What are the steps of the K-beauty routine you can skip? We broke it down by skin type.
We’ve all been there. Maybe you’re coming home late from work or school, or you’re just having one of those mornings where you can’t be bothered to get dressed, let alone wash your face.
It happens to the best of us, so we’ve compiled a cheat sheet (based on skin type!) of the steps that are absolutely necessary from your K-beauty routine and more importantly, the ones you can skip, when you just can’t.
Oily Skin: Skip exfoliating and essence
Having oily skin can be frustrating because there are days where you feel like you need to wash your face multiple times and nothing works. On those days, it’s particularly awful putting an oil cleanser on your face, but don’t skip this step. The double cleanse is critical in ensuring that you’re cleaning deep and removing all the impurities in your skin. For the oily skin double cleanse, we recommend Banila Co. Clean It Zero Purity and Neogen Green Tea Real Fresh Foam Cleanser.
Instead, feel free to leave out your exfoliant (since it shouldn’t be done each day) and your essence. Follow your toner up directly with a pore refining serum and a lightweight moisturizing cream.
Dry skin: Skip serum and exfoliating
Dry skin often makes you feel like you need to layer on all the products that you can get to keep your skin feeling hydrated, but this often isn’t the case. Instead start with a double cleanse and follow this up with a toner and a essence, skipping out on the serum and exfoliator. We recommend the Klairs Supple Preparation Facial Toner and Hanskin Hyaluron Skin Essence, both of which will help protect your skin barrier. Throwing in a mask might be nice if you’re having a lounge around day, but is by no means a necessary step. Follow this up with a luxurious moisturizer that will hydrate your skin from the inside out.
Sensitive skin: Skip exfoliating
Sensitive skin is often stressful to care for because products can cause major skin emergencies. Your skin care routine should feel luxurious and soothing, so we’d recommend starting off with a double cleanse. Opt toward products with no artificial fragrance or coloring. Skip the exfoliator on most days, to ensure that you aren’t irritating your skin by over-exfoliating and accidentally scrubbing off healthy cells.
Follow this up with a toner and serum to calm skin and pack some serious hydration and nourishment. Finally close out your routine with a nourishing moisturizer to lock in all the hydration and brighten. The Klairs Supple Preparation Facial Toner, Enature Birch Juice Hydro Serum, and RE:P Nutrinature Ultra Nourishing Cream are a luxurious trio that will leave your skin feeling hydrated and beautiful.
Combination skin: Skip serum and exfoliating
Combination skin can be tricky because sometimes there will be days when your skin looks and feels like it doesn’t need anything at all. But don’t fall into this trap and skip your routine! Start off with your double cleanse to balance out your skin, removing any impurities and hydrating necessary areas. Follow that up with a brightening and hydrating toner and essence. We recommend the Son & Park Beauty Water and Hanskin Hyaluron Skin Essence.
Feel free to leave out on the exfoliating and serum. Follow this up with a light moisturizer to lock in hydration and balance.
Normal Skin
If you’ve got normal skin, you’re very lucky because you could probably do any of the above routines without any harm! Start off with a double cleanse to remove any impurities from the skin. If you’re feeling like you want to give your skin some extra love and don’t have any specific skin issues at the moment, opt for a toner and essence to really amp up the hydration. Otherwise, opt for the toner and a serum to target any issues. Follow up with a moisturizer to lock in hydration and balance.
The bottom line
The ten step routine is important, but we get it—sometimes it just feels like too much. On these days, opt for the most basic routine: double cleansing (of course) and then filling in the gaps with products that target your specific skin issues. Oh, and if you somehow make it outside on these days don’t forget the sunscreen!
+ What do you think are the steps of the K-beauty routine you can skip? Share your thoughts in the comments!
