How to Hydrate Your Skin, According to a K-Beauty Expert

Want to obtain plump, hydrated pores and skin? Step absent from the harsh skincare actives and acquire a cue from K-magnificence skincare, which utilizes gentle substances for supreme hydration. We spoke to Michelle Shieh, scientific communications manager at Laneige, to find out how to hydrate your skin like a pro.

When you feel of Korean skincare, you may perhaps straight away think of all those intricate 12-stage routines that dominated social media for yrs. But although K-attractiveness may perhaps look complex, it is rooted in a person extremely very simple basic principle: hydration. So if you’re pondering how to hydrate skin and get a dewy appear, glimpse no more than K-elegance skincare. 

“Hydration is undoubtedly an significant pillar in Korean skincare,” states Michelle Shieh, scientific communications manager at Laneige. “We believe that hydrated pores and skin is the foundation to addressing many skincare problems.”

By hydrating your complexion, you can combat and stop indicators like TK, receiving that signature K-splendor glow. Go through on to study a lot more about why hydration is foundational to K-beauty skincare and the most effective way to hydrate pores and skin.

Hydration: K-Elegance Skincare’s Most effective Saved Top secret

1st, the evident motive you may possibly be concentrated on pores and skin hydration: “Dry and dehydrated pores and skin can lead to flakiness, dullness, reduction of plumpness, or even distress this sort of as itchiness,” points out Shieh. But you don’t need to have to have super dry pores and skin to gain from hydrating strategies and items. “Hydration is key to acquiring healthier-looking pores and skin,” claims Shieh.

Not only can hydration improve pores and skin disorders, but it can also support avoid new ones from cropping up. For example, if your pores and skin becomes dehydrated, it might start to make excessive oil, which can lead to breakouts. 

Yet another reason why K-splendor focuses on hydration? Keeping your pores and skin effectively hydrated ensures your skin barrier (the outer amount of your pores and skin) stays healthy and capabilities effectively. If the pores and skin barrier turns into broken, your skin will not be able to keep dampness and you could experience redness, irritation, sensitivity, flaking, breakouts, and pronounced fine strains or wrinkles.

What to Know About Skin Hydration

Definitely, skin hydration is a single of the largest K-attractiveness techniques, but so is knowledge the result in of your skin’s dryness. “There are actually two various predicaments that could be the situation when we come to feel like our skin feels or looks dry: dry skin or dehydrated pores and skin. 

But what specifically is the variation in between dry skin compared to dehydrated pores and skin? Each sorts of parched complexions are the final result of low degrees of dampness in the pores and skin, just different types of dampness. “Dry pores and skin is a pores and skin sort when the sebaceous glands really don’t produce sufficient oil to nourish the skin,” explains Shieh. Some indicators of dry skin involve flakes, rough texture, exaggerated wonderful lines and wrinkles, redness, irritation, breakouts, and itchiness, in accordance to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). It wants extreme hydration from oil-dependent components (feel: major lotions) to help replenish and seal the moisture in.

“Dehydrated skin is when the skin lacks hydration. This can be a non permanent condition that is brought on by a improve in year, local weather, or geographical spot (like when we’re touring),” states Shieh. Dehydrated skin can be harder to location. When skin is dehydrated, it can overcompensate for the deficiency of hydration by making excess oil, top to an about-production of oil. This can block pores and direct to blackheads, pimples, or other discomfort. 

It’s popular for those with oily or acne breakouts-susceptible skin to not even know they have dehydrated skin—only exacerbating their pores and skin troubles. For that reason, Shieh claims hydration is as important to these with oily or acne breakouts-vulnerable skin kinds as to these with dry skin styles. Incorporating the suitable forms of light-weight, hydrating merchandise into their routines (like hyaluronic acid, for example) can aid the pores and skin manage a balanced drinking water-oil stability. “Hydration is as vital to people with oily or zits-vulnerable pores and skin sorts as to those with dry skin sorts,” Shieh claims.  

