The Asian Skin Care Routine – Products & Layering

There are anywhere from 5-10 steps in a Korean or Japanese skin care routine.  Each of these products is applied by patting it gently into the skin with your fingers. Some people like to use a light massage technique, which stimulates the circulation in your face. The nice thing about this layering technique is that you are not obligated to use Asian skin care products to do it. You can use whatever you have at home, or whatever is most accessible in your geographic location. I personally tend to use a mix of Korean, Japanese, American, and French products. Here’s a quick look at the order of the Asian skin care steps, a general description of the product types, and some Asian product recommendations:
Step 1:  Oil Cleanser or Cleansing Balm

This is a cleanser designed to remove makeup, and is often referred to here as “pre-cleansing.”  Sometimes a cream cleanser is used in place of an oil cleanser, but the oil cleansers do a pretty bang-up job at removing makeup.

Oil cleansers and balms I like:
• Innisfree Apple Juicy Cleansing Oil ($16)
• DHC Deep Cleansing Oil ($26)
• Banila Co. Clean-it Zero Cleansing Balm/Sherbet ($20)
Step 2: Foaming, Milky, or Gel Cleanser

The purpose of this step is to thoroughly clean skin once all makeup has been removed. As with all cleansers, it’s important to ensure you select a cleanser with a pH below 7 since high pH cleansers can damage the skin’s protective barrier. I personally like my cleansers to have a pH between 5 and 6.

Cleansers I like:

• Hanyul Pure Artemesia Cleansing Foam ($26)
• Missha Super Aqua Fresh Cleansing Milk ($13)
• Su:m37 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick ($26)
Step 3: Toner/Skin/Booster

This is where we really start deviating from the Western routine. An Asian toner is not the same as a Western toner. Western toners are designed to provide additional cleansing and tend to have astringent properties. An Asian toner is designed to add moisture to the skin that might be stripped during the cleansing process, and to increase the penetration of additional skin care products. Some brands have separate toners and boosters, in which case the booster is applied first to prepare the skin for more products, followed by the toner, which is designed to soften the skin.  However, in many skin care lines, the toner and booster are the same product.

You have to be quick applying a toner/booster product – once you dry your face, it’s optimal to apply this within 2 seconds. I almost never make the buzzer myself, though, and my face hasn’t fallen off yet.

Toners I like:

• Missha Time Revolution First Treatment Essence ($40)
• Benton Snail Bee High Content Skin ($16)
• Hanyul Rice Balancing Skin Softener ($48)

Step 4: Eye Cream (optional)

If you’re an eye cream fan, you’ll be happy to know that there are a ton of Asian eye creams on the market.  Different skin care lines have different suggestions for when to apply the eye cream, but I’ve noticed a lot of them have you apply the eye cream just after your toner/booster.

Eye creams I like:

• Mizon Snail Repair Eye Cream ($12)
• Missha MISA Gold Snow Radiance Eye Cream ($42)
• Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Eye Cream ($180)
Step 5: Sheet Mask (optional, nighttime only)

Sheet masks are thin cotton sheets soaked in a treatment essence designed to target particular skin problems. There are a huge variety of these available, and they are generally inexpensive. They can do a number of things – some of them are moisturizing, some are exfoliating, some are whitening and some are nourishing. Most sheet masks are meant to be applied after the toner/booster step, and for some people, they replace the essence/serum step. After leaving the mask on the face for 10-15 minutes, gently pat the remaining essence into the skin and then finish your skincare routine as you normally would. Most like to use sheet masks a few times a week, but some people prefer to use them daily.

Sheet masks I like:

• Benton Snail Bee High Content Sheet Mask ($17/10 pcs.)
• My Beauty Diary Imperial Bird’s Nest Mask ($16/10pcs.)
• Klair’s Rich Moist Soothing Mask ($26/10 pcs.)
Step 6: Essence/Serum/Ampoule

An essence is very similar to what we commonly refer to as a serum in the US. In some cases, they’re the same, but usually a serum has a higher concentration of beneficial ingredients. An “ampoule” is generally used to describe a serum-like product with an even denser concentration of beneficial ingredients than a serum, but again, sometimes the terms are used interchangeably. It’s not uncommon to have an essence, serum, and ampoule in a routine, or more than one of any one of the individual product types. They are generally designed to target specific issues, such as hyperpigmentation, dullness, signs of aging, or acne.  There are a few lines that have you apply the essence after the emulsion, but in most cases, the essence comes first.

Essences/serums/ampoules I like:

• Benton Snail Bee High Content Essence ($18)
• Missha Time Revolution Night Repair Science Activator Ampoule ($38)
• OST Pure Vitamin C20 Serum ($19)
Step 7: Emulsion

An emulsion is a moisturizing treatment, which usually has a lotion like consistency. It is meant to moisturize, but also often has a lesser concentration of some of the same actives in the essence. For those with oily skin, or who live in a humid climate, this is the only moisturizing step in the routine. People with drier skin will also apply a cream later.

Emulsions I like:

• Missha Super Aqua Cell Renew Snail Essential Moisturizer ($28)
• Hanyul Rice Essential Emulsion ($50)
• Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Lotion ($20)
Step 8: Spot Treatment (optional)

A spot treatment can be a number of things – acne treatment, whitening serum, wrinkle filler, etc.  For reference, if you use any kind of retinoid, that would fall into this category, as would any type of benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid.

Spot treatments I like:

• Ciracle Red Spot Cream ($18)
• The Face Shop Clean Face Spot Corrector ($8)
• Innisfree Jeju Bija Anti-Trouble Spot Essence R ($18)
Step 9: Cream (optional)

Creams are meant to provide additional moisture. They are generally thicker than emulsions and come in a jar rather then a pump bottle. Many people skip this step, particularly in the morning, but people with drier skin like myself like to include it.
Creams I like:

• Missha Super Aqua Cell Renew Snail Cream ($32)
• Benton Snail Bee High Content Steam Cream ($20)
• Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream ($220)
Step 10: Sleeping Pack (optional, nighttime only)

A sleeping pack, sometimes called a sleeping mask, is a skin treatment that usually comes in a tub or a tube. It’s designed to be applied over the face at night to provide moisture and skin care benefits while you sleep.

Sleeping packs I like:

• Missha Super Aqua Cell Renew Sleeping Mask ($21)
• Laneige Water Sleeping Pack  ($26)
• Sulwhasoo Overnight Vitalizing Mask ($50)
Step 11: Sunscreen (morning only)

As previously mentioned, Asian women go above and beyond when it comes to protecting their skin from UV damage. You’d be hard pressed to find an Asian sunscreen that provides less than SPF 30 protection, with most of them providing SPF 45-50. The thing I like best about both Japanese and Korean sunscreen formulas is how elegant they are. Asian formulas offer high, broad-spectrum UV protection without a heavy, greasy finish, and many of them also avoid the white cast commonly seen in high SPF sunscreens.

Sunscreens I like:

• Biore UV Rich Aqua Watery Essence SPF 50/PA +++ ($13)
• Hadalabo UV Creamy Gel Sunscreen SPF 50/ PA ++++ ($13)
• Missha All-Around Safe Block Sun Essence SPF 45/PA +++

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