K-beauty or Korean beauty: Either you’re all in or you’ve never heard of it before in your life. (OK, maybe you've heard of it, but haven't tried it yet.) The most popular example of K-beauty here in the U.S. comes in the form of those Hannibal Lector-looking sheet masks that have become ubiquitous with self-care over the last couple of years.
To truly understand K-beauty, it's important to note that skincare—more specifically, moisturizing—is at the center of everything. All of the cool products you see on shelves—the toners, essences, serums, ampoules and, of course, sheet masks—are made to further hydrate your skin.
So what makes a K-beauty moisturizer superior to others? That, friends, comes down to two things: texture and formulation. "Korean moisturizers tend to have very lightweight and fast absorbing textures. Like hybrids between a gel and a cream or lotions with whipped consistencies. They're also filled with skin-friendly ingredients that can easily be adapted to most skin types," explains Charlotte Cho, the CEO and Co-Founder of Soko Glam, one of the first online retailers of K-beauty in the states.
But before we go into what the best Korean moisturizer is and it’s proven benefits, we thought it might be helpful to start with a quick lesson on what moisturizer actually is and what it does for your skin in the first place.