Tried everything but your acne issue has still not been resolved. You do not have to get some expensive skin treatment to restore your skin. The Korean acne skincare routine is the solution to persistent acne as well as occasional breakouts. It focuses on treating the skin with salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, and other such ingredients that are known to be the ultimate acne treatment.
There is no quick fix for acne, it usually takes a while to go. Even the most effective Korean skincare routine for acne would not clear up acne overnight. You have to be super consistent and patient to get the desired results.
Korean Acne Skincare Routine
To get rid of acne and have visibly clear, brighter, and healthier skin, here is the step-by-step guide to the Korean acne skincare routine.
- Double Cleansing – Whether it’s acne-prone skin or not, the Korean skincare routine always starts with double cleansing. Cleanse your face once with an oil-based cleanser and go over again with a water-based cleanser. Give both oil and water-based cleansers 1 to 2 minutes to remove stubborn pore-clogging acne-causing impurities and bacteria that lead to breakouts.
- Face Mask – The second step in the Korean acne skincare routine is a face mask. Since you are trying to get rid of acne, you have to apply a clay mask instead of a sheet mask. The sheet masks are not suitable for acne-prone skin. They trap the acne-causing bacteria and increase sebum production which leads to inflammatory acne as well as blackheads and whiteheads. Whereas, the clay masks do the opposite; unclog the pores and reduce sebum production.
- Toner – Toners are extremely helpful for people with oily and acne-prone skin. Therefore, you have to apply toner right after treating your skin with the clay mask. Keep in mind, you can only use a toner with salicylic acid for acne. It is because the salicylic acid goes deep into the skin and cleans out pore-clogging debris and blackheads that turn into acne.
- Spot treatment – Korean acne spot treatment is only supposed to treat active acne. Therefore, this step is mandatory only when there is active acne. Otherwise, you can skip it. Pimples filled with fluid or a hard lump are classified as active acne. Now you have to examine your face thoroughly and spot the active acne. More importantly, you have to figure out if active acne is bad or not. If there are big blemishes, do the spot treatment right after applying the toner. If your active acne is not that bad, you have to seal it with spot treatment after serum.
- Serum – Once the toner is fully absorbed into the skin, you have to apply an acne-prone skin-friendly serum. Usually, serums containing retinol, niacinamide, salicylic acid, and benzoyl peroxide are good for acne. Know that you can not use the same serum in your morning and night acne skin care routine. The serum you should use during the day must have pore-tightening properties. Whereas, the night serum has to treat dullness.
- Moisturizer – The night acne skin care routine ends with a moisturizer. Yes, acne-prone skin does need a moisturizer, but not a regular one. The gel moisturizers are highly suitable for such skin issues. They regulate oil production and prevent breakouts.
- Sunblock – The morning Korean acne skincare routine has one additional step. It is because you have to protect the skin from harmful UVA and UVB rays. The acne-prone skin needs more protection from the sun than any other skin type. It is because acne flares up in the sun and sunblock calms it down. Follow the 3 finger rule while applying a block to get the right protection.
Alternate Acne Treatments
if you find the Korean acne skincare routine too laborious, you can try these skincare products to improve your skin condition.
Niacinamide – Niacinamide is not just an effective acne treatment but a solution for another most concerning issue; hyperpigmentation. It treats all kinds of acne from mild to severe but works best for inflammatory forms. To treat acne with niacinamide, you have to invest in a good serum and use it after toner twice a day.
It is an over-the-counter acne treatment. So, you can purchase and treat your skin issue without a doctor’s recommendation. Generally, it takes about 2 to 4 weeks to show results. However, you begin to notice an improvement in your skin condition within 2 to 3 days of regular use.
Activated Charcoal – Activated charcoal is the Korean skincare enthusiasts’ favorite way of treating acne. There are many causes of acne, however, activated charcoal can work for the one caused by clogged pores. The activated charcoal unclogs the pores and reduces acne by lifting the dead skin cells, bacteria, and oil clogging the pores.
There are many ways to use activated charcoal to treat acne. You can cleanse your face with an activated charcoal cleanser or exfoliate with a scrub containing the ingredient. However, if you want guaranteed results, it’s better to apply it directly to your face or the troubled areas. Activated charcoal is safe to use, here is how you can apply it on your face
- Cleanse your face with any gentle cleanser
- Apply the activated charcoal mask on your face or the troubled area
- Leave it to dry(it usually takes 15 to 20 minutes)
- Rinse and apply moisturizer
Using activated charcoal cleanser/scrub daily and applying the mask once a week would bring desired results.
Salicylic Acid – Is salicylic acid good for acne? Yes, salicylic acid does wonders in treating and preventing acne, whiteheads, and blackheads. This wonderful skincare ingredient penetrates the skin, dissolves dead skin cells, clear out pores, and reduces acne. However, unlike activated charcoal, salicylic acid products take a little longer to show results and happen to work for mild acne only. Even though salicylic acid is proven to work for acne, it should only be applied on the doctor’s recommendation.
Clay Mask – Clay mask might not be the ultimate acne solution as the Korean acne skincare routine. However, it does contribute to resolving the issue. People with acne or acne-prone skin in South Korea use clay masks to prevent mild forms of acne such as pimples, blackheads, and whiteheads. The clay masks are gentle. Therefore, they help with acne without causing any redness, irritation, and other such skin conditions.
There are many types of clay masks. However, it’s important to know that not all contribute to treating acne. The pink Kaolin and green clay mask are known to be more effective in drawing out oil and helping with the acne issue.
What to do?
- Be patient, and give the acne treatment time to work
- Use non-comedogenic products on your face and hair
- Wash your face twice a day, once in the morning and once in the night
- Take a zinc supplement (It’s a natural treatment for acne)
What to avoid?
- Popping or squeezing acne
- Food with a high glycemic index (GI) and a high glycemic load (GL)
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