The Blasian Narrative received a letter from Paige, a Blasian Narrative reader, who uses Korean skin care products. If you or anyone you know has ever been to Korea, you have noticed that there are an abundance of stores that sell make-up and skin care products. You'll also notice that they are always next to each other.
Some will argue, right-fully so, that Koreans -men and women alike- are obssessed with outer beauty. Whether you think this is a good or bad thing, I would like to say that their products are spreading across the globe and proving to be effective for many people struggling to have "clear, flawless" skin.
Paige has been using a host of products from Korea's most popular stores: Skinfood, Innisfree, and Nature Republic. She has used cleansers, scrubs, masks, and oils, all that she has really grown to love and now has become an avid user of. However, because she lives in the states her access to the products that she likes are not readily available so she has been ordering online or getting them from really good friends...and just like buying from the stores in Korea....she has received several samples to try. She raised an interesting question to the narrative: Do Asians (Koreans in particular) have similar skin needs as black people?
I would say when it comes to the oiliness that many black people including myself have yes our skin is very similar. Koreans, from what I see, have a lot of acne issues and the many stores and skin doctors are a result of trying to get rid of those issues. Before coming to Korea, I did not have significant acne problem, but I did have extremely oily skin. It was so bad that I rarely wore loion on my face in attempt to keep it dry. Coming to Korea and experiencing air quality changes and nutritional changes, my skin has become sensitive to everything. To try and control the oil I began using Skinfood's Egg White Pore foam. It worked well for a few weeks, making my skin feel clean and soft, but the oiliness got worse. And I started getting these large pimples on my cheeks. So then, I switched to Skinfood's rice mask...this made my skin feel clean and smooth, but the oiliness continued to get worse.
Nothing seemed to be working until I sucked it up and went to the more expensive (still great price compared to the states) brand for skin
Innisfree. I started with the Persimmon Toner for excess sebum (oil). Then a friend, who is Cauasian and has some severe acne issuse and oily skin, introduced me to Innisfree's Bija anti-trouble facial foam. I bought the moisturizing lotion to go with it. They both contain torreya seed oil (found in Japan and Korea's Jeju island)- applied on the skin it can
heal inflammation, treat acne and boils. To remove make-up and dirt before cleansing, I use Innisfree's Green Barley No-Wash Cleansing Toner, which water based, with no alcohol.
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| All my products on the coffee table |
And to top it off I was given some free masks, one of which was the Its real squeeze Kiwi Mask....I took a pic wearing the mask, but I look cray cray to say the least...so....but for the creative process...I did it...
Anyway, after a month and a half, all of these products together have done wonders on my skin-- reducing oil and getting rid of pimples and blemishes.
If any of you out there are using Korean beauty products let us know how they work for you!
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