Hi Guys! Sorry I've been MIA, but my skin has been going crazy! Both my face and my neck/chest have been freaking out and breaking out for some reason and in an effort to get things under control, I stopped trying and using new skincare products.
It started happening for the very first time last fall and lasted for a couple months before I thought I got it under control, but it started up again at the beginning of the year and I have no idea what is going on but I decided to just stop everything and keep things real simple and low key.
I've never broken out and had acne like this before in my life and it's kind of freaking me out, but it seems to be calming down now (knock on wood), however I still want to let my skin breathe and take a break for another week or so to really let it fully calm down and hopefully go back to normal and stay that way. I don't want to jump the gun, so I hope you will continue to bear with me during this time.
I do have a hand mask and a lip mask that I could try, so I think I will try those those things out and review them for you guys over the next week. I also have a couple new lip balms and hand creams as well, but in the meantime I hate going for so long without a post so I figured now was a good time to share some Korean/general skincare tips which you may or may not already know about.
It started happening for the very first time last fall and lasted for a couple months before I thought I got it under control, but it started up again at the beginning of the year and I have no idea what is going on but I decided to just stop everything and keep things real simple and low key.
I've never broken out and had acne like this before in my life and it's kind of freaking me out, but it seems to be calming down now (knock on wood), however I still want to let my skin breathe and take a break for another week or so to really let it fully calm down and hopefully go back to normal and stay that way. I don't want to jump the gun, so I hope you will continue to bear with me during this time.
I do have a hand mask and a lip mask that I could try, so I think I will try those those things out and review them for you guys over the next week. I also have a couple new lip balms and hand creams as well, but in the meantime I hate going for so long without a post so I figured now was a good time to share some Korean/general skincare tips which you may or may not already know about.
In no particular order...
1. Patting
You never want to rub a product into your skin. You can lightly spread the product out, but then you want to pat. Whether you're applying skincare, makeup, or drying your face/body/hair with a towel you never want to rub.
In terms of skincare, patting allows products to penetrate and sink in better, gets the blood circulation going in your face, and because you're not rubbing or tugging will help to prevent wrinkles. Bonus tip, when you're done patting your skincare in, you can take it to the next level by rubbing your hands together to create warmth and enveloping your face with your warm hands...just cup your face with your hands. This will allow the warmth from your hands to help your skincare penetrate better and deeper. It's also probably why makeup looks and applies better with your hands...the warmth from your hands helps it to blend and meld into your skin better.
Speaking of makeup, you also want to pat that onto your face, which is probably why cushion and cream products are prevalent in Korean beauty...at least that's how I feel. Cushion foundations, cushion blushers, cushion sunscreen, cream products etc...Korean women use these things with a puff to pat these things onto the face. Even when using cream products, they use an air cushion puff to blend it out by patting. You always want to pat pat pat.
Same goes for your body and hair. Body wash is fine since it glides on your skin and doesn't pull or tug, but when you dry your body you definitely want to pat it dry with a towel vs. rubbing. You don't want to rub your hair with a towel either. You want to lightly pat and squeeze instead in order to minimize the friction damage to your hair.
In terms of skincare, patting allows products to penetrate and sink in better, gets the blood circulation going in your face, and because you're not rubbing or tugging will help to prevent wrinkles. Bonus tip, when you're done patting your skincare in, you can take it to the next level by rubbing your hands together to create warmth and enveloping your face with your warm hands...just cup your face with your hands. This will allow the warmth from your hands to help your skincare penetrate better and deeper. It's also probably why makeup looks and applies better with your hands...the warmth from your hands helps it to blend and meld into your skin better.
Speaking of makeup, you also want to pat that onto your face, which is probably why cushion and cream products are prevalent in Korean beauty...at least that's how I feel. Cushion foundations, cushion blushers, cushion sunscreen, cream products etc...Korean women use these things with a puff to pat these things onto the face. Even when using cream products, they use an air cushion puff to blend it out by patting. You always want to pat pat pat.
Same goes for your body and hair. Body wash is fine since it glides on your skin and doesn't pull or tug, but when you dry your body you definitely want to pat it dry with a towel vs. rubbing. You don't want to rub your hair with a towel either. You want to lightly pat and squeeze instead in order to minimize the friction damage to your hair.
