Anyone who has an interest in Korean skincare has heard that there’s no point because “it’s all genetic”. But is that true? Actually, we have no idea.
An article from the United States National Library of Medicine does describe certain differences in aging and skin problems. Compared to the majority of ethnicities, White people’s lack of melanin on average leads to premature aging. Asian and Caucasian skin had similar levels of trans epidermal water loss, but Asian skin might be more sensitive on average with the weakest skin barrier function. And, in very general terms, Black people are could be more prone to larger pores, increased sebum production and a greater number of the skin’s natural surface microorganisms.
And that’s kind of it. This data is from 2006, and some of the differences observed might be due to environmental factors rather than direct genetics.
There’s no data on acne, rosacea, dark circles, skin texture or post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Which is probably good. After all, the researchers who are deep into the genes of specific ethnicities are often using their data to track humanity’s evolutionary progress across history, which is a little more important.
The lack of research can neither confirm or deny that East Asians have any genetic advantages in skin beauty. Furthermore, skin differences that can be measured could have much more to do with environmental factors like diet and pollution.
Topical Korean Skincare
Ten Steps
The “10 Step Korean Skincare Routine” is the holy grail of beauty rituals and the reason why Korean celebrities have that porcelain-perfect skin.
Except it isn’t.
Korean-American Charlotte Cho came up with the idea in her book – that book itself was an effort to drum up interest in the beauty e-commerce site she had co-founded. In other words, it was marketing. Incredibly effective marketing.
You heard about the 10 Step Korean Skincare Routine probably in the mid to late 2010s. Western beauty magazines and content creators had found a topic they could really latch on to. There were handy infographics made so you could look up whether essence or serum came first. And Korean product exporting sites like Yesstyle got a huge boost from consumers wishing to set up their own daily skin chore. But, for consumers who felt overwhelmed with all these new skincare options, the website SokoGlam was selling 10 Step starter kits for around $200.
Oh, and the website Charlotte Cho was the co-founder of? SokoGlam. We trusted you Charlotte.
Korean Skincare
Although, that’s not to say there was no truth any of what was being posted. Before then, Korean women were still known to have indulgent, multi-step, nightly skin routines. And the intensity by which Korean skincare took the world by storm did create positive change for many Western consumers. Not only was skincare now a nightly experience worth spending time on, but the new products to buy began somewhat of a collector’s frenzy.
The craze encouraged consumers to get to know skincare products down to the ingredient level. Such a rise in informed customers left many Western drugstore giants on the back foot. Korean skincare was also often more aesthetically packaged with a nicer user experience. It’s on this front that Western brands are apparently still unable to compete. Neutrogena’s latest toner looks like a bottle of dish soap.
That doesn’t mean the negatives of Korean beauty culture don’t cross over as well. The rampant overconsumption is destructive. The cycle of micro trends and frequent sales encourages people to constantly be swapping their products in a way that is antithetical to sustainable skin health. And ultimately, it helps to lead people down the road of K-Beauty idealization which can be harmful to a person’s self-esteem if they are a minor, an adult with vulnerabilities, or someone with a susceptibility to mental health disorders.
Topical Skincare – What Works
But what are the actual rules of skincare we should be following?
YouTuber and dermatologist Dr. Usama Syed, in his videos helpfully titled “Why I QUIT Skincare Videos (Dermatologist)” and “The TRUTH About Korean Skincare (Dermatologist)” does present useful lists of active ingredients that have been proven in the research to help with certain skin conditions.
Dr. Syed is seemingly exhausted by the constant product launches and marketing noise, all for products that are recombining the same proven actives over and over in different packaging. He did give the thumbs up to the famous K-Beauty skin ingredients snail mucin and centella asiatica, but was less enthusiastic about others.
But what about things like heartleaf, teatree, fermentations and various fruits? Well, let’s call these “Headline Ingredients”. Sometimes Korean brands will theme their product line around the active it contains, like Vitamin C. However, some brands will design their line around a headline ingredient – something they think they can sell – and put the real active ingredients further down the label.
This is marketing, but it’s also product design. Consumers like having a wide variety of options. Maybe one person doesn’t like cleaning balms and wants to use cleansing oils instead. Some people can’t tolerate artificial scents. Products sold in easy-open packaging or tubs might be more accessible to those with disabilities.
