Korean Skin Care Routine and Skin Actives"

By now you have probably heard about the Korean Skin Care Routine. Everyone seems to be talking about it, and it can no longer be looked at as a passing fad. At this point Korean Skin Care is nothing short of a trend. The goal of the Korean Skin Care Routine is to give you clear, smooth skin. But shouldn’t any good routine be doing the same thing?

At Skin Actives, we did some investigation to make sure we weren’t missing anything new. Guess what? We aren’t. The Korean Skin Care Routine is just that, a routine. It can be done with any skin care products you prefer.

Some of us may already be doing it without knowing it.

What is the 10 Step Korean Skin Care Routine?

As with anything nowadays, there are a number of competing sources trying to define exactly what the Korean skin care routine is. We’ve gone through them and summed it up for you. Here is a basic overview:

• Step 1: Oil Cleansing to remove dirt and makeup – the Korean skin care routine calls for a double cleanse. First with an oil cleanser such as our Skin Actives Cleansing Oil. Our nourishing blend of oils will clean your skin while not stripping it of its natural oils. Massage some cleansing oil into your skin and rinse until clean.
• Step 2: Water Cleansing to remove sweat and dirt – Washing your face with a good quality cleanser targeted to your skin type and needs will get that deep clean you are looking for. Skin Actives has a cleanser for everyone. Try our Daily Cleansing Gel if you are looking for a place to start and see how it works for you!
• Step 3: Exfoliate to remove dead skin cells and rejuvenate your skin – Exfoliation on a regular basis is important but you don’t need to use a harsh exfoliator every day. If you do, a light exfoliation like Vitamin A Cream is gentle enough for every-day use. Remember that Vitamin A products can only be applied at night, because the actives respond to the light of the sun. Whenever you are exfoliating, no matter how mild, safety comes first!
• Step 4: Toner to remove excess residue and balance skin ph – With a double cleansing routine, we feel like a toner may not be necessary but if you like the toner step, Skin Actives offers toners with added nutrients to make sure you are nourishing your skin and not stripping it of nutrients. Use your choice of toner once or twice a day as needed.
• Step 5: Apply your favorite Serums to you face and neck – If there is a “must do” step, this is it. Skin Actives has a wide variety of serums for different needs. Collagen Serum is our top selling product and is packed full of antioxidants, nutrients and key actives to supply your skin with everything it needs to be healthy and beautiful. Our long time customers love it, and we think that you will too.
• Step 6: Treatments for specific skin care concerns – this could be a lot of different things for different people. Our Brow & Lash Serum, Zitender, Skin Brightening Cream for age spots, all fit the bill. But these are just a few. Whatever your skin needs, Skin Actives will have a treatment solution for you.
• Step 7: Sheet Mask for moisturizing and nourishing your skin – sheet masks make your skin feel great and they are fun to do, but let’s face it, who has 20 minutes twice a day to sit with a sheet mask on their face? No one we know! Here’s the thing, if you have some spare time for some self care you should definitely do it. If you are on the go in the morning, consider opting for some Every Lipid Serum or an Anti-Aging HydraMist for the additional hydration your skin craves.
• Step 8: Eye Cream to protect the delicate skin around the eyes - Since the skin around the eyes is delicate, many serums and treatments can irritate it. Therefore, adding an eye cream that is gentle and addresses the puffiness and dark circles that can occur around the eyes is essential for skin health. Skin Actives Triple Action Eye Cream is a fan favorite in this capacity.
• Step 9: Moisturize – Finally we are to the point of moisturizing your skin. This is also a very important step that we don’t want you to skip regardless of your skin type. We have moisturizers for every skin type, for oily or combination skin, we suggest Hyaluronic Acid Serum. For normal skin, we have Hyaluronic Acid Gel. The Ultimate Moisturizing Cream is perfect for dry skin. And for aging skin, we recommend the Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizer. No matter which you choose, you can’t go wrong.
• Step 10: Sunscreen – This last step is critical to skin health, and to your health overall. It’s difficult to overstate the importance of protecting your skin from the sun’s UV rays. Everyone probably knows this by now, but the question is: does everyone do anything about it? There is more than one way to get your spf. We recommend buying a light sunscreen specifically for your face. Your foundation or makeup may have added spf and some moisturizers and day creams may have it as well. Look for our new Advanced Ageless Day Cream with spf 20 launching soon!



Whew! I bet that all seems like a lot. When you lay it all out like that it can seem daunting. The thing is, aside from the mask element, the Korean Skin Care Routine is basically the same steps of layering that Skin Actives has been advocating for years. If we take a second and de-mystify the concept, we see that the routine presented above is just based on comprehensive, complete skin health. So, you don’t need special products. You don’t need fancy buzzwords. As with all things Skin Actives, you may already have the products that you need on the counter in your bathroom!

How Often Do I Do The Korean Skin Care Routine

Finding the right balance of taking care of your skin is always a challenge. Obviously there are steps you are going to take every day, and you would if you were using the Korean Skin Care Routine or not. But in certain cases, as we’ve always said, less is more. You certainly should not be immersing yourself in a full on exfoliator twice a day, every day. Most experts say that you should limit exfoliation to between one and three times a week, with the sheet mask being rotated in to preference only.

That said, a lot of what you’ll find in the Korean Skin Care routine is just fundamental good skincare. You are probably already cleansing daily and applying SPF daily, what looks like a lot of extra steps is really just adding a couple new products to your regimen. Additionally, with every step except the SPF layer, the Korean Skin Care Routine works one step right after the other, so the process of applying eye cream can be done morning and night without difficulty.

Why Is Korean Skin Care Routine Effective

The Korean Skin Care Routine is effective because it’s based on solid, consistent skin care that has stood the test of time. You don’t need to use specific products or gimmicky application tools. Really the Korean Skin Care Routine is just a formula for taking good care of your skin laid out step by step.

Why is this way of taking care of yourself getting so much attention right now? Well, it’s always easy to brand an idea when you associate it with a faraway land. This kind of marketing was very popular in the last century and continues today. In our current age of Instagram selfies and obsessing over travel blogs, doesn’t it always seem like there is something interesting happening somewhere else, to someone else? Taking the fundamentals of a solid skincare routine, putting into easy to follow steps and giving it an exotic sounding name makes us feel connected to something that is outside our lives, but is really just good sense for us anyway. And that’s fine! Naming these step Korean Skin Care gives it a convenient shorthand that you can use to describe your regimen, and really that’s what communication is all about!

Check out all the products necessary to bring this skin routine to life in our webstore right now. Standard shipping anywhere in the United States is absolutely free! Also, if you enjoyed this blog post, take a look at the others in our series. We’re certain that you will find more information to help make you your own skin health expert.