But hydration is also essential if you have normal or well balanced pores and skin, as your complexion is continuously shedding h2o through the day. Your skin loses about 300 to 400 milliliters of h2o by skin diffusion each individual day, in accordance to study. Making use of moisturizing items just after you clean your face, for illustration, locks in the excess hydration from the h2o and ensures your skin’s hydration ranges keep continual during the day.

How to Hydrate Your Skin Like a K-Natural beauty Professional

Want to reach K-magnificence ranges of pores and skin hydration? Shieh reveals her favored hydrating ideas and ingredients that will give your complexion that viral glazed doughnut seem.

Believe Light

Whilst severe skincare actives are touted for their remarkable effects, light, hydrating components (like the ones uncovered in K-natural beauty solutions) can assistance you reach smooth, crystal clear, luminous skin. This strategy to hydration is one of the major differentiators in K-beauty skincare. These ingredients (both equally inactive and active) will not disrupt your skin’s pH harmony (like selected acids will) nor will they induce irritation, dryness, or redness (like retinol or other active skincare components). Alternatively, they’ll replenish your skin’s moisture ranges, supplying you the supreme glow.

Stay Consistent

A further vital to hydrating your pores and skin like a K-magnificence pro? Consistency. Korean skincare is all about currently being regimented with your plan (especially considering the fact that there can be up to 12 measures at times!). Bear in mind that skincare program purchase issues: Apply your products from thinnest regularity (imagine: serums) to thickest (such as evening lotions) every day to see success.

Attain for Ultra-Hydrating Components

Hyaluronic Acid

“One of my beloved hydration components is undoubtedly hyaluronic acid,” she states. “Hyaluronic acid is a humectant component that assists draw humidity into the skin and has the means to help hold on to huge amounts of hydration when nevertheless staying pretty lightweight.” This component is a terrific selection to help insert extreme hydration to all skin types—whether you battle with dry pores and skin or have dehydrated, oily pores and skin.

Wherever to Come across It: Laneige’s H2o Bank Hydration Established, $45

“There are many styles of hyaluronic acids out there, and not all of them are produced equivalent,” Shieh suggests. “Laneige’s Blue Hyaluronic Acid in the new Drinking water Lender assortment is a micro-sized hyaluronic acid (it’s 2,000 situations lesser than the hyaluronic acid used in our past Water Lender assortment) that is double fermented with deep-sea algae, which gets absorbed deeper and locks in hydration improved to offer a more proficiently multi-faceted hydration.”

Squalane

Not to be confused with squalene (which is usually uncovered in shark liver), squalane is a plant-based hydrating component (and a favourite of Shieh’s). “It’s an emollient component that aids increase nourishment to the pores and skin even though assisting to seal in hydration, best to pair with hyaluronic acid,” she says. “It mimics a ingredient of our skin’s purely natural lipids so, it’s uncomplicated for the skin to consider in.”

Wherever to Discover It: Laneige Water Sleeping Mask, $29

Give your skin a substantially-desired hydration strengthen with the Laneige Drinking water Sleeping Mask. It consists of this moisturizing ingredient in a lightweight, gel texture that will soak into your pores and skin and replenish its hydration degrees right away.

Shea Butter

Shea butter is an emollient that hydrates and softens the pores and skin. It is one of the top rated-proposed substances for dry skin, in accordance to the AAD. Additionally, its thick consistency can assistance guidance the skin’s barrier. “Aside from earning sure we are adding hydration, it is also critical to take superior care of our skin’s moisture barrier to enable seal in the hydration that we have provided,” Shieh states. “Without a satisfied dampness barrier, it is difficult for our pores and skin to manage long-expression hydration.”

In which to Discover It: Laneige’s Lip Sleeping Mask, $22

Presented shea butter’s heavier regularity, it’s the best component for a lip treatment. Laneige’s Lip Sleeping Mask incorporates this hydration superstar moreover hyaluronic acid and powerful antioxidants for a supple, clean pout. (Psst: This product has gone viral on TikTok, with over 3.5 million sights.)