How to build a Korean skincare routine in five steps
Kedo BeautyThe “ten-step Korean routine” is a marketing artefact. Very few people in Seoul do ten steps daily. What they do is understand the order, and skip what they do not need on a given day.
Here is the version that actually works, in the order you apply it.
1. Cleanse — once in the morning, twice at night
In the evening, start with an oil cleanser or balm to dissolve sunscreen and makeup, then follow with a low-pH gel or foam to remove sweat and grime. This is the famous “double cleanse”, and it exists for one reason: modern sunscreens are water-resistant by design, and water alone will not shift them.
In the morning, one gentle cleanse is enough. Your skin was on a pillow, not in a city.
Watch for: that squeaky-clean feeling means your cleanser was too alkaline. Skin should feel comfortable, not stripped.
2. Toner — hydration, not astringent
Korean toners are not the alcohol-heavy astringents you may remember. They are watery hydrating layers that prepare the skin so everything after them absorbs better. Pat one on with your hands rather than a cotton pad — you waste less product and avoid unnecessary friction.
On very dry days, apply two or three thin layers instead of one thick one. This is the “7-skin method”, minus the theatrics.
3. Serum — the one step that targets something
This is where you address a specific concern. One active at a time:
- Uneven tone or dark spots — niacinamide, vitamin C, alpha arbutin
- Dehydration — hyaluronic acid, panthenol, glycerin
- Congestion and breakouts — salicylic acid, centella
- Texture and fine lines — retinal or retinol, at night only
Introduce one new active every two weeks. If you start three at once and your skin reacts, you will have no idea which one caused it.
4. Moisturiser — seal it in
The job here is to stop the water you just applied from evaporating. Gel creams for humid months, richer barrier creams for cold and windy ones. Baku gives you both, so it is reasonable to own two and switch seasonally.
Oily skin still needs this step. Oil is not water — skin that produces plenty of one can still be short of the other.
5. Sunscreen — every morning, no exceptions
If you do one thing from this list, do this one. Sun exposure drives the majority of visible ageing, and it is the only step that is genuinely preventative rather than corrective.
Use roughly two finger-lengths for face and neck. Less than that and you are not getting the SPF printed on the label — that number is measured at 2mg per square centimetre, which is more product than most people expect.
Korean sunscreens are the reason many people finally stick with this step. No white cast, no heavy film, and textures closer to a light moisturiser than a sunblock.
What to skip
Sheet masks, essences, ampoules, and eye creams are all optional. They are additions to a working routine, not requirements for one. Build the five above into a habit first — that takes about a month — then add if you want to.
Exfoliants deserve a specific warning: twice a week is plenty. Over-exfoliating is the single most common way people damage their skin barrier while trying to improve it.
A realistic starting point
A gentle cleanser, one moisturiser, and a sunscreen. Three products, about ninety seconds a day. Add a serum once that is automatic.
Our Everyday Glow edit is built on exactly this principle, and if you tell us your skin type on WhatsApp we will put a routine together for you.