Up your night regimen
A good evening routine will give your AM face a boost. Korean skin care products provide an arsenal of exfoliants, treatments, moisturizers, and sleeping masks to leave your face feeling refreshed and dewy in the AM.
Step 1: Wash your face with a scrubber
Using a silicone facial cleansing pad, I apply a cleansing gel and use the silicone pad to gently massage and exfoliate my face. It’s reusable, economical and a perfect size for traveling. You can go extra cute with an Etude House Jellyfish Silicone brush.
Optionally, use a mild exfoliating cleanser like the Dr. G Brightening Peel Gel or even TJ’s Blueberry Acai Facial Scrub (smells like a berry smoothie).
Step 2: Periodically exfoliate with BHA / AHA
This is a step you can incorporate a couple to a few times a week, and involves chemical exfoliants containing the key alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) and beta hydroxy acid (BHA). AHA is water soluble and tends to work on the skin’s surface while BHA is oil soluble and helps to penetrate the pores. BHA tend to be formulated at a lower pH of 3.5 while AHA is at a pH of under 4. If you’re going to incorporate both chemical exfoliants, start with the lower pH, oil soluble exfoliant BHA and follow that up with the water soluble AHA. For a complete guide on BHA and AHA exfoliants, check out the KLOG and Fifty Shades of Snail blog.
Step 3: Toner is a good idea
While I skip toner in the morning, I recommend incorporating it as part of your evening ritual to remove residue from makeup and environmental gunk. Son & Park Beauty Water is an effective multi-tasker, and does the job to help balance your skin’s pH levels. Using a cotton square, give your face a clean sweep.
Step 4: Essence, or Hydrating Lotion
In the K-Beauty world, you’ll find a whole category of Essence products with bestselling potions containing hyaluronic acid (HA), which is basically a substance that is naturally produced by your body. HA helps to increase moisture and retain collagen for improved skin elasticity. I like the popular Japanese Habo Lado Gokujyun lotion, which is available on Amazon. I alternate that with COSRX Galactomyces 95 Whitening Power Essence. There are many options for Essence products.
Step 5: Ampoules and Serums, Oh My!
As covered in the #nofilter post, ampoules is part of the same family of essences and serums. Ampoule is often a “super-charged” serum that you use right before your regular serum. Since I deal with hyperpigmentation, I like to use Yuja Water C Whitening Ampoule.
Step 6: Moisturizer + Sleeping Mask
For extra hydration, seal the deal with a moisturizer followed by a sleeping mask. EasyDew EX Repair Renewal Moisturizer is my current fave as it lightweight and contains EGF (explained in the #nofilter post).
I’ll often incorporate a sleeping mask of some sort. I like Goodal Anti-Wrinkle Sleep Cream Pack, which has a soothing lavender scent. You can find it on Sokoglam.com.
Remember to drink plenty of fluids, eat a balanced diet rich in veggies and fruit, and get a good night’s sleep. The above-mentioned steps will help keep your skin happy.
FlyteLiving 