How To Get Started With Your Korean Skincare Routine?
- Marielle McElrath
- Jul 19
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 13
Ready to master the Korean skincare routine that everyone’s talking about? This guide breaks down the exact Korean skincare steps you need for achieving glass skin and a healthy, glowing complexion. Whether you’re looking for the perfect order of Korean skincare, the best routine for oily skin, oily acne-prone skin, dry skin, or sensitive skin, or you want to build your own K-beauty set, I’ve got you covered. Inside, you’ll find my complete step-by-step routine, common mistakes to avoid, and my favourite K-beauty brands and products for every skin type and concern. Dive in and discover the best K-beauty trends to help you glow with confidence!
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Why Is Korean Skincare So Good?
Korean skincare is a blend of time-tested beauty practices and innovative ingredients designed to keep your skin healthy, glowing, and youthful. This K-beauty routine follows gentle, effective Korean skincare steps—deep cleansing, layering hydration, and protecting your skin barrier—making it trusted for beautiful aging and skin preservation. K-beauty refers to skincare and cosmetics made in Korea, known for real results with cleansers, toners, serums, and more that fit perfectly into your daily skincare routine.
What Are The Advantages Of Korean Skincare?
Affordable and accessible: Korean skincare offers high-quality products that are often more budget-friendly compared to luxury Western brands.
Innovative formulas: K-beauty is known for pushing boundaries with cutting-edge ingredients and unique product types that deliver visible results.
Natural and clean ingredients: Many Korean skincare products focus on gentle, skin-friendly botanicals and clean formulations that soothe and nourish.
Suitable for all skin types: Whether you have oily, dry, sensitive, or combination skin, Korean skincare routines include versatile products tailored to meet diverse needs.
Step-by-Step Korean Skincare Routine
Step #1 - Cleansing Oil
The first essential step in your Korean skincare routine is the cleansing oil, designed to gently dissolve makeup, sunscreen, and excess sebum without stripping your skin. This step ensures a deep, thorough cleanse while maintaining your skin’s natural moisture balance. Using a quality oil cleanser helps prepare your skin for the next steps in your routine, setting the foundation for glowing, healthy skin.
Step #2 - Cleanser
The second Korean skincare step after oil cleansing is the water-based cleanser, designed to remove any leftover impurities and refresh the skin without stripping moisture. My favorite is the Round Lab Birch Juice Moisturizing Cleanser, which features a gentle, hydrating formula rich in birch sap. This cleanser preps your skin perfectly for the next steps in your routine, helping maintain balance and glow as part of the essential Korean skincare steps.
Step #3 - Toner
The third Korean skincare step is applying a toner, which rebalances your skin’s pH and preps it to absorb the next layers of hydration. I personally love using toner pads that are already pre-infused with hydrating essence—so convenient and effective for sweeping away any leftover residue while delivering an instant moisture boost. This essential step keeps your skin refreshed and ready to soak up your favorite serums in your Korean skincare routine.
Step #4 - Ampoule
Next in your Korean skincare routine steps is the ampoule — and I’m obsessed with the TIRTIR Ceramic Milk Ampoule, which is my secret for that absolutely glass skin look. Ampoules are highly concentrated treatments that deliver an extra boost of active ingredients to deeply hydrate skin, improve texture, and add a dewy, luminous glow. This step helps lock in moisture, strengthens the skin barrier, and targets any concerns while giving you that signature K-beauty hydrated skin finish.
Step #5 - Serum
Next in your Korean skincare routine is your serum — a must-have for delivering targeted ingredients deep into the skin. My favorite is the HaruHaru Wonder Black Rice Hyaluronic Anti-Wrinkle Serum. Packed with fermented black rice extract and hyaluronic acid, it deeply hydrates skin, brightens dullness, and helps smooth fine lines. Adding a nourishing serum like this keeps your complexion plump, glowing, and perfectly prepped for that signature K-beauty routine glow.
Step #6 - Moisturiser
To seal in all that hydration, finish with a good moisturizer. I love the Torriden Super Mega Lightweight Soothing Cream — it’s water-based, feather-light, and locks in moisture without feeling greasy. This cream soothes and hydrates skin while helping to maintain a strong skin barrier, which is key for keeping that fresh, dewy K-beauty glow. A lightweight moisturizer like this is the final touch to keep your skin nourished, balanced, and glowing.
