Hey! If you are anything like me five years ago, then you were going through life without skincare. Life… right? Do you have a lot on your mind? No time for a clean face, sunscreen, or even perform the incredibly unwanted chore of washing your face after a night out? You feel like not treating yourself fairly. 

Most of us were on the same path.

Now, K-beauty products are trending. With the promise of a soft and smooth face, you should dive into a new range of products. 

The ingredients (retinol, salicylic acid, hyaluronic acid, etc.), the skin types (dry, oily, sensitive and combination), and even the labels (cruelty-free, organic and others) might overwhelm you. 

That’s why we are here. This lovingly crafted guide will guide you on the path to starting your own routine for healthier skin.

Join us with a cup of tea and an open heart, as we navigate through this sea of moisturizers, creams and serums,  to see what you need to know. 

Hopefully, your own curiosity will lead you to be a K-beauty guru in the future!

2. WHAT’S MY SKIN TYPE?

First things first, all skins are not created equal. There are specific differences and knowing your skin type is the first step to getting to Flawless Skin City!

It is important to highlight that whatever your skin type is, doesn’t matter. It will improve. Many believe that a beautiful skin is the work of genes and, nothing can be done to achieve that skin. But there is much you can do for your health if you set your mind to it. Now, let us see what we have prepare for you.

Dry skin

Characteristics:

A challenging skin type but not that terrible. First, good news: people who possess this skin type have almost invisible pores, so cheers for that! If you belong to the dry skin club you can expect your skin to feel quite tight, have a flaky, dull or rough complexion, and be prone to irritation. You may have scaly or red patches, have a tendency for premature wrinkles, get more visible line expressions, feel your skin is not that elastic, or that it’s tone is uneven and feel it quite itchy from time to time.

I know this sounds devastating but don’t worry about it, this skin type has a fix and in a short time you can improve it and wow yourself!

The roots:

• Your genes: Dry skin can be, of course, a product of genes, since our genetic predisposition can affect the amount of sebum that is produced by our oil glands, sebum is responsible for keeping your skin soft and nice.

• The Weather: People who live in dry parts of the world often tend to have dry skin. Also happens in winter, since the humidity levels drop, too much sun and wind can also make your skin dry. 

• UV rays: Whether they come from the sun or from tanning beds, UV rays increase your chances of getting dry skin.

• Indoor heating: Going too hard on the heating can also increase the dryness of your skin and its 

• Long hot baths and showers: Again the heat, if the water you apply to your face is too hot it can remove the natural oils that cover them (that you already don’t own in large quantities) and make your skin dryer. 

• Age: As we grow older our body produces less sebum and this of course makes our skin more prone to dryness.

• Ingredients in soaps, cleansers, and beauty products: We’ll go deeper into this later, but it is important to know that you can’t wear anything you see without reading the ingredients list.

Tips to improve your dry skin:

• Take shorter baths and showers, try to make it only once a day and keep the water warm if you want but not terribly hot.

• Keep an intense moisturizing regime, your skin needs food and you will provide it.

• Avoid deodorant soaps and use mild ingredients (more about this coming soon).

• Do not scrub your skin while you bathe and do not swipe your towel against your face or any part of your body.

• Wear sunscreen everyday if you are under the sun reapply every two hours. Wear it even on cloudy days and if you are indoors do not sit right next to the window If you want to do that then apply sunscreen as well (yeah! even if you are indoors).

• Use a humidifier and avoid too hot indoor temperatures.

• Wear gloves when you use cleaning products.

• It is best if your moisturizers are a little bit oilier and creamier than gel based. You can still use gel based, everything is good for you, but oily ones will help you with your low sebum production.

• Test any skin product before using it. Take a little bit and test it on your skin. You can just relax, read the ingredients to see if it is formulated for dry or sensitive skin.

• Drinking more water does not fix dry skin but a well hydrated body is a great base to start working over, so stay hydrated.

Ingredients to beware of:

Alcohol, retinol, salicylic acid, and benzoyl peroxide.

Oily Skin

Characteristics:

Now we are going to the opposite side, oily skin. It is also challenging skin type but easy to improve. In the bright side, you have a really elastic skin and wrinkles and lines of expression, not visible since your skin is thicker. Also, over hydrating your skin helps avoiding wrinkles in order for you to look younger. Your skin can present large, open, and very visible pores, shiny complexion, blemishes, and be very prone to blackheads, pimples and acne breakouts.

The roots:

• Your genes: Nothing new over here, you may have a genetic predisposition towards producing a larger amount of sebum.

• Hormonal changes: When your body experiences a fluctuation in hormonal levels it increases the production of androgens that stimulates the production of sebum. These hormonal changes also happen during puberty and pregnancy, that is why you may break out more during these life episodes.

• Climate: If you live in a hot or humid place or are in a hot season it is very likely that your skin will become oilier.

• Large pores: Large pores tend to produce more sebum.

• Over exfoliation: Too much of something is never good, exfoliation is great for oily skin but do not be too aggressive when you do it and give your skin a break.

Tips to improve your oily skin:

• Don’t over-wash your face, sometimes people do that because they love how matte their skin looks after washing it but just do it twice a day and after you sweat a lot.

