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I am by no means a skincare expert or a dermatologist. I am, however, a fan of minimalism.
Naturally, building a minimal yet effective skincare routine was part of my minimalism journey, which led me to my basic top 5 products to have for smooth, refreshed, and glowing skin.
So, what is Korean Skincare?
A while ago, the popularity of the 10-step Korean skincare routine overtook the beauty industry to achieve the healthy, glowing skin we saw from our favorite K-pop and K-drama idols.
The standard 10 steps looked like this:
- Double cleanse starting with an oil-based cleanser to easily remove makeup.
- Follow with a water-based cleanser to remove remaining impurities.
- Exfoliator to removes dead skin cells (maximum of 2 days per week).
- Apply toner to balance the skin’s pH.
- Apply Essence to hydrate and promote skin repair and cell turnover.
- Apply serums to treat and target specific skin concerns.
- Use sheet masks for intense hydration and nutrients, up to 2 times a week.
- Apply creams such as eye cream to address problem areas.
- Apply moisturizer to lock in moisture.
- Apply sunscreen in the morning for UV ray protection.
Phew! That’s a lot, specially in the morning.
For a while, my morning routine was rolling out of bed, splashing my face with water, brushing my teeth, and combing my hair.
Naturally, the thought of doing a 10-step skincare routine was overwhelming.
In my journey to find a minimalist and more streamlined skincare routine, I found 5 products that worked for me in my morning and night skincare routines.
Minimalist Approach to Korean Skincare
To get started with this, I thought about what were my non-negotiables. At a minimum, I needed to cleanse, hydrate, repair, and protect my skin.
Typically, I pick products that are cruelty-free, vegan, and with clean ingredients. Let’s get started.
Cleanse
My level of cleansing depends if I have makeup to wash off or not.
On days when I’m wearing make-up and need to wash it off, I start with a cleansing balm such as Farmacy’s Natural Cleansing Balm.
Not only are cleansing balms easy to pack for trips, this particular one is cruelty-free and eco-conscious.
Typically, this balm goes for $24.00 for 1.7 fluid ounces. Alternatively, I also like Pacifica’s Wake Up Beautiful Cleansing Balm for under the $20 price point.
For times when I am not wearing makeup and just need a quick face cleanser, one of my favorites is Pacifica’s Vegan Ceramide face wash fragrance-free for sensitive skin.
Hydrate
One of the key ingredients in many hydrating serums is Hyaluronic Acid.
The Ordinary’s Hyaluronic Acid Serum is great for most skin types and is available in many stores like Ulta or Target.
Repair
You may notice a pattern here: I love The Ordinary products.
Their products are cruelty-free and most are vegan. Their products are also straight to the point – no fillers, and easy to understand what is of their products do on their website.
Additionally, rack up those rewards points on Ulta or Target since they carry them there.
For the repair step of the routine, The Ordinary’s Niacinamide Serum is great for targeting large pores and oily skin.
You can also use it for day or in conjunction with the nightly serum.
For the night routine, Retinol is a powerhouse for skin repair.
Please use caution when initially getting started with Retinol: only use every other night for a week first, and work up to nightly.
To further cut down the risk of skin reaction, use using niacinamide before applying retinol can help as well.
When you’re first getting started with Retinol, start with a low percentage, like The Ordinary’s 0.2% Retinol in Squalane.
I recommend staying in this percentage until you finish the bottle, or for at least 3 months before moving on to a higher retinol percentage.
When you think your skin is ready, you can move on to The Ordinary’s Retinol 1% in Squalane.
Eventually, you can work your way to The Ordinary’s Granative Retinoid 2% in Squalane.
Protect
If you remember anything from this post, it’s this: DAILY SUNSCREEN IS ESSENTIAL!
For over 5 years now, I’ve used Pacifica products. One of my favorite is Pacifica’s Vegan Collagen SPF 30 Broad Spectrum Face Lotion.
For the night, it’s beneficial to moisturize skin with a peptide night cream.
Be careful when choosing peptide creams such as copper peptides, which may have an adverse effect when paired with retinol.
A good choice is DERMA-E’s Skin Restore Advanced Peptide Night Cream.
Building Your Morning and Night Routines
Morning
If your skin is still clean from last night and you have dry skin, washing your face with only water is enough.
However, cleanse with face wash to remove the oils you’ve produced in your sleep.
- Cleanse
- Serum/Acids.
- Moisturizer/Sunscreen.
Night
- Cleansing Balm
- Face Wash
- Serums
- Retinol
- Night Cream
That’s my skincare routine as I work through my minimalism journey.
Good luck and have fun! Let me know any thoughts or suggestions in the comments below!