This story is part of the August 18 edition of Sunday Life. See all 15 stories . The 10-step skincare routine is entwined in South Korean beauty culture and we are all the luckier for it.
It goes like this: start with a double cleanse using a balm or oil cleanser to break down the oily stuff, then follow with a water-based cleanser. Apply a toner to balance your skin’s pH, then a hydrating essence and a serum that targets your specific skin concerns. Exfoliate weekly and then apply a hydrating sheet mask.
Daily, use an eye cream and a moisturiser with an SPF 50, and swap out the SPF for a barrier cream at night. Phew, that’s a lot! So perhaps it’s unsurprising that a few years ago dermatologists in Korea began advising people who were experiencing skin sensitivity and redness to step back from their extensive routines and cut down to the basics. And so the “skincare diet” was born.
KraveBeauty founder Liah Yhoo: “I hadn’t been seeing results, so there was nothing to lose by simplifying it.” Credit: Getty Images Liah Yhoo, the founder of Korean brand KraveBeauty, is an advocate. “If you have acne-prone skin, you kind of become desperate and try everything on the markets,” she says.
“I once had a very extensive routine, using up to 12 different products. I was cleansing four times a day. I hadn’t been seeing results, so there was nothing to lose by simplifying it.
” This is how to do it. Step one: double cleansing. Begin with an oil cleanser like Anua H.