Well-Aging in K-Beauty
One of the key aspects of a well-aging routine is using proven ingredients that will have a positive effect on your concerns – these will have an impact on your collagen production, pigmentation and rough skin. They tend to have a good amount of research that show they work and are known as active ingredients.
Whilst Korean skincare has been seen as lacking in these active ingredients, there are plenty of products that will help with your concerns, which I’ve written about here.
However, strong ingredients can be drying and irritating so the Korean approach to making gentle but effective formulations is great because it can minimise side effects. Someone with sensitive skin will still need to be cautious and start slowly. There’s something for everyone in K-Beauty, unless you have a condition that needs the input of a dermatologist, then prescription actives may be necessary! But personally, I don’t have any concerns that require a derm and I’ll stick with Korean products because I’ve seen great results so far.
The other really important thing about actives and Korean skincare is that such products will contain other ingredients that double up to support the effects of the actives and help your skin barrier. Building a strong barrier will help you tolerate actives better and lessen the irritating effects.
This article will discuss what other well-aging ingredients to look out for and what will help support your barrier so you can minimise side effects from actives!
Fundamentals: Hydrating, Moisturising and Protecting Skin
First up, let’s recap on the basics: hydrating and moisturising your skin. Hydration is the foundation of any K-Beauty skincare routine, as is locking it in with a moisturiser. Whilst these are really important things generally, they become crucial if you’re using actives so you can avoid irritating and drying out your skin.
There’s lots of wonderful serums that are hydrating but a key aspect of delivering hydration to the skin is layering, particularly with toners, as Bianca has said:
Moisturisers do exactly what they say on the tin: condition your skin and keep that moisture in your skin. Some kind of moisturiser is important, regardless of your skin type – a gel or emulsion works best for very oily skin, heavy creams for dry skin and lightweight creams for combination.
This is a general guide – listen to your skin (my aging skin, whilst being combination, needs a light moisturiser and a separate occlusive one)
With moisturisers, it’s a good idea to look out for ceramides on ingredient lists because they can be extremely helpful in maintaining your barrier.
Although this article talks about how good ceramide creams are for dry skin, it’s worth noting that the authors specifically talk about ceramides as “barrier repair” ingredients.
I keep saying it but it should be repeated like a mantra: sunscreen is one of the best products out there for protecting the skin – a non-negotiable to reduce the risk of skin cancer but also to reduce the effects of sun on wrinkles and pigmentation. The sun may worsen the natural wrinkles we get as we age . The care that goes into the formulation of K-Beauty sunscreens makes them a joy to use every day!
Classic K-Beauty Ingredients for Well-Aging and Supporting Your Barrier
Before I begin, I am going to talk about niacinamide again: it’s a magic ingredient -at 2% it helps with barrier function and at 4-5% it increases collagen production to smooth out wrinkles. It’s a very helpful ingredient, because as I mentioned before, you can find it in lots of Korean products so you may already be using it!
On to extracts, one of my favourite parts of K-Beauty because they do so much. Some you’ll find in a lot of products: propolis, centella, snail, rice, green tea and fermented ingredients. Some you’ll find in just particular product: like artichoke and blackberry.
All of these extracts have some kind of an effect on collagen production and additional helpful benefits, which I’ll discuss in detail below.
There are various signs of aging and ways to help reduce those signs: some of the most common, which I mentioned above, include wrinkling, rough texture and pigmentation.
Propolis can help to smooth skin texture, whilst propolis, rice and fermented soybean can all help even your skin tone. Cosrx in particular has an excellent and very popular propolis range, but you can also find propolis in products from Benton and Dr Ceuracle.
Green tea, artichoke and snail are anti-inflammatory and aloe promotes wound-healing, all of which will soothe your skin and help strengthen your barrier. Innisfree, Instree and Benton have entire product sets devoted to green tea. Benton and Cosrx are famous for their snail but they also have aloe great aloe options. Artichoke is only in Axis-Y’s ampoule but it’s a special, barrier-restoring serum.
Blackberry can help with UV protection (but don’t forget to wear sunscreen), which you’ll find in Mary & May’s entire blackberry range, plus they include other antioxidants to help with wrinkling (blue lotus flower in the essence and idebenone in the serum plus the moisturiser).
For me, ferments in general (any kind of ferments!) are essential for keeping my barrier functioning well – I’ve seen my skin become much more resilient since I starting using products with fermented ingredients. My long-standing favourites are from Missha and Dr Ceuracle, both of which contain a high concentration of fermented ingredients.
Final Word
A great well-aging routine will have a combination of actives that help with your specific concerns but also cover a range of extracts that will support the effects of your actives and your barrier.