At this point, we’ve explored just about every possible summer beauty routine—the all-natural one, the fashion girl one, our own—and there’s still more to come! But if there’s one that we’d like to think would actually make a difference in our skin, it’s the Korean routine. Which is why we had Christine Chang, co-founder of Glow Recipe, the source for high-quality, all-natural Korean beauty products, break down exactly what our skincare routine should look like when we’re sweating more than a chilled glass of rosé. Here’s your summer skin saving routine in six steps.
1. Double Cleanse
“The first step of a summer skincare routine has to be the double cleanse. People think that they can just use a foam cleanser and it will get everything off, but makeup is oil-based and everything is so layered, that one step of cleansing does not take everything off. We call it the one-one technique: one minute of face massage with the cleansing oil and one minute of massage with the foam cleanser. That alone will really help with breakouts. Cleansing oil first—you emulsify it with water and rinse. Then a foam cleanser to finish it off. That dual punch will get rid of the grime, all the oil-based stuff, and you’ll be completely clean.
“When we talk to our derm friends in Korea, they tell us that in the U.S., so many women come to their offices with stuff still stuck in their pores. They say they clean their face, but it’s still not clean. Imagine New York City pollution all stuck in there. Double cleanse at night—you don’t have to do this in the morning.”
2. Hydrate With an Essence Toner
“The next step is a really hydrating essence. If you’re skin is starved for hydration, which it often is in the summer, then it overproduces sebum and oil because the skin likes to overcompensate. Use a hydrating balancing essence, without alcohol preferably.”
3. Target Your Pores
“Then you move on to something like this, which is great for the summer because it’s super lightweight. You really want to target those pores. This is like an essence, basically the same thing as a serum. We call it the modern version of a serum because the textures tend to be a little bit more elegant. This also works on firmness.”
4. Treat & Prime
“You can then move on to the J.One Jelly Pack. Use this alone if you want, but I’ve had good luck layering [with the serum in step three]. It’s a skincare product first and foremost, it just has the added benefit of a primer, so you can still apply at night.”
5. SPF
“Then, use a standalone SPF. We always get questions like, ‘Is this a daytime moisturizer? A nighttime moisturizer?’ There’s no such thing. You should be able to use any moisturizer day and night because your moisturizer shouldn’t have SPF in it and you should be using a standalone SPF. You need an entire shot glass of moisturizer to get an SPF of 30 or 50. No one is applying that much if it’s your moisturizer. Use a standalone SPF, and then your makeup.”
6. Mist
“[Use] this organic, fermented mist with olive leaves in it throughout the day. You can spritz it on as often as you want. The mist will help you from getting shiny—if your skin is hydrated, it won’t need to overproduce sebum.”