The 5 Korean Skincare Lessons I Took From A Masterclass In Glow

I’m a certified fence-sitter. Chemical or mineral sunscreen? I can’t choose. Matte or dewy makeup? Still deliberating. But there’s one beauty opinion I hold with complete conviction: Korean skincare is superior. Beyond buzzy ingredients like spicules — tiny, dissolvable microneedles designed to deliver skincare ingredients deeper into the skin — and PDRN, a regenerative ingredient derived from salmon DNA, Korean skincare has always put the skin barrier first. While many products popular in the West have traditionally focused on exfoliating or stripping the skin, K-beauty aims to repair, strengthen, and protect. Always overdoing it on retinol, I, for one, need the help. But it seems I’m not the only one. Google search queries show that many of us are currently dealing with dryness due to warm weather, air conditioning, and dehydration from increased UV exposure and long summer evenings spent outdoors. Can Korean skincare get us back on track?