2. Up & Out
You always want to fight gravity...not help it, so you always want to go from the bottom up (chin to forehead) and follow the contours of your face from the center out. Whether you're patting in your skincare, removing a mask, or patting your face dry you always want to go in an up and out direction. I've noticed that a lot people tend to remove masks and sheet masks from the top down or from side to side, but it's always best to go from the bottom up...no matter what it is you're doing.
3. Facial Massage/Yoga
I've yet to find a massage cream that I like, so I usually only find myself following this tip when I've worn makeup and I double cleanse with an oil first, which isn't very often, but this is something that a lot of Korean women do everyday...although a rich moisturizer will do the trick as well. BTW, you never want to do this on a dry face...you want to make sure you've got a lubricant of some sort that is nice and slippery as not to create any friction and rub and tug the skin.
Anywho, there are a bunch of different techniques, which you can google search and find a routine online, but basically it involves you using your knuckles and/or your fingertips to massage the muscles in your face. Doing this you will increase the blood circulation to your face and help to firm and tone your facial muscles and skin to prevent wrinkles and the signs of aging.
However, there are also techniques that don't require you to use your fingers to massage your face...you can also do some facial exercises aka facial yoga, which you can also google search and find online.
Here's a massage technique that I like to refer to: http://www.marieclaire.com/beauty/makeup/a9864/korean-beauty-skin-care-routine-facial-massage-exercises/
Here's a list of facial yoga techniques: http://www.livestrong.com/article/219892-exercises-for-firming-a-sagging-face/
4. 10-Second Rule
The 10 second rule refers to the max amount of time it should take between a shower or washing your face and applying toner. If you didn't already know, water is bad for your skin. Great to drink and hydrate internally, but bad for your exterior skin. It dries it out. Counter-intuitive I know, but I read somewhere about how the water removes the lipids from the surface of your skin allowing the moisture to leak out or something like that...don't quote me on it, but just know that water is dehydrating and not good for your skin topically. It's often why your skin feels dry and tight after you get out of the shower.
Anywho, 10 seconds is the max amount of time you should allow between water being on your face and applying toner because the longer it takes the more dehydrated your skin will become, so the faster you can apply that toner and lock in the moisture the better off your skin will be so you want to make sure to always have toner available at your fingertips so you can follow this 10 second rule. If you don't have any toner on hand then you want to use whatever skincare you have available at your fingertips to lock in the moisture.
I personally am pretty good about following this rule when it comes to my face, but terrible when it comes to my hands. First of all I really need to stop using hot water to wash my hands during the winter, and secondly I need to keep a misting toner and hand lotion by the sink because my hands are prime examples of what happens when you don't follow this 10 second rule...especially since I wash them soooooo many times throughout the day. My hands get real dry even though I slather on the lotion at night before I go to bed...unless I'm using the TonyMoly Sleeping Pack. That seems to be the one exception that helps my hands.
5. Humidifiers
A dry face is never a happy face, so we should always do our best to keep it hydrated...no matter our skin type. Whether your skin is dry or oily or somewhere in between we all could use some extra moisture and hydration to keep our faces happy...especially during the winter when the air gets arid and cold. Not only does the cold air dry out your skin, but the heaters we use to stay warm are even worse for our skin, so humidifiers are a great way to help counter that...and if you don't have a humidifier or don't want to invest in one then hanging a wet towel near you will do the trick to infuse some moisture into the air around you. This is a "humidifier hack" that a lot of Korean women use including my own mother whom I learned this from.
My mother's been doing this for me and teaching me this trick since I was a little girl. She would always hang a wet towel in my room because she doesn't like humidifiers. She feels like the damp environment inside of the enclosed humidifier tank creates and harbors germs/bacteria so she would always drench a clean towel to hang instead and then take it down and throw into the washer in the morning and then hang a new wet clean towel the next evening. As an adult I'm not as vigilant about doing this for myself, even though it really does make a difference and is good for your skin, but my mother swears by it as do many Korean women.
