Korean Beauty Trends You Never Knew Existed

Writer and expert6 years ago

We love reading about how everyone's usin' Korean beauty products on instagram, but have you ever though about how they use them differently to what we're used to? These are the Korean beauty trends you never knew you had to try... until now, anyway.

Korean Beauty Trends

Snail Mucin

No need to head into the garden babes, this kinda weird K-beauty trend comes bottled and in the post, direct from HQhair. Featuring snail mucin, this ingredient focuses on anti-ageing and making sure your skin looks smooth AF.

Added benefits include it helping with acne scarring and it being a great choice for all skin types.

Glass Skin

In short, glass skin is all about having flawless-looking, natural skin. So smooth it looks like glass.

The focus here is on pore-minimising and hydrating products, all helping you to attain that no makeup makeup look.

Cloudless Skin

Not so much a trend, more skin goals, cloudless skin is all about having naturally "perfect" skin, without flaws, discolouration or any change to your complexion.

Most Korean beauty products will aim to get you to this point, however we've dropped our faves below, including those with an emphasis on anti-pollution and external aggressors.

Jamsu

Absolute babe Bella Hadid swears by it, but this K-beauty trend isn't one for everyday. This technique focuses on giving you a flawless matte finish to your makeup, which will last all day.

Apply your base like usual, and finish with a thick layer of finishing powder. Before you apply makeup to your eyes or eyebrows, slowly drop your face into a bowl of cool water, making sure you wet everywhere you've applied the powder. After you've wet your whole face, carefully pat your skin dry with a cloth, leaving you with a flawless finish.

An odd beauty trend, but maybe a refreshing option during this heatwave.

Golden Phase Skin

You know the saying "time of the month"? Well, it's about to get a whole new meaning. Apparently, one week of the month your skin will appear dewier, brighter and generally better due to the body's regenerating properties. Think of it like the golden hour, but for your skin.

K-beauty products aim to make your skin look like fresh erryday. Look out for the ones that are "regenerating", as these will be able to pep you up just as much as a chocolate bar can when you're going through PMT the week before...

Seven Step Hair Routine

A ten step skincare routine? Please, this is old news. If you needed an excuse to indulge in some new hair products, then this Korean beauty trend has got your back.

Much like they apply logic to the OTT skincare routine, K-beauty aims to care for your hair from the skin out. Starting with looking after the scalp, every level of this haircare routine will work to promote hair health and cleanse.

1. Scalp exfoliation

Help to cleanse your skin and hair from product build up with a scalp exfoliator a few times a week. We love this one by Christophe Robin that features sea salt and smells divine.

2. Shampoo

Of course, shampoo features in this haircare routine. Cleanse your hair right up to the roots with a selection of Korean shampoos.

3. Scalp massage

The next step is to ensure that you massage your scalp. Not only is this hella' relaxing, but it also helps to stimulate blood flow and promote growth.

4. Conditioner

Add extra hydration and help to smooth follicles with the help of a conditioner. We've selected our all time faves below.

5. Scalp tonic

Antibacterial and creating an optimum environment to promote thick and healthy hair, scalp tonics are a great addition to any haircare routine.

6. Scalp serum

Much like you'd use a serum as part of your standard skincare routine, scalp serums can penetrate deeper layers of the skin due to their smaller molecular makeup. We love this one by Grow Gorgeous, which also promises to help stimulate growth.

7. Heat protector

Much like the use of Korean sunscreen, heat protection and SPF protection sprays are really important in K-beauty haircare routines. To discover more, read our guide to the best heat protection sprays.

Plus, they'll aim to deeply condition their hair with a hair mask around once a week.

Bar Soap

We're not saying to unwrap that unloved pack of bar soap at the back of your bathroom cabinet, but one of K-beauty's hottest trends is throwin' it back to one of our most used products as a kid.

Unlike the bar soaps in a #TBT post, these new ones won't strip your skin of essential oils, and are packed with all of the good stuff. We're talkin' natural oils.

Dive into our edit of the best bar soaps below: