The Complete Korean Skin Care Routine | 2018

Over the last few years, the Western world has become fascinated with everything Korean. From kimchi and bibimbap to K-pop and K-beauty, Korean culture is taking the world by storm.

Korean skin care, especially, is all the rage right now—and for good reason. Following a Korean skin care regimen is the secret to beautiful, younger-looking skin. Korean skin care is so much more than just a fad—it’s a legit beauty routine that provides incredible results!

In this post, the beauty experts at SiO reveal the complete 10-step Korean skin care routine. If you’re as obsessed with skin care as we are, this is beauty advice that you simply cannot miss!

The Philosophy Of Korean Skin Care

In Korea, skin care is more than just a nightly routine—it’s a lifestyle. There are plenty of American beauty blogs out there recounting tales of week-long experiments with a Korean skin care routine.

Inevitably, the author raves about the results and recommends that all their readers “try” a Korean skin care routine too. We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but a seven-day trial with a K-beauty routine is not exactly the way Korean women achieve gorgeous, porcelain-like skin.

Sticking to a Korean skin care routine for seven days and then stopping is pretty much the same thing as going on a week-long detox and then immediately returning to a diet of junk food and soda. It’s just not a recipe for long-term results.

There are two key elements to the philosophy of Korean skin care, and both need to be followed for prolonged skin care beauty results. The first is the belief that caring for your skin is a way of life, not just a trend. That means making time for your skin in the mornings and the evenings.

It’s tough when you lead a busy life—trust us, we understand! But it’s about priorities. If beautiful skin matters to you, you’ll find an extra ten minutes in the mornings and evenings to get your skin care on.

And just to be clear, there’s much more to this part of the Korean skin care philosophy than cleansing and moisturizing. Remember the whole “way-of-life” thing? Well, Korean skin care is also about living a healthy lifestyle!

Here are some things you can do to keep your skin smooth and youthful:

• Eat lots of anti-aging foods 
• Drink plenty of water
• Add beauty supplements to your diet
• Get plenty of beauty sleep every night
• Exercise for 30 minutes at least three times per week
• Wear SiO Beauty patches every night while you sleep to fight the effects of aging

The second component of the Korean skin care philosophy is a focus on preventing problems before they happen. In medical speak, this is called preventative medicine. Basically, take great care of your skin all the time to prevent blemishes and dry skin from forming in the first place.

This is completely opposite of the approach most U.S. women take to skin care. Too many of us do the bare minimum until we notice wrinkles or ashy skin, and then it’s a mad dash to the pharmacy to find something to treat the problem. But this isn’t the Korean approach to achieving beautiful, glowing skin long-term.

So, have we Seoul’d you on Korean skin care yet? Perfect. Keep reading to learn all the steps to the complete Korean skin care routine!

The Korean Skin Care Routine For Gorgeous Skin

As we noted earlier, the Korean skin care routine consists of 10 steps. But not every single one of these steps needs to be done each day. For instance, you should double-cleanse every evening, but you’ll only need to exfoliate once or twice per week.

Let’s talk about each stage of the Korean skin care routine and walk through the process, step-by-step. Here we go!

1) Wash With An Oil Cleanser

The first step in Korean skin care is to cleanse your face with an oil-based cleanser. Oil cleansers, sometimes called cleansing oils, are miracle-workers at gently removing makeup, moisturizer, sunscreen, and any other products.

Pro tip: don’t wet your hands or face before lathering on an oil cleanser. If your face is wet, the oil won’t be able to cleanse your skin. (Think of what happens to oil if you pour it into a glass of water.)

2) Use A Foaming Cleanser

Now that you’ve cleared all the products off your face with an oil cleanser, you’re ready to cleanse your skin with a gentle, foaming cleanser. This will actually clean all the dirt and sweat from your pores. That’s why double cleansing is so crucial!

3) Exfoliate

OK, so you’ve removed all your products and cleansed your skin. That means it’s time to clear away all the dead skin cells from the surface of your skin. Use a natural exfoliator, and remember to lather gently.

Exfoliating is (obviously) not required daily. In fact, you only need to exfoliate once or twice per week, depending on your skin type. If your skin tends to be dehydrated, once a week is plenty. If you have an oily skin type, exfoliating twice (or even three times) a week is ideal.

4) Pat On A Toner

The next step in the complete Korean skin care routine is patting on a toner. Think of a toner like a base coat. It will balance your skin’s pH level and prep your skin for all the other products you’re about to treat it with.

5) Apply Some Essence

Essence is a product at the heart of Korean skin care. It’s similar to toner, but it has a higher concentration of active ingredients—like hyaluronic acid and glycerin—that are meant to penetrate more deeply into your skin.

You also apply essence differently than you do toner. Instead of soaking a cotton ball or tissue with the product and then applying it to your skin, you simply pat (not massage) essence into your face with your bare hands.

Simply put, essence brightens up your skin and gives you that wonderful radiance you’re after. It does this by adding hydration to your skin and helping younger skin cells shine through.

6) Use The Serum That’s Best For You

Serums tend to have more active ingredients than most of the other products in a Korean skin care routine. That’s why it’s important to choose a serum that’s right for your skin!

If you want to get rid of wrinkles, look for a serum with retinol, hyaluronic acid, and plenty of vitamins. And if you’re serious about your wrinkle-fighting regiment, wear SiO Beauty patches to get real results. SiO Beauty patches are clinically proven to reduce wrinkle depth in as little as one night!

7) Mask Up

We probably don’t need to tell you how important facial masks are. It’s no secret that masking is a great way to reduce redness, fight acne, boost hydration, and treat wrinkles.

Typically, a Korean skin care routine calls for sheet masks packed with vitamins and minerals. But there are other types of Korean face masks you can try too. We encourage experimentation!

Find the mask that provides the best results for your unique skin. We recommend masking once or twice per week.

8) Moisturize

No surprises here. Moisturizing is a step that can’t be skipped in a Korean skin care routine. While you should definitely moisturize every morning and every evening, you’ll want to apply a few times throughout the day, as well.

9) Dab On A Little Eye Cream

After toner, essence, and serum, you might not think it’s necessary to apply eye cream. But it is! If you want to avoid crow’s feet and eye lines, you’d better not skip this step. Just make sure to apply your eye cream the right way.

10) Protect Your Skin From The Sun

This is yet another step that some ladies are tempted to skip, especially when it’s cloudy or chilly outside. But applying sunscreen is essential every single day! The sun’s UV rays can seriously damage your skin, so applying SPF is super important.

Wear SiO Beauty Pads

While they might not be part of a traditional Korean skin care routine, SiO Beauty pads are an easy, effective way to boost hydration and reduce wrinkle depth. In fact, they’re clinically proven to do exactly that!


SiO Beauty patches are available for your neck and brow, as well as the edges of your mouth and eyes. If you want to achieve smooth, beautiful skin, follow the 10-step Korean skin care routine and start wearing SiO Beauty patches tonight!