An Easy 4-Step Korean Skin Care Routine for Your Body

You probably know how to take care of the skin on your face, but what about the skin on your body? Most Korean women practice a 4-step body care routine that is, much like their skin regimens, considered a ritual to indulge in. And, of course, the results are as impressive as you'd expect with anything K-beauty-related — think smoother, firmer, glowier skin allover!

Ready to start? Here is what a Korean skin care routine for your body looks like:

1. Start With A Clean Slate

Just like any good facial skin care routine, a good body care routine starts with a thorough cleanse. Especially if you're a fan of hot baths or showers (that can easily dry out your skin!), it's important to pick a cleanser that doesn't strip your skin of moisture, leaving it feeling itchy or dry.

Korean Body Wash to Try:

If you struggle with body or back acne, we'd recommend checking out Some By Mi's AHA BHA PHA 30 Days Miracle Acne Clear Body Cleanser, which is an acne-clearing body wash packed with exfoliating acids and gentle botanicals to cleanse without causing dryness or irritation.

Browse all our body cleansers here.

2. Exfoliate

Your skin care products work best when they are able to penetrate into the skin, and they can't do that when dead skin cells are blocking their entry. That's why exfoliation is a key step in the K-bodycare routine! To slough off dead skin, Korean women like using viscose towels, like those you may have seen at a Korean sauna. They're inexpensive and you can use the longer ones to reach hard-to-reach areas like your back!

Tip: If you want to use these viscose towels, don’t soap up your body prior to this step, as it'll be harder to remove dead skin cells. And remember to not scrub so hard that your skin feels raw, irritated or red!

Korean Exfoliator to Try:

If you're not a fan of these exfoliating towels, alternatively, you can get a gentler body scrub like Ma:nyo's Our Vegan Ogoklatte Scrub Foam, which is loaded with five carefully-selected and finely-milled exfoliating grains to gently remove dead skin cells on your body! Your skin will look brighter and smoother and you'll emerge out of the shower with baby soft skin.

3. Moisturise And Protect

Korean body care places special emphasis on moisturising, a practice that starts from a very young age! Like most of the K-beauty products you put on your face, Korean body moisturisers focus on skin barrier repair, so you'll see lots of ceramides, fatty acids and antioxidants in the ingredients lists. With the right body moisturiser, your skin will not only be protected and hydrated, it will also help banish any trace of flakes and spidery lines, which are a result from thirsty skin.

Korean Body Lotion / Moisturiser to Try:

We love Illiyoon's Ceramide Ato Concentrate Cream, which offers deep hydrating and soothing benefits for your face and body. Illiyoon is part of the Amore Pacific family, one of the most popular skin care brands in Korea. With a focus on using ultra gentle Korean herbal and moisturising ingredients, Illiyoon's products are often used by parents on babies and children too!

If you're looking for something that's lighter, you can go for Nature Republic's Aloe Vera Soothing Gel, which is a hydrating gel moisturiser that's especially great for the summer months. 

Tip: Since the skin below the neck is slightly thicker, feel free to apply a little more pressure while you are moisturising your body! Use upwards movements when moisturising your arms and legs, and circular motions for the rest of your body. This helps loosen tight muscles, promotes circulation and can help tone the body.

4. Step 4: Treat

So far, you're probably already familiar with steps one through three, but have you considered adding treatments to your body skin care routine? There are a wide range of products available, from exfoliating foot masks to nourishing body oils, to address any specific skin concerns you have.

Korean Body Treatment Products to Try:

Got dry, rough feet? The Mediheal Paraffin Foot Mask is an intensive sock-type foot mask packed with paraffin, urea and shea butter to deeply hydrate and nourish rough, dry feet, while salicylic acid removes dead skin cells to soften thick calluses and cracked heels.

For dry, rough hands, cuticles and nails, check out Mediheal's Theraffin Hand Mask instead, which is a glove-type hand mask to deeply hydrate, improve wrinkles and fine lines and brighten dull skin for brighter, healthy and smooth hands.

If your body moisturiser is not enough, you can consider adding a few drops of the Rovectin Skin Essentials Barrier Repair Multi-Oil, which contains neroli oil, jojoba oil, and sunflower seed oil to promote antioxidant protection with Vitamins A and E to help restore and repair the skin's natural moisture barrier and diminish the appearance of stretch marks.

Got any body care tips to share? Share them in the comments!