Wish to succeed in plump, hydrated pores and skin? Step clear of the tough skin care actives and take a cue from Okay-beauty skin care, which makes use of mild substances for final hydration. We spoke to Michelle Shieh, medical communications supervisor at Laneige, to discover ways to hydrate your pores and skin like a professional.
Whilst you bring to mind Korean skin care, chances are you’ll in an instant bring to mind the ones intricate 12-step routines that ruled social media for years. However whilst Okay-beauty might appear difficult, it’s rooted in a single quite simple theory: hydration. So for those who’re questioning hydrate pores and skin and get a dewy glance, glance no additional than Okay-beauty skin care.
“Hydration is indubitably a very powerful pillar in Korean skin care,” says Michelle Shieh, medical communications supervisor at Laneige. “We consider that hydrated pores and skin is the basis to addressing more than a few skin care issues.”
By way of hydrating your complexion, you’ll be able to fight and save you signs like TK, getting that signature Okay-beauty glow. Learn on to be told extra about why hydration is foundational to Okay-beauty skin care and one of the best ways to hydrate pores and skin.
Hydration: Okay-Attractiveness Skin care’s Easiest Saved Secret

First, the most obvious explanation why you’ll be interested in pores and skin hydration: “Dry and dehydrated pores and skin can result in flakiness, dullness, lack of plumpness, and even discomfort similar to itchiness,” explains Shieh. However you don’t want to have tremendous dry pores and skin to take pleasure in hydrating guidelines and merchandise. “Hydration is vital to attaining healthy-looking pores and skin,” says Shieh.
No longer handiest can hydration toughen pores and skin prerequisites, however it will possibly additionally assist save you new ones from cropping up. As an example, in case your pores and skin turns into dehydrated, it’s going to begin to produce extra oil, which may end up in breakouts.
One more reason why Okay-beauty specializes in hydration? Protecting your pores and skin correctly hydrated guarantees your pores and skin barrier (the outer stage of your pores and skin) remains wholesome and purposes correctly. If the outside barrier turns into broken, your pores and skin gained’t be capable of retain moisture and you will revel in redness, inflammation, sensitivity, flaking, breakouts, and pronounced fantastic traces or wrinkles.
What to Know About Pores and skin Hydration

Clearly, pores and skin hydration is among the greatest Okay-beauty secrets and techniques, however so is working out the reason for your pores and skin’s dryness. “There are in reality two other scenarios which may be the case once we really feel like our pores and skin feels or seems to be dry: dry pores and skin or dehydrated pores and skin.
However what precisely is the variation between dry pores and skin as opposed to dehydrated pores and skin? Each kinds of parched complexions are the results of low ranges of moisture within the pores and skin, simply several types of moisture. “Dry pores and skin is a pores and skin kind when the sebaceous glands don’t produce sufficient oil to nourish the outside,” explains Shieh. Some signs of dry pores and skin come with flakes, tough texture, exaggerated fantastic traces and wrinkles, redness, inflammation, breakouts, and itchiness, in line with the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). It wishes intense hydration from oil-based substances (suppose: heavy lotions) to assist fill up and seal the moisture in.
“Dehydrated pores and skin is when the outside lacks hydration. It is a brief state this is led to through a metamorphosis in season, local weather, or geographical location (like once we’re touring),” says Shieh. Dehydrated pores and skin can also be tougher to identify. When pores and skin is dehydrated, it will possibly overcompensate for the loss of hydration through generating extra oil, resulting in an over-production of oil. This may block pores and result in blackheads, pimples, or different inflammation.
It’s commonplace for the ones with oily or acne-prone pores and skin not to even notice they’ve dehydrated pores and skin—handiest exacerbating their pores and skin problems. For this reason, Shieh says hydration is as very important to these with oily or acne-prone pores and skin varieties as to these with dry pores and skin varieties. Incorporating the suitable sorts of light-weight, hydrating merchandise into their routines (like hyaluronic acid, as an example) can assist the outside take care of a wholesome water-oil stability. “Hydration is as very important to these with oily or acne-prone pores and skin varieties as to these with dry pores and skin varieties,” Shieh says.
However hydration may be necessary when you’ve got customary or balanced pores and skin, as your complexion is repeatedly dropping water all over the day. Your pores and skin loses about 300 to 400 milliliters of water through pores and skin diffusion on a daily basis, in line with analysis. Making use of moisturizing merchandise after you wash your face, as an example, locks within the additional hydration from the water and guarantees your pores and skin’s hydration ranges keep consistent all over the day.
The best way to Hydrate Your Pores and skin Like a Okay-Attractiveness Professional