• Moisturize your skin regularly. If your skin is constantly hydrated, then it can relax a little bit with the sebum production, gel moisturizers work great with oily skin, cream moisturizers are cool but you may prefer a gel one or any moisturizer that is not oil based.

• Use gentle cleansers and do not scrub your face with great intensity, being aggressive to it will only make it worse.

• Exfoliate 3 times a week tops and use gentle exfoliators, salicylic acid is great for oily skins and it is not harsh.

• Drink water so that your body knows you are not dehydrated since that causes it to produce more sebum.

• Don’t pick or pop your pimples, they will take a lot more time to heal and leave you scars and blemishes, as a matter of fact if you can just not touch your face as a regular rule that would be awesome and give you great results.

• Use skin care products that are known to be ‘noncomedogenic’, this means that they will not clog your pores.

• Wear makeup just when you need to and try not to layer a lot of it since it will block your pores. When you wear makeup, never ever go to bed with it. If you don’t like removing it, then it’s better not to use it at all. Remove your makeup before going to the gym or having some physical activity that will make you sweat and wash your brushes constantly, since they can carry bacteria and make your acne, blackheads, whiteheads and pimples much worse.

Ingredients to beware of:

Petrolatum, mineral oil, and alcohol.

Combination skin

Characteristics:

If you have combination skin, you may feel like your skin is dry but also oily. Or, there are parts that seem ok and parts seem oily. That’s perfectly normal. You may have oiliness just on your T-zone but dryness on your cheeks, large pores, blackheads, and shiny skin. This is the most common skin type and there is plenty that can be done for it.

The roots:

• Genetics: If people in your family have combination skin, you may have it as well.

• Climate: Your skin may change with the seasons; you may have more dryness during the winter and more oiliness during the summer.

• Skincare products or makeup: Sometimes certain products can alter your skin making it dryer or oilier.

Tips to improve your combination skin:

• Always go for more natural ingredients in your skincare products and makeup.

• Use gentle cleansers, you can do the double cleanse too, more of that will come later.

• Keep two separate skincare routines, one for your normal or dry zone and the other for your oily zone.

• Avoid products with fragrances.

• Do not forget to exfoliate, you can do it from two to three times a week checking how your skin reacts to it, be gentle to your face, especially in the dry areas.

• We know it’s a lot to ask but you may find great results if you use two different type of moisturizers, a calming one for your oily parts, it would be great if it is a gel and a cream one that can contain oil and be a little thicker for the dry areas of your skin.

Ingredients to watch out for:

Petrolatum and mineral oil for your oily zones and retinol, salicylic acid, and benzoyl peroxide for your dry zones; alcohol is a bad for your dry and oily zones.

Sensitive Skin

Characteristics:

Your skin is very delicate and tends to react to skin care products with a burning sensation, redness or even acne, it can get itchy and have certain dryness. Your skin gets easily inflamed. A day under the sun can feel like a punishment. Your skin may feel a little tight. Your face flushes easily, especially after a bath, going to the sauna or eating spicy food.

The roots:

• Allergies: Allergies do not always cause sensitive skin, but they are a huge factor.

• Skin problems: Rosacea, eczema and other type of skin problems can cause sensitive skin.

• Lifestyle: Much like when you have dry skin, avoiding saunas, long baths or very spicy food is key.

Tips to improve your sensitive skin:

• Test skin care products before using it and read the labels, what other people wear without problem could cause you irritation.

• Wear nothing but natural products.

• Exfoliation must be gentle, all dry skin tips apply for you as well.

Ingredients to watch out for:

Perfumes, fragrances, and preservatives.

Normal skin

Characteristics:

If you have normal skin, you must know that you are hated by many (giggles). It is a great skin type: your skin is not too oily or too dry. It has balanced pH levels and your pores are small. You don’t have oversensitivity, so products don’t usually affect you or produce redness, your skin is mostly smooth. If you have blemishes or acne, they are just a few and you feel like they are easy to fix. You don’t show many lines of expression either. Remember that this does not mean that your skin looks perfect, you may have skin problems. But they are not that intense, and you can take care of your face without going through too much work.

The roots:

• Luck: Just kidding, but yeah! Great genes Normal skin runs in your family and you won the lottery.

• Good diet and skin care: People with other skin types can improve theirs and get to have normal skin by working on their skin issues. 

Tips to improve your normal skin:

• Wear products that are not extra oily or extra dry, choose natural products that are well balanced.

• You have to do the basic but do it right: remove your makeup before going to bed, wash your skin twice a day, drink lots of water, moisturize, have a regular skin care routine. It doesn’t need to be that intense, but it needs to be a habit.

Ingredients to watch out for:

Nothing, you are blessed, there are no ingredients that can harm you but it is always a good idea to use natural ingredients so that your skin remains normal. 

Take under consideration that your skin type can change. Your age, the weather you live in, the new habits you develop, your hormones, all of that can change your skin type momentarily and even permanently. A great tip for all skin types, and probably the most important, is to wear sunscreen. At least SPF 30 and reapply it every two hours if you are outside, wear it even if it’s cloudy or if you are at home. Sunscreen will stop more damage in your face and protect you from skin cancer. There is nothing negative about wearing it every day.