Step #7 - SPF
No Korean skincare routine is complete without daily SPF. Sunscreen is your skin’s best defense against UV damage, premature aging, and dark spots — and it’s the final step that locks in all your hard work. Choose a lightweight, hydrating formula that won’t clog pores or feel heavy. Never skip this step if you want to protect your glow and keep your skin healthy and youthful for years to come!
Common Korean Skincare Mistakes
Not cleansing properly: A deep cleanse is the foundation of glowing skin. In K-beauty, double cleansing is a must: start with an oil cleanser to break down makeup, sunscreen, and excess oil, then follow with a gentle water-based cleanser to wash away leftover impurities without stripping your skin.
Using the wrong order: Layering your products in the correct order of Korean skincare is key! Stick to the steps shown above: oil cleansing → cleanser → toner → ampoule → serums → moisturizer → SPF (in the morning). This helps each step work at its best.
Overloading with too many products: K-beauty can be overwhelming because there are so many tempting products — but using too many at once can stress or irritate your skin. Keep your core steps simple and consistent. Treat extras like collagen overnight masks or gentle peeling treatments as occasional boosts, not daily must-haves.
Skipping patch tests:Trying new products without patch testing is risky — even gentle K-beauty ingredients can cause breakouts or reactions if they don’t suit your skin. Always test new serums or masks on a small area first.
Key Products By Skin Type/Concerns
Oily/Acne Prone Skin
Cleansers
When choosing a cleanser for oily or acne-prone skin, look for a gentle formula with a low pH to maintain your skin’s natural barrier. Ingredients like tea tree oil and mild BHAs help clear pores and control breakouts without stripping your skin dry — which can actually cause more oil production. The goal is to deeply cleanse excess oil and dirt while keeping skin calm and balanced. The COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser and the Some By Mi AHA BHA PHA 30 Days Miracle Foam are perfect picks to help you do exactly that.
Serums
These lightweight, non-greasy serums are perfect for oily and acne-prone skin. The Beauty of Joseon Calming Serumcombines soothing green tea and panthenol to reduce redness, balance oil production, and strengthen the skin barrier. Meanwhile, the COSRX Blemish Spot Clearing Serum uses centella, niacinamide, and propolis to calm irritation, clear blemishes, and fade dark spots—delivering effective treatment without clogging pores or feeling heavy.
Moisturisers
These moisturizers are perfect for oily, acne-prone skin because they provide lightweight, soothing hydration without clogging pores or adding excess oil. The Etude House SoonJung Hydro Barrier Cream calms irritation and strengthens the skin barrier with a gentle, minimal ingredient formula, while the Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Cream reduces redness and inflammation with its calming, barrier-boosting properties—both helping skin stay balanced, hydrated, and comfortable.
Dry/Sensitive Skin
Serums/Essences
For dry and sensitive skin, I recommend incorporating the Black Rice Probiotics Barrier Essence and Medicube Triple Collagen Serum into your routine. The essence is packed with panthenol, which deeply hydrates and soothes irritation, while betaine helps balance moisture and reduce redness, strengthening your skin’s barrier. Following that, the Triple Collagen Serum provides powerful protection against dryness with its rich ceramide content that locks in moisture and reinforces your skin’s natural defenses. Plus, its triple collagen complex boosts elasticity and leaves your skin feeling plump and nourished. Together, these products create a calming, hydrating routine that supports sensitive skin and keeps it resilient and glowing.
Moisturisers
For a hydrating boost in your skincare routine, I recommend the Laneige Water Bank Moisture Cream and Belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb. The Laneige Water Bank Moisture Cream provides intense, long-lasting hydration thanks to its unique mineral water and green mineral complex, helping to keep dry, sensitive skin moist and supple throughout the day. Complementing this, Belif’s True Cream Aqua Bomb offers a refreshing gel-cream texture packed with Lady’s Mantle herb extract that soothes irritation and protects the skin barrier. Lightweight yet deeply moisturizing, these two creams work together to deliver balanced hydration while calming and strengthening sensitive skin.
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