Wish to succeed in Okay-beauty ranges of pores and skin hydration? Shieh finds her favourite hydrating guidelines and substances that can give your complexion that viral glazed doughnut glance.
Assume Mild
Whilst harsh skin care actives are touted for his or her spectacular effects, mild, hydrating substances (like those present in Okay-beauty merchandise) permit you to succeed in easy, transparent, luminous pores and skin. This strategy to hydration is among the greatest differentiators in Okay-beauty skin care. Those substances (each inactive and lively) gained’t disrupt your pores and skin’s pH stability (like positive acids will) nor will they motive inflammation, dryness, or redness (like retinol or different lively skin care substances). As an alternative, they’ll fill up your pores and skin’s moisture ranges, providing you with without equal glow.
Keep Constant
Some other key to hydrating your pores and skin like a Okay-beauty professional? Consistency. Korean skin care is all about being regimented together with your regimen (particularly since there can also be as much as 12 steps infrequently!). Understand that skin care regimen order issues: Practice your merchandise from thinnest consistency (suppose: serums) to thickest (similar to night time lotions) on a daily basis to look effects.
Achieve for Extremely-Hydrating Substances
Hyaluronic Acid
“Considered one of my favourite hydration substances is indubitably hyaluronic acid,” she says. “Hyaluronic acid is a humectant factor that is helping draw moisture into the outside and has the facility to assist grasp onto huge quantities of hydration whilst nonetheless being very light-weight.” This factor is a smart way to assist upload intense hydration to all pores and skin varieties—whether or not you fight with dry pores and skin or have dehydrated, oily pores and skin.
The place to To find It: Laneige’s Water Financial institution Hydration Set, $45
“There are lots of kinds of hyaluronic acids in the market, and now not they all are created equivalent,” Shieh says. “Laneige’s Blue Hyaluronic Acid within the new Water Financial institution assortment is a micro-sized hyaluronic acid (it’s 2,000 instances smaller than the hyaluronic acid utilized in our earlier Water Financial institution assortment) this is double fermented with deep-sea algae, which will get absorbed deeper and locks in hydration higher to supply a extra successfully multi-faceted hydration.”
Squalane
To not be perplexed with squalene (which is most often present in shark liver), squalane is a plant-based hydrating factor (and a favourite of Shieh’s). “It’s an emollient factor that is helping upload nourishment to the outside whilst serving to to seal in hydration, best to pair with hyaluronic acid,” she says. “It mimics an element of our pores and skin’s herbal lipids so, it’s simple for the outside to soak up.”
The place to To find It: Laneige Water Drowsing Masks, $29
Give your pores and skin a much-needed hydration spice up with the Laneige Water Drowsing Masks. It incorporates this moisturizing factor in a light-weight, gel texture that can soak into your pores and skin and fill up its hydration ranges in a single day.
Shea Butter
Shea butter is an emollient that hydrates and softens the outside. It’s one of the vital top-recommended substances for dry pores and skin, in line with the AAD. Moreover, its thick consistency can assist reinforce the outside’s barrier. “Except ensuring we’re including hydration, it’s additionally necessary to take just right care of our pores and skin’s moisture barrier to assist seal within the hydration that we’ve equipped,” Shieh says. “And not using a satisfied moisture barrier, it’s laborious for our pores and skin to take care of long-term hydration.”
The place to To find It: Laneige’s Lip Drowsing Masks, $22
Given shea butter’s heavier consistency, it’s the very best factor for a lip remedy. Laneige’s Lip Drowsing Masks incorporates this hydration celebrity plus hyaluronic acid and strong antioxidants for a supple, easy pout. (Psst: This product has long past viral on TikTok, with over 3.5 million perspectives.)