6. Never let a sheet mask dry
I was actually guilty of this when I first started using sheet masks, but have since learned that it's not good to let a sheet mask dry on your face in the slightest. You should ALWAYS remove sheet masks while they're still wet. You don't want to wait until it starts to dry because then it will actually start to draw the moisture out of your face instead of adding it in. So when the instructions on a sheet mask tell you to remove it after x amount of minutes then you want to make sure to remove it after those x amount of minutes and not leave it for any longer...or if you do, that it remains wet for the duration that you have it on and that it's not starting to dry up on your face...unless it's intentional and meant to perform that way like mud/clay sheet masks which tells you in the instructions that it will be dry and tight.
7. Avoid the sun like a vampire
We all know that the sun is bad for our skin and that we need to use sunscreen, but even beyond skin cancer it can cause pre-mature aging, dark spots, etc. all of which are things that we don't want so it's important to wear sunscreen EVERY SINGLE DAY, and not just apply it but reapply it throughout the day...even when its cloudy or if you're staying indoors. You want to make sure to always shield yourself from the harmful UV rays which can still penetrate through the clouds and the windows and reach your skin.
Korean women are super vigilant about this. Compared to most non-east asian women, Korean women go to great lengths to protect their skin, so on top of being super vigilant with the sunscreen they also turn to hats, large sunglasses, umbrellas (for sunny days), long sleeves or separate arm sleeves, and gloves etc. to help protect their skin from the sun at all times throughout the entire year.
This is an area that I personally need to be much better about. Definitely better about applying sunscreen than I used to be, but I definitely have room for improvement especially with the re-application and I really need to be better about utilizing other things like hats and arm sleeves especially when I go hiking. Not that you have to go overboard (like the pic above), but you want to remain vigilant about protecting your skin...even when you feel like you're not that exposed to the sun because those UV rays will find you.
8. Exfoliation
You never want to over exfoliate, but regular exfoliation is important and helpful for having and maintaining awesome skin. It gets rid of pore clogging dead skin cells which allows your skincare products to penetrate better and more deeply, encourages cell turnover, and improves blood circulation to the area leaving you with fresh, healthy, glowing skin...and it's something that is engrained in the Korean culture. Korean women not only exfoliate their face, but their entire body as well. In fact it's something that not only women do, but men as well.
I have been exfoliating my entire body since I was a little girl and I feel like that's a huge part of why my skin is as healthy and ok as it is given how much sun exposure I've gotten throughout my life with no protection whatsoever. I mean it could've been a lot better, but it's not as bad as it could've been given that I was born in Hawaii and raised in Hawaii, SoCal, and Las Vegas. All very sunny places where I spent a majority of my youth at the beach with no sun protection because I hated and REFUSED to wear sunscreen when I was younger...heck I'm still not great with my sunscreen game. I'm a lot better than I used to be, but I'm still not as consistent and good as I could be. So given the amount of sun exposure I've had throughout my entire life without protecting it, I credit regular exfoliation with my not looking like a shriveled old prune.
If you'd like to know more, here's a vogue article about Korean exfoliation practices: http://www.vogue.com/13427539/korean-exfoliating-wash-cloth-mitt-dermasuri/. Those neon green, red, sometimes yellow exfoliating mitts are something that I always have on hand at all times. I even have one that goes on a wand to exfoliate the skin on my hard to reach back. They're super cheap and effective, so I recommend getting some for yourself. Your skin will thank you...but only use those for your body. You don't want to use it on the face as it will be too abrasive for it. Just search for a "Korean Italy towel".
_________________________________________________________________________________
These last two tips...I don't know that they're necessarily Korean skincare tips, but these are just good tips to know and follow nonetheless.
9. Steam
Steaming your face before skincare is great because it opens up your pores and allows your skincare to penetrate better and deeper to work to it's full potential. This is why I like to shower at night before I do my night time skincare routine. Even though water is dehydrating and bad for you, especially hot water, jumping into the shower right before you do your skincare is good, so as long as you follow that 10 second rule, because the steam from your shower opens up your pores allowing all your skincare to work its magic. I also like to cleanse my face while I'm still in the shower, then tone as soon as I get out and follow up with the rest of my skincare.
However, if you are a morning shower person or don't want to schedule your shower around your skincare, then you can invest in a facial steaming device, use a hot towel, or sometimes I actually make a cup of tea and hold my face over it, which feels really good by the way, because I suck at drinking hot beverages and need to let it cool down anyways so why not take advantage of the steam.
