It’s time to highlight the many amazing Korean body products and the hair products they swear by! See below for why you should consider trying some Korean hair and body products.
You would think that with all of the hair color changes that Korean celebrities and K-pop idols go through, their hair would be brittle and damaged. But it’s actually the opposite! Their hair ends up look healthy and shiny, no matter how many times they dye it. How do they do it?
Korean women and men are all about maintaining a multi-step routine that keeps their hair and body looking healthy and glossy. Americans tend to have a fast and easy approach to hair care and think that the skin on their face is the most important. As Americans, we usually stick with a basic routine of shampoo, conditioner, and go. Of course, this varies depending on our hair type and texture, but there is still a strong focus on shampoo and conditioner first.
The Korean Hair Routine:
Korean women focus on approaching hair care like skin care. This involves multiple steps and different products. A typical hair routine could contain as many as four to five products. This multi-step process serves to maintain optimal hair health. Here’s a sample routine:
Step 1: Shampoo
Traditional American shampoos are usually harsh and leave the hair stripped of natural oils, and drier than ever. These days, American brands have taken note from around the world and started to incorporate gentler, sulfate-free formulas that don’t leave your hair feeling brittle. But for Korean hair care, this has been the staple. Rather than stripping the hair, it’s all about cleansing and nourishing at the same time.
The Lador Triplex Natural Shampoo is a great example. This gentle shampoo is formulated to be at the optimal pH level of 5.5. This low pH level will help the to shampoo cleanse the scalp, but also leave it balanced and healthy. Just like with your skin, you don’t want to throw off the pH balance of your scalp. An unbalanced scalp leads to dryness and flakes.
Step Two: Condition
Americans are all about conditioning their hair and Koreans are the same. The difference? Most Korean conditioners are formulated to repair damaged hair at a deeper level than American products. Like Americans, Korean women use a lot of heat to style their hair. So, conditioners are meant to hydrate and repair the damage. These formulas keep your hair healthier and happier.
The British M Hair Butter is an embodiment of this. This conditioner contains shea butter and argan oil to revive dry, damaged strands. Plus, this hair butter also doubles as a leave-in treatment or a hair pack! So you’re getting three products in one. Any way you use it, this conditioner will serve to reconstruct damaged hair and bring it back to life.
Step Three: Essence
Korean hair care is not only about having many steps, but also about the ingredients. It takes the skin care ingredients you love the most and infuses them in hair care as well. You may have heard about essences for your skin, and guess what? They have them for your hair, as well.
The Skinfood Argan Hair Essence and La
dor Keratin Power Glue are some examples. The Skinfood Argan Hair Essence is a lightweight oil formula that contains argan oil, camellia seed oil, silk powder, and ceramides. This oil-based essence coats damaged, frizzy hair to soften and shine. I swear by this essence to keep my curly, frizzy, hair in check and leave it looking glossy. This is definitely a holy grail product for me since it is hard to get dry, curly hair looking healthy and shiny.
The Lador Keratin Power Glue is another hair essence that actually contains snail mucin, a much-loved skin care ingredient. We’re used to snail mucin being used in products to repair skin damage, and in hair care it does something similar. The snail mucin strengthens damaged strands and coats hair for extra protection. The formula also contains keratin to provide protein to hair that’s been damaged by chemical treatments or heat. Meanwhile, moringa seed oil and collagen help rebuild hair health. The essence step is essential for any Korean hair care routine; it helps to bring extra hydration and nourishment to the hair.
Step Four: Treatment
For Americans, hair treatments are optional, but for Korean women they’re another part of their usual routine. These treatments serve to, yet again, repair and restore damaged hair back to its healthy, shiny state. For Koreans, this starts with the scalp. Usually, American treatments focus on infusing the hair with hydration to restore suppleness. But for Korean products, it’s also about maintaining scalp health.
The Lador Tea Tree Scalp Clinic Hair Pack is dandruff treatment that eliminates flakes and restores scalp health. The belief here is that a healthy scalp equals overall hair health. This weekly treatment contains professional grade ingredients, like tea tree leaf oil and aloe leaf extract. These ingredients work together to fight dandruff and alleviate your flaky, itchy scalp. Meanwhile, snail extract helps strengthen hair and fortify the scalp, leaving your hair nourished. With continued use, this treatment will restore scalp health. It will also keep your hair looking healthier and shinier.
The Korean Body Routine:
The pampering doesn’t stop at the hair. Koreans believe the body is an extension of the face. When it comes to the body, like skin care and hair care, there is no cutting corners. For Korean women, their body is as important as their face. From moisturizing to protection, there are multiple steps they take to keep their skin looking smooth, supple and hydrated. What we consider a spa night is routine for Korean women.
Cleanse and Exfoliate
American women tend to cleanse but skip out on exfoliation. Of course, this doesn’t mean everyone, but exfoliation isn’t as important. For Korean women, exfoliation is key to maintaining smooth, supple, and glowing skin. Besides, regular trips to spas for full body scrubs they supplement with nourishing cleansers that smooth the skin.
The Klair’s Manuka Honey & Choco Body Soap is a great example since it cleanses and exfoliates at the same time. It contains shea butter, honey, and aloe vera to hydrate and soothe, while tartaric acid, a chemical exfoliant, works to remove dead skin cells and control body acne. The addition of propolis helps further fight blemishes, thanks to its antibacterial benefits. Plus, a slew of nourishing oils, like jojoba, olive, and sweet almond oil impart moisture to the skin. This is one body cleanser that won’t leave your skin feeling stripped. Instead, your skin will be left feeling hydrated and smoother than it did before.
Moisturize
Korean women do not skip out on moisturizing. I have to say…I’m guilty of skipping out on moisturizing post-shower a time or two. This is because I hate the greasy, sticky feel that comes with body lotions. Plus, my skin is super sensitive and pretty much hates most moisturizers. For Korean women, this is a no go. Again, the body is an extension of the face, so everything you do to the face, you must apply to the body, and moisturizing is no different.
The SKINRx Madecera Body Moisturizer is the ultimate moisturizer for dry, sensitive skin. It infuses skin care ingredients like madecassoside, a derivative of centella asiatica, to soothes redness and irritation. It also contains ceramides to hydrate even the driest skin so you can attain the coveted body glow.
Treat
Body treatments are aplenty in Korean body care routines—from hand and foot masks to even body sheet masks. As you can assume, for Korean women, every part of their body is as important as their face. Smooth, supple, and youthful skin is the goal.
The Klavuu Green Pearlsation Tea Tree Care Body Spray is one step towards that goal of smooth, clear skin. If you suffer from body acne, this easy-to-use spray is going to be your new go-to. It’s formulated with tea tree oil and salicylic acid to fight acne and keep it at bay. It also contains pearl and algae extracts to brighten and soothe irritation. It comes in a mist form, which makes it easier to treat hard-to-reach areas like your back.
The TonyMoly Shiny Foot Super Peeling Liquid is another product that helps Korean women maintain smooth, supple skin. This handy foot mask contains exfoliating fruit extracts. They gently and painlessly remove dry patches and rough calluses from the soles of your feet. Seven to ten days after use, your feet will slowly start to peel to reveal smooth, callus-free feet.
Bottom Line
For Korean women, we know skin care is essential, but hair and body care are just as important. They take the time and the effort to treat and nourish every part of their body to maintain smooth, glowing skin.
+ Would you indulge in Korean body products and adopt a Korean hair and body routine? Or is this extra? Let us know in the comments below!
