Table of Contents
Nobody in Seoul does ten steps every night.
The famous ten-step routine was a real thing, but it was always aspirational, the way a twelve-piece knife set is real but nobody uses all twelve. What Koreans actually do on a weeknight is closer to five steps, with the full version saved for Sunday. Here's the routine in the order it's meant to go, and how to cut it down without losing the point.
The Logic Behind the Order
Thinnest to thickest. Every Korean routine follows that rule. Watery products go first because they absorb, and richer products go last because they seal. Once you understand that, you can add or remove steps freely.
House of Dohwa Rice Makgeolli Toner, a rice ferment toner. Source: Daebak. Shop it here.
Morning: Five Steps
1. Rinse, don't wash. Most Koreans rinse with water only in the morning, or use a very mild cleanser. You washed last night.
2. Toner. Korean toner is not the astringent your parents used. It's a watery hydrating layer that preps skin. Many people pat it on with their hands rather than a cotton pad.
3. Serum or essence. One active product, chosen for whatever you're working on: brightening, barrier repair, PDRN for stressed skin.
4. Moisturizer. Light in summer, richer in winter.
5. Sunscreen. The step that does more than all the others combined. Here's our full guide.
Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water, the hydrating essence step. Source: Daebak. Shop it here.
Evening: Five Steps
1. Oil cleanse. Cleansing balm or oil to dissolve sunscreen and makeup. This is the step that actually changes people's skin, and the one most often skipped outside Korea.
2. Foam cleanse. A gentle water-based cleanser to take off what the oil loosened. Together these two steps are the "double cleanse."
3. Toner. Same as morning.
4. Treatment. Serum, or a sheet mask two or three times a week, or an exfoliant once or twice a week. Not all three on the same night.
5. Moisturizer, slightly richer than the morning one. A sleeping mask replaces it once or twice a week.
Pyunkang Yul Deep Clear Cleansing Balm, for the first cleanse. Source: Daebak. Shop it here.
Some products to build it with:
- House of Dohwa Rice Makgeolli Toner: rice ferment, a very traditional Korean ingredient
- Pyunkang Yul Deep Clear Cleansing Balm: for the first cleanse
- Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water: hydrating essence step
- Torriden DIVE IN Glow Mist: hyaluronic acid, useful mid-day
- Full-Size Korean Skincare Set: a complete routine in one purchase
A full-size Korean skincare set, a complete routine in one purchase. Source: Daebak. Shop it here.
The Part Nobody Tells You
Korean skincare is less about products than about consistency and restraint. Two rules run underneath everything:
Don't add two new actives at once. When something irritates your skin, you need to know which thing did it. Koreans introduce one product at a time and wait a couple of weeks.
When skin is unhappy, do less. The Korean instinct is to strip the routine back to cleanser, a barrier cream, and sunscreen until skin calms down. The ten-step version is for when your skin is already healthy.
Starting From Zero
If you own nothing, buy three things: a gentle cleanser, a moisturizer suited to your skin type, and a sunscreen. Use them for a month. Add a serum after that. This is genuinely how most Koreans start, and it's a far better plan than buying ten products at once.
Let us choose for you with the Daebak K-Beauty Box.
Written in Seoul, where the office consensus is that step one of any routine is sleep.