10. ASAP
I don't know about you, but I can get real lazy with my skincare. Especially when you've got multiple steps in your skincare to get through...so as soon as you get home at the end of the day before you have a chance to sit down or do anything else you should take off that makeup and do your skincare routine asap. This way you'll get it out of the way and done with and are less likely to get lazy and skip it. Secondly, because you've completed your skincare earlier in the evening your products will have a longer amount of time on your face to really work it's magic vs. you doing it right before bed and the products not having as much time to work it's magic on your face because a lot of people, myself included, don't always get the full 6-9 hours of recommended sleep.
_________________________________________________________________________________
So that is it for now. Hopefully some of these tips were new and helpful or served as a reminder. I know I don't always keep up with and abide by all of these rules/tips, but I do try to follow them as much as I can.
I've yet to find a massage cream that I like, so I usually only find myself following this tip when I've worn makeup and I double cleanse with an oil first, which isn't very often, but this is something that a lot of Korean women do everyday...although a rich moisturizer will do the trick as well. BTW, you never want to do this on a dry face...you want to make sure you've got a lubricant of some sort that is nice and slippery as not to create any friction and rub and tug the skin.
Anywho, there are a bunch of different techniques, which you can google search and find a routine online, but basically it involves you using your knuckles and/or your fingertips to massage the muscles in your face. Doing this you will increase the blood circulation to your face and help to firm and tone your facial muscles and skin to prevent wrinkles and the signs of aging.
However, there are also techniques that don't require you to use your fingers to massage your face...you can also do some facial exercises aka facial yoga, which you can also google search and find online.
Here's a massage technique that I like to refer to: http://www.marieclaire.com/beauty/makeup/a9864/korean-beauty-skin-care-routine-facial-massage-exercises/
Here's a list of facial yoga techniques: http://www.livestrong.com/article/219892-exercises-for-firming-a-sagging-face/
4. 10-Second Rule
The 10 second rule refers to the max amount of time it should take between a shower or washing your face and applying toner. If you didn't already know, water is bad for your skin. Great to drink and hydrate internally, but bad for your exterior skin. It dries it out. Counter-intuitive I know, but I read somewhere about how the water removes the lipids from the surface of your skin allowing the moisture to leak out or something like that...don't quote me on it, but just know that water is dehydrating and not good for your skin topically. It's often why your skin feels dry and tight after you get out of the shower.
Anywho, 10 seconds is the max amount of time you should allow between water being on your face and applying toner because the longer it takes the more dehydrated your skin will become, so the faster you can apply that toner and lock in the moisture the better off your skin will be so you want to make sure to always have toner available at your fingertips so you can follow this 10 second rule. If you don't have any toner on hand then you want to use whatever skincare you have available at your fingertips to lock in the moisture.
I personally am pretty good about following this rule when it comes to my face, but terrible when it comes to my hands. First of all I really need to stop using hot water to wash my hands during the winter, and secondly I need to keep a misting toner and hand lotion by the sink because my hands are prime examples of what happens when you don't follow this 10 second rule...especially since I wash them soooooo many times throughout the day. My hands get real dry even though I slather on the lotion at night before I go to bed...unless I'm using the TonyMoly Sleeping Pack. That seems to be the one exception that helps my hands.
5. Humidifiers
My mother's been doing this for me and teaching me this trick since I was a little girl. She would always hang a wet towel in my room because she doesn't like humidifiers. She feels like the damp environment inside of the enclosed humidifier tank creates and harbors germs/bacteria so she would always drench a clean towel to hang instead and then take it down and throw into the washer in the morning and then hang a new wet clean towel the next evening. As an adult I'm not as vigilant about doing this for myself, even though it really does make a difference and is good for your skin, but my mother swears by it as do many Korean women.
6. Never let a sheet mask dry
I was actually guilty of this when I first started using sheet masks, but have since learned that it's not good to let a sheet mask dry on your face in the slightest. You should ALWAYS remove sheet masks while they're still wet. You don't want to wait until it starts to dry because then it will actually start to draw the moisture out of your face instead of adding it in. So when the instructions on a sheet mask tell you to remove it after x amount of minutes then you want to make sure to remove it after those x amount of minutes and not leave it for any longer...or if you do, that it remains wet for the duration that you have it on and that it's not starting to dry up on your face...unless it's intentional and meant to perform that way like mud/clay sheet masks which tells you in the instructions that it will be dry and tight.
