What Are Actives?
If you’ve spent time on skincare social media, whether it’s channels on YouTube, reading blogs or haunting Reddit, you might have seen the idea that Korean skincare is great for everything but actives.
Which begs the question: what are actives? This term tends to be applied to something that has an effect on skin cell turnover and increases collagen production. It can mean things that clear out your pores, smooth wrinkles, as well as helping to even out skin tone, and they tend to be well-studied, so there’s clinical research backing up their efficacy.
Exfoliating acids, like alpha hydroxy acids (glycolic and lactic) and beta hydroxy acids (salicylic), are definitely actives, as are certain vitamins, like A (retinol), B3 (niacinamide) and C (ascorbic acid). The term also applies to over the counter drugs, like benzoyl peroxide, and prescription drugs, the gold standard version of vitamin A, tretinoin – but I won’t be talking about the drugs here.
You could also consider peptides an active of sorts: they can increase skin cell turnover and have an effect on wrinkles.
Remember to start slow when you add a new, or stronger, active to your skincare routine so your skin gets used to it with minimal irritation.
I say this constantly but don’t forget sunscreen: that’s your number one product to protect against skin cancer and to soften the effects of aging. Many of these actives can make your skin more sensitive to the sun, too.
Actives in Korean Skincare?
Korean skincare has been seen as lacking actives, as the products tend to be protective and actives can certainly be nuclear warfare for your skin. Bianca sums it up perfectly:
“Instead of using products full of harsh ingredients that strip the skin’s natural barrier, Korean skin care philosophy is about working with your skin’s natural ecosystem by cleansing, hydrating, nourishing, and protecting it — allowing your skin to thrive”
In keeping with how well-formulated and gentle Korean skincare tends to be, their actives tend to be more gentle too. However, here’s a real trend in Korean skincare that embraces well-aging – products with actives which also contain lots of supporting ingredients that are soothing: so you have products that work but don’t pulverise your skin.
What’s Well-Aging ?
We can’t stop aging: it’s a fact and a privilege to age! But we can age gracefully and do good things for our skin to ease the effects of aging. I’ve increasingly seen the term “well-aging” which accepts the fact of aging and promotes a healthy attitude to getting older.
I like the idea making peace with aging, rather than demonising it, whilst taking excellent care of my skin. I don’t have any issue with using the term anti-aging but it’s good to focus on the positive aspects of aging.
Using skincare started as a functional thing for me: I needed my skin to feel comfortable and hydrated. Since nailing comfort with Korean products, my skin is far more resilient and less sensitive so I’ve been able to incorporate products that address other concerns, like fine lines and pigmentation.
Not only is Korean skincare responsible for desensitising my skin, I’ve discovered their actives are much more gentle than Western ones but still highly effective. I genuinely never thought I’d be able to glycolic acid because my skin was too sensitive but Korean formulations are amazing!
Retinal
I mentioned retinol earlier for it’s effect on collagen production and therefore smoothing out wrinkles but here I’m talking about retinal, with an ‘a’. This is an important distinction because retinal is more potent than retinol. There aren’t many retinol or retinal products in Korean skincare but Beauty of Joseon has a brand new retinal product! The Beauty of Joseon Revive Eye Serum Ginseng + Retinal is at the more gentle end of retinal products, with 0.02% retinal, making it easier to tolerate and a great starter product. It’s also really well priced: if you search for retinal serums, you’ll find that they’re at least twice the price of this one.
I use a retinal that’s not Korean which is a little stronger but I’m keen to try this one next, once I get through some of my product testing backlog! It’s worth noting that you don’t just have to use it solely on your eye area: Beauty of Joseon say it can be used on your entire face, which is what I intend to do.
Niacinamide
You can find niacinamide in many different products across all categories! I’m not going to list them all here – to say there are lots of products containing niacinamide is an understatement – and I’ve mentioned the benefits of niacinamide in a number of my reviews already.
However, I want to mention one specific range: Some By Mi’s Yuja Niacin serum, moisture cream and sleeping mask. They all contain 5% niacinamide and, at that concentration, it’s effective at smoothing out wrinkles and reducing acne, as well as brightening. Whilst 2% niacinamide is much more common in Korean skincare products, which will help reduce pigmentation and improve barrier function, it isn’t the right concentration for wrinkles: the Some By Mi range is the one to choose for well-aging wrinkle care.
Vitamin C
Vitamin c is a tricky ingredient: ascorbic acid is unstable in water-based formulas: it becomes oxidised and ineffective very easily. And it’s also worth knowing that it has to be formulated in a low pH in a water solution, which can very irritating but if a water-free solution is used, it may not work for all skin types.
One way around this is to use vitamin c derivatives, which are more stable and less irritating, or ingredients that contain vitamin c naturally. Products that have vitamin c rich ingredients, rather than vitamin c itself, will be much more gentle but also not as effective as vitamin c itself.
However, if you consider this a contributing factor, rather than your sole well-aging ingredient, it can be an excellent addition to your routine to reduce pigmentation and improve collagen production. Standout products are Isntree’s C-Niacin Ampoule and cream as well as the Some By Mi Yuca range I mentioned earlier. I’ve got the Isntree C-Niacin range ready to try, so watch this space, as there will be reviews coming soon!
Acids
I’ve talked about what acids can do for your skin detail here, so I’ll just say that the alpha hydroxy acids are what you want for wrinkles, pigmentation and well-aging skin texture! There’s options for gentle daily exfoliation or stronger products that will have more significant effects.
Peptides
Peptides can do a lot for your skin: “collagen stimulation, wound healing, “Botox-like” wrinkle smoothing, as well as antioxidative, antimicrobial, and whitening effects”.
You’ll find peptides in a lot of the different steps in Korean skincare but notable products combine peptides with other great ingredients, like snail, rice and fermented black tea. Because of their effect on fine lines, you’ll often see peptides in eye products.
Final Word
I hope you can see that I’m a firm believer that it’s perfectly possible to find effective products with actives in Korean skincare! And you can build an easy to tolerate but effective routine by combining different actives.