Popular products, organized roughly from lightest to heaviest:

Iunik Centella Calming Gel cream
Rovectin Calming Lotus cream
Torriden Dive-In Low Molecule HA Soothing cream
Purito Deep Sea Water cream
Mary&May Idebenone Blackberry Intense cream
Mixsoon bean cream
Make p:rem Safe Me Relief cream
SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Pro-bio Cica Enrich cream
Dear Klair’s Midnight Blue Calming cream
Medicube Triple Collagen cream

Seventh Step: Oil

A simple, one ingredient oil can really take your skincare to the next level. Even those who feel they are already producing too much oil may benefit, depending on which product they choose. Either mix a few drops into your moisturizer or put the oil directly on your face to seal in hydration.

Popular products:

Purito Plainet Squalane oil
Aromatica Organic Rosehip oil
Aromatica Organic Golden Jojoba oil
Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Facial oil
Rovectin Skin Essentials Barrier Repair Face oil

A few drops of oil can lock in moisture and prevent TEWL. Photo by Enecta on Unsplash.

The Final Protector

Morning Step: Sunscreen

If there is one product to venture outside of the Western markets for, it’s sunscreen. Unfortunately in the United States, our sunscreen filters have not been updated since the ‘90s, so sunscreen manufacturers are very limited in what they can use in their products. This is in stark difference to the K-beauty world, where Korean manufacturers have been innovating and approving incredible UV filters to be formulated into beautiful sunscreens.

This step is not to be taken lightly. Sunscreen is an anti-cancer drug, and should be applied every single day, rain or shine, sun or snow. Every single step you do at night will essentially be negated if you can’t bother to slap on some sunscreen in the morning. Luckily, Korean sunscreens are a joy to use. The innovative filters combined with top-notch formulation guarantee a pleasant experience. The sunscreens often just feel like regular moisturizers, and therefore you can oftentimes skip a moisturizer in the morning and jump straight into sun protection.

Sunscreens use chemical or mineral filters, with some opting to combine both into a hybrid formulation. Mineral filters are often touted as better for those with sensitive skin, but they usually leave a white cast on the skin, making it not an option for those with more melanin. Chemical sunscreens are usually invisible, but the U.S. filters often sting the eyes or skin, making them undesirable to many.

Korean technology has therefore swept in and created a plethora of options to choose from, preferably an SPF 50++++. In the morning, you can skip most of the previous steps unless you feel otherwise inclined. I simply rinse my face with water and apply my antioxidant vitamin C serum, waiting for my face to fully dry before sealing it in with sunscreen. You want to apply sun protection 10-15 minutes before applying makeup or venturing outside, giving the product a chance to set and form its protective film over your face.

Popular products:

Isntree Watery Sun Gel
Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun
Purito Daily Go-To Sunscreen
Numbuzin No. 1 Clear Filter Sunscreen
SKIN1004 Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum
B.Lab Matcha Hydrating Real Sunscreen
Scinic Enjoy Super Mild Sun Essence
HaruHaru Wonder Black Rice Moisture AiryFit Daily Sunscreen

Liberally apply sunscreen to protect your skin from harmful UV rays, no matter what the season or weather. Photo by Philippe Murray Pietsch on Unsplash.

Some Final Tips

Start with the basics of a cleanser, toner, and moisturizer for the evening. In the morning cleanse if you need to before applying an antioxidant and sunscreen. Slowly add in products only after patch testing to make sure it doesn’t cause irritation. If you start with 20 different steps right away and have a bad reaction, it will be difficult to isolate which product was responsible.

Do not dry your face after cleansing since your remaining products will soak in better on damp skin. Used towels can also quickly accumulate bacteria, so it is best to avoid introducing potential microbes to a freshly cleansed face.

Do not buy skincare products from Amazon, as there is a notorious issue with fakes. Authentic Korean beauty retailers like StyleVana, YesStyle, StyleKorean, or Olive Young have everything you could want, often for a fraction of the price you would see in American stores.

Most importantly, don’t stress about the pimples or wrinkles that will inevitably still come from a variety of other factors, even if you are diligently doing a 10-step routine every night. The goal of a routine is partly about keeping your skin looking its best, but it is also a moment of self-care, a chance to get to know your largest organ and doing what you can to protect it while still leading a full life. After all, the alternative to aging isn’t good.

Aging is a wonderful part of life that not everyone is lucky enough to experience. Photo by Loren Joseph on Unsplash.

Cheat Sheet

	Oil Cleanse	Breaks down stubborn makeup and sunscreen
	Cleanser	Removes any remaining residue
	Toner	Hydrates
	Essence	Anti-aging benefits with fermented ingredients
	Serum	Active compounds like exfoliants and retinoids to target specific concerns
	Moisturizer	Locks in hydration
	Oil	Locks in hydration

The Glass Skin Guide: Korean Skincare for Beginners