7. Avoid the sun like a vampire
Korean women are super vigilant about this. Compared to most non-east asian women, Korean women go to great lengths to protect their skin, so on top of being super vigilant with the sunscreen they also turn to hats, large sunglasses, umbrellas (for sunny days), long sleeves or separate arm sleeves, and gloves etc. to help protect their skin from the sun at all times throughout the entire year.
This is an area that I personally need to be much better about. Definitely better about applying sunscreen than I used to be, but I definitely have room for improvement especially with the re-application and I really need to be better about utilizing other things like hats and arm sleeves especially when I go hiking. Not that you have to go overboard (like the pic above), but you want to remain vigilant about protecting your skin...even when you feel like you're not that exposed to the sun because those UV rays will find you.
8. Exfoliation
You never want to over exfoliate, but regular exfoliation is important and helpful for having and maintaining awesome skin. It gets rid of pore clogging dead skin cells which allows your skincare products to penetrate better and more deeply, encourages cell turnover, and improves blood circulation to the area leaving you with fresh, healthy, glowing skin...and it's something that is engrained in the Korean culture. Korean women not only exfoliate their face, but their entire body as well. In fact it's something that not only women do, but men as well.
I have been exfoliating my entire body since I was a little girl and I feel like that's a huge part of why my skin is as healthy and ok as it is given how much sun exposure I've gotten throughout my life with no protection whatsoever. I mean it could've been a lot better, but it's not as bad as it could've been given that I was born in Hawaii and raised in Hawaii, SoCal, and Las Vegas. All very sunny places where I spent a majority of my youth at the beach with no sun protection because I hated and REFUSED to wear sunscreen when I was younger...heck I'm still not great with my sunscreen game. I'm a lot better than I used to be, but I'm still not as consistent and good as I could be. So given the amount of sun exposure I've had throughout my entire life without protecting it, I credit regular exfoliation with my not looking like a shriveled old prune.
If you'd like to know more, here's a vogue article about Korean exfoliation practices: http://www.vogue.com/13427539/korean-exfoliating-wash-cloth-mitt-dermasuri/. Those neon green, red, sometimes yellow exfoliating mitts are something that I always have on hand at all times. I even have one that goes on a wand to exfoliate the skin on my hard to reach back. They're super cheap and effective, so I recommend getting some for yourself. Your skin will thank you...but only use those for your body. You don't want to use it on the face as it will be too abrasive for it. Just search for a "Korean Italy towel".
These last two tips...I don't know that they're necessarily Korean skincare tips, but these are just good tips to know and follow nonetheless.
9. Steam
Steaming your face before skincare is great because it opens up your pores and allows your skincare to penetrate better and deeper to work to it's full potential. This is why I like to shower at night before I do my night time skincare routine. Even though water is dehydrating and bad for you, especially hot water, jumping into the shower right before you do your skincare is good, so as long as you follow that 10 second rule, because the steam from your shower opens up your pores allowing all your skincare to work its magic. I also like to cleanse my face while I'm still in the shower, then tone as soon as I get out and follow up with the rest of my skincare.
However, if you are a morning shower person or don't want to schedule your shower around your skincare, then you can invest in a facial steaming device, use a hot towel, or sometimes I actually make a cup of tea and hold my face over it, which feels really good by the way, because I suck at drinking hot beverages and need to let it cool down anyways so why not take advantage of the steam.
10. ASAP
I don't know about you, but I can get real lazy with my skincare. Especially when you've got multiple steps in your skincare to get through...so as soon as you get home at the end of the day before you have a chance to sit down or do anything else you should take off that makeup and do your skincare routine asap. This way you'll get it out of the way and done with and are less likely to get lazy and skip it. Secondly, because you've completed your skincare earlier in the evening your products will have a longer amount of time on your face to really work it's magic vs. you doing it right before bed and the products not having as much time to work it's magic on your face because a lot of people, myself included, don't always get the full 6-9 hours of recommended sleep.
_________________________________________________________________________________
So that is it for now. Hopefully some of these tips were new and helpful or served as a reminder. I know I don't always keep up with and abide by all of these rules/tips, but I do try to follow them as much as I can.
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