Koreans have certain strict beauty standards and having white skin is just one of them. Yes, genes do play a major role in their wheatish complexion but not all are blessed with the same genes.
Therefore, they follow a religious skin care routine and use different products from natural to artificial to chemical peeling to whitening injections in order to get the desired fair complexion.
But do Koreans bleach their skin?
Just like you, I too was curious to find out whether bleach is used by the Koreans to lighten their skin, which is also the most common and easiest way to achieve white skin.
But to my surprise, when I conducted my extensive research and went in depth to their skin care roots and product details, I found out that no bleaching agent is being used in their whitening skin care products.
Does Korean skincare have bleach?
When I went through the ingredients list of most common Korean skin care brands like COSRX, The Face Shop, Innisfree, Klairs Laneige, Sulwhasoo, Etude House, Tonymoly, etc. I found not a single whitening product that contains any bleaching agent in it.
All Korean skin care products are safe and free from bleaching agents and won’t cause any skin irritations or damage.
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What do Korean whitening skin care products have in them?
If you are someone who wants to know the roots of a product before trying them on skin, you are in the right place because I did an in depth research of all their skin care ingredients which proclaim a whitening effect.
Let’s learn about them all:
- Liquorice root extract
- Ginseng
- Snail mucin
- Bamboo extract
- Pearl
- Mugwort extract
- Fermented rice water
- Arbutin
- Retinol
- Niacinamide
- Aloevera
- Syn-ake
- Yuza
- Propolis
- Birch
- Tremella mushroom
- Cactus
- Royal honey
- Hyaluronic acid
- Glycolic acid
What makes Korean skin so white?
Besides using all the above mentioned skin care ingredients and their native genes playing a significant role, there are certain other factors that come into play behind their white skin.
1. Keeping the Sun at bay
The Koreans least expose their skin to the Sun and they are very particular about it. They wear hats to protect their face from the sun and they wear gloves in the arms so that sun rays can’t touch their skin.
Also most of them wear long sleeves or at least wear a shrug to cover their shoulders and arms. You will never see them in too revealing dresses, thanks to their culture for this.
2. Using thick layer of Sunscreen
When I say Koreans apply sunscreen, it doesn’t mean just applying it in a small quantity. They apply thick layers of sunscreen in order to create a barrier between their skin and the sun.
3. The cold weather
All thanks to their cold weather that also plays a major role in their fair complexion.
4. Using home remedies
Besides using cosmetic products to lighten their skin, Koreans also believe in age-old home remedies like Royal honey, Aloe vera, bee venom, rice flour and fermented rice water, tomatoes, and lemon which they use as face packs to apply to their face.
5. Skin whitening injections
Also referred to as Beyonce injection or IU injection or Baekok injection, this procedure takes only 20 minutes to whiten the skin and contains the active ingredient glutathione.
6. Applying fermented rice water and rice flour
They use rice flour masks at least thrice a week to brighten their skin and cleanse their face with fermented rice water everyday.
7. They use hot milk to whiten their skin
All they do is, heat a bowl of milk and then take sheets of cosmetic cotton pads and soak them in the milk. They then apply the cotton sheets all over their face and keep it for 10 minutes after which they wash their face with a cleanser. They do it after every 2 days and milk definitely helps in whitening the skin.
See you soon
Bleaching is very harsh and thus damaging to the skin and Koreans don’t apply anything that can pose a negative impact on their skin in the long run. All Korean skin care products are mild and safe to use.
How I could help you with your queries, stay tuned for more updates on skin care, hair care and fashion tips. Till then as I always say……
Keep it simple, keep it fashionable!
