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Interested in Korean anti-ageing products? We’ve gathered the best Korean anti-ageing skincare ingredients you should look for in a product.
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Everyone ages differently. A person can be 50 years old but still look like a 30-something. Others start getting signs of ageing in their mid-twenties. Growing old is inevitable, but it is possible to slow down the signs of your skin’s ageing – to some extent anyway.
Skin ageing is a beauty issue most of us start to face in our midlife. Many people don’t add anti-ageing products to their skincare routine until they start seeing signs of ageing – which is generally considered too late.
As the old saying goes, “Prevention is better than cure.” You should start including anti-ageing products in your routine as early as your mid-20s.
Products with ‘anti-ageing’ on its label are seen more in Western skincare than it is in Korean ones. So how can you identify which Korean products are anti-ageing?
Well, to help you out, we’ve gathered the best Korean anti-ageing skincare ingredients you should look for in a product.
Hyaluronic Acid (HA)
Don’t let the word ‘acid’ scare you from the wonders of hyaluronic acid. It’s not a harmful acid as its name would suggest. It’s more of a humectant, a molecule that draws in water. Hyaluronic acid is found in our bodies as well. It’s found in our connective tissues and acts as a lubricant for our joints, hair, eyes, and skin.
One of the reasons why skin looks young and smooth is because of the large amount of hyaluronic acid present in it. It occupies the spaces between collagen and elastin in the skin which keeps wrinkles away from forming. Hyaluronic acid also helps with collagen formation. Both components are vital in avoiding skin from sagging.
Some of the top Korean anti-ageing products to prevent signs of ageing are:
- HYGGEE – Own Vegan Calming Serum
- Muldream – Vegan Green Mild Hyaluron Ampoule
- secretKey Hyaluron Aqua Soft Toner
Find the best Korean products with Hyaluronic Acid here
Snail Mucin
Contrary to popular belief, snail mucin is not made from the snails themselves. Also known as snail secretion filtrate, snail mucin is the slime the snail produces when leaving a trail.
Korean beauty brand COSRX shared in an interview that no snails are harmed when extracting snail mucin for their anti-ageing Korean products. The snails are placed on mesh in a dark and quiet room. They roam freely for about 30 minutes then, the slime that’s left on the mesh is collected. The snails aren’t forced nor stressed to make mucin.
Snail mucin is one of the most popular ingredients you’ll find in Korean anti-ageing skincare products. This is because of the numerous benefits you can reap from it like fading hyperpigmentation, treating acne, and of course, erasing fine lines and wrinkles.
The Korean anti-ageing skincare properties found in snail mucin are called hyaluronic acid. This gives snail mucin the power to hydrate and increase collagen in your skin. As the hyaluronic acid in snail mucin works, your skin will be looking younger and firmer.
Some anti-ageing Korean products with snail mucin are:
- BENTON Aloe BHA Skin Toner
- HOLIKA HOLIKA Prime Youth Black Snail Repair Toner
- COSRX’s Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence
Find the best Korean products with Snail Mucin here
Actives
Active ingredients (a.k.a. actives) is a term you’ll see a lot when looking through anti-ageing Korean products. It’s a blanket phrase that refers to chemicals with scientific data that are proven to treat specific skin concerns effectively and actively. They are almost like drugs you can buy in a pharmacy.
Some popular actives for Korean anti-ageing skincare include vitamin C, alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs), retinoids, tea extracts, and peptides, among others. Each active has a specific benefit. As a collective, they are all proven to change your skin in some way. Like medicine, in most cases, they treat your concern. In rare times, it doesn’t work for you.
Vitamin C increases your collagen levels which plumps up your skin and reduces wrinkles. Salicylic acid is a type of beta-hydroxy-acid (BHA) that can boost collagen production and has exfoliating properties that can manage signs of ageing.
You can find active ingredients in these anti-ageing Korean products:
- COSRX AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner
- BENTON’s Aloe BHA Skin Toner
- Some By Mi’s AHA-BHA-PHA 30Days Miracle Toner
Related: Actives for Skincare and How to Safely Use Them
Ceramides
Sometimes, after lathering so much moisturiser on your skin, it still feels dry. Ceramides can help with that. They are fatty acids or lipids found in skin cells that help retain moisture and hydration by being a barrier for the skin. However, ceramides stored in your skin can be depleted for multiple reasons like extreme weather and age.
Lacking ceramides in the body can cause skin dehydration because naturally, they are the reason why our skin feels soft. However, as we age, the upper layers of our skin grow thinner and ceramide levels diminish. This can cause us to have visible fine lines.
Help your skin boost its ceramide levels with anti-ageing Korean products such as:
- HOLIKA HOLIKA Good Cera Super Ceramide Toner
- TONYMOLY – Wonder Vegan Label Ceramide Mochi Calming Toner Jumbo
- Goodal – Vegan Rice Milk Moisturizing Cream
Related: Moisture Barrier Superstars: Ceramides Explained
Sunscreen
To prevent the sun’s ultraviolet rays from reaching your skin and causing damage, you need to add sunscreen to your Korean anti-ageing skincare routine. Without sunscreen, your skin’s exposure to UV rays can cause it to be dull and have premature wrinkles.
To block 97% of the sun’s UV rays, dermatologists recommend using sunscreen with at least 30 SPF. Unlike the sticky sunscreen from our childhood, sunscreen nowadays is silky and smooth on the skin.
The sunscreen we knew is completely different from the sunscreen on the market now. Korean anti-ageing skincare products have made multipurpose sunscreen. Some are advertised as SPF protection, moisturiser, and primer, all in one.
Some popular Korean sunscreens are:
- COSRX Aloe Soothing Sun Cream SPF50 Pa+++
- HOLIKA HOLIKA Make Up Sun Cream SPF50+ PA++++
- Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Watery Sun Gel SPF50+ PA++++
Related: Asian Sunscreens Explained
Find the best Korean sunscreens here
Even if some Korean products aren’t labelled as anti-ageing, knowing that the ingredients mentioned above are present in a product, you can be sure that it has properties that can make you look youthful.
Another plus of having these ingredients in your Korean anti-ageing skincare routine is that you can target multiple skin issues at once. Along with preventing skin ageing, specific ingredients also treat acne, moisturise, and prevent sunburn. It’s a bang for your buck!
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In the end, the most important thing to remember is that sooner or later, even with the best skincare, we will all end up with wrinkles. Therefore, an anti-ageing skincare routine should NOT be aimed to make you look several years younger, but to make your skin healthy, fresh and glowy!
[…] anti-ageing too. With regular use of ceramides for about 4- 12 weeks, you can start seeing the anti-ageing benefits and smoother, plumper […]
[…] keeps the skin from premature ageing. Sunscreen is anti-ageing! Exposure to UV rays can cause your skin to break down collagen, look leathery, discolour, sag, and […]