Even though it’s tempting to buy #allllltheproducts, it’s not the best way to start a new skincare routine. Let's run through some of the key mistakes beginners make so you can learn from them. That way,tyou can dip your toes into the water safely and without wasting precious time or money.

From ignoring your skin type to not patch testing, these are the beginner K-Beauty mistakes to avoid.

Korean Beauty Mistakes to Avoid: Buying everything

The Mistake: Buying everything new. All at once.

Firstly, we know it’s tempting – not only are K-Beauty products beautiful, there are entire new categories of skincare you never even knew existed. Plus, they’re all begging for a place on your beauty shelf!

There’s nothing wrong with taking care of your skin thoroughly or treating yourself to some nice new products. But, there’s a balance.

What to do: Try to plan your purchases in advance. 

This gives you and your skin time to adapt to each new product. Try only introducing a new product into your routine each time an old product runs out. Old toner dead? Replace it with a K-Beauty one.

Once you’ve replaced the old products in your routine, you’ll have space to work out which other products you may still need.

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Korean Beauty Mistakes to Avoid: Testing everything at once

The mistake: You put all new things on your face all at the same time.

When you slap 12 new products on all at once, there’s no good way for you to measure which products are really working for you or worse – pinpoint any that aren’t.

What to do: The best way to introduce new skincare products into your routine is to patch test each of them for a few days (to test for any allergies or adverse reactions) and then introduce each new product slowly. The ideal isolation test period is two weeks for each product. This will help you work out whether a product is really compatible with your skin or not.

Remember – the skin renews itself every 28 days, so try to test new skincare products for at least a month.

Hot tip: Skincare minis and samples can help you work out which products do and don’t gel with your skin before you dive in and buy the full size version.

Ignoring your skin

The mistake: It’s all over Instagram and everyone else’s #holygrail, so it’s now on your face.

As tempting as it is to ride the cult skincare train, never throw out the basic rules of skincare.

Firstly, if the product is not formulated for your skin type, you’re taking a gamble with it. Not only is buying the wrong product a waste of money, it may lead to you thinking certain products are “bad” or that K-Beauty “doesn’t work for you”. However, it may be that you just made a poor choice for your skin. 

Even worse than wasting money though, incompatible products may even cause skin damage. If you'd rather avoid things like a compromised barrier or acne, it pays to pay attention to your skin. 

What to do:

Before making a new purchase make sure you know your skin type. Even better, match any new products to it! If the product is for oily skin and you have dry skin, chances are you’re going to be disappointed. Not only will the product will be overly drying, it will also like be mattifying, which is the opposite of what your skin needs.

The other important thing to factor in is whether the product contains any ingredients that don’t gel well with your skin. You may not know which ingredients aren’t for you straight off the batt, but with a little detective work (like keeping a note of any products that don’t agree with your skin and the key ingredients in them), you’ll be able to narrow down any culprit ingredients so you can avoid them in the future.

Overdoing it on the acids

The mistake: BHAs, AHAs and PHAs, oh my!

We get it – exfoliating all that dead skin away so that the baby-soft skin underneath is revealed is #skingoals. You know what isn’t though? Over-exfoliation.

You only have one skin barrier and if you destroy it by over-exfoliating you’ll be in a world of pain trying to rebuild it – ask us how we know…!

Your barrier is made up of cells, lipids and natural oils and exists to keep bacteria out and hydration in. Even though acids and exfoliation are all the rage, approach them with caution.

What to do: If you’re experimenting with acids, start out slowly, using a BHA or AHA once a week until you build up your tolerance. In the meantime, make sure you keep your manual exfoliants (like scrubs) to a minimum. If your skin shows signs of irritation (like redness, sensitivity or unusual breakouts) lay off the acids for a few weeks and then reintroduce them.

Looking for more K-Beauty Tips and Tricks? Tune into the Korean Beauty Show Podcast hosted every Tuesday. 

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