Here is a list of skincare ingredients and topical treatments that have proven efficacy for various skin concerns:
Acne
Benzoyl peroxide 5% (face), 10% (body)
Salicylic acid
Clindamycin + benzoyl peroxide (prescription only)
Retinoid creams: Retinol, Tretinoin (prescription only), Adapalene (prescription only), Tazarotene (prescription only)
Azelaic acid (prescription only)
Pigmentation
Hydroquinone
Lactic acid
Azelaic acid
Vitamin C
Kojic acid
Retinoid creams: Retinol, Tretinoin (prescription only)
Caffeine creams
Steroid creams (prescription only)
Scars
Prescription-strength retanoids (hypertrophic scars)
Redness
Aloe vera
Niacinamide
Chamomile
Resveratrol
Licorice
Sodium sulfacetamide
Sulfur products
Azelaic acid
Bromelain
Dry Skin
Ceramides
Mineral oil
Petrolatum
Hyaluronic acid
Vitamin E
Glycerin
Ammonium lactate
Slow-aging
High SPF Sunscreen
The Basics
Wear sunscreen everyday
Double cleanse at night, especially if you wear makeup or have been sweating
Maintain hygiene by washing your hands and laundering your bedding
Take sensible precautions if you live in a place with bad air pollution
To improve health in general, eat a healthy diet (including water) and exercise regularly
But the above is just a list of ingredients and topical treatments. Some Korean skincare products may have a better user experience, but ultimately you could find the same actives in many places. If you spend any time browsing #kbeauty on social media, you’ll know that individual product hype has been dying down in favor of content about treatments at Seoul’s many dermatology clinics.
Clinics, Chemicals and Lasers
The world of Cosmetic Dermatology in Korea can feel opaque and convoluted. Treatments that aren’t well known to the general public can be given different names from clinic to clinic. This is partially by design, as it can create the opportunity to come up with a marketing name and prevents customers from being able to directly compare across clinics. One clinic’s service named “Ultra Duo Rejuvenation” appears to just be High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound. Another clinic in Gangnam has treatments called the “Girls-Group Injection” and the “Pink Fat Injection”, without any explanation of what substances these actually are (possibly Kybella). They will expedite you through the booking process all before letting you know what exactly they will be injecting you with.
Of course, you should be exercising caution when picking a dermatology clinic. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth going. Especially considering the range of affordable technologies, and the fact that, if there is a real “secret to Korean beauty”, you can find it here:
Acne
Short-term oral antibiotics
Hormonal medications
Isotretinoin (prescription only)
Skin Peels (Aqua, Detox)
Photo Dynamic Therapy
Pigmentation
Light chemical peels
Laser (Pico Toning, Revlite)
Lefilleo injections
Scars
Deep chemical peels (acne scaring)
Laser (Pico Toning, Revlite, Secret Laser, eTwo, excelV) (acne scarring)
Microneedling (acne scarring)
Redness
Laser (Various)
Slow-Aging
Ultracol pills
Laser (eTwo Laser, excel V laser)
Injectables (Ellanse injections, Juvelook injections, Juvederm injections)
Ultherapy
Thermage (RF)
HIFU
Rejuran
The Secret
And above is contained the actual “secret”. Many Korean people can, at affordable prices, see a licensed dermatologist and get their recommended prescription, injection, chemical peel or laser treatment on the same day. Going to see a cosmetic dermatologist is something that some cultures consider gauche, or at least, not something for ordinary people.
Many dermatology clinics will try to attract foreign patients with (suspicious) claims that “K-Pop stars and Korean celebrities” go there. In reality they probably don’t, but they certainly are going to a dermatologist somewhere. It’s not something unique to Korea that celebrities can have skin treatments on even a weekly basis. The highest paid actors and musicians can keep someone in their employ just for skin or aging-related concerns. All pictures are manipulated to make the star appeal to a certain pre-determined image. But the editing of video has now come on a huge way, leading to production companies being able to edit out an actor’s skin flaws frame-by-frame.
If you want celebrity skin, you can’t have it.
Nobody can compete with this.
Maximize What You Have Over Chasing Perfection
The best thing for us non-famous people to do is to reset our skin expectations. Your skin can have bumps, scars or PIHP and still be healthy. We often think that perfect skin is the baseline for healthiness, but actually flawed skin is the real normal. It’s not wrong to want to make your skin look better for entirely cosmetic reasons. But carefully decide how much money and time you’re willing to put into your skin, and try to maximize outcomes based on that. Using skincare products with efficacy-proven ingredients and doing anything more serious only after seeing a board-certified dermatologist.
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