Korean Beauty Standards Influence Everyone Around the World

Want to learn more about natural beauty? The term “Korean sheet mask” is an idiom in itself, like “French cheese” or “Polish sausage.” Late last year, Netflix acquired 41 new Korean dramas. 

At the end of the Korean War in 1953, South Korea was one of the world’s poorest nations. Until the 1970s, it was even poorer than North Korea. Now it’s one of the richest nations, and arguably the coolest. 

So how does a country go from poor to rich to ... Cool? It’s partly down to luck and hard work. But if that were the only ingredients, any nation could do it. A large part of the Korean secret sauce is the fact that South Korea is one of the few capitalist democracies in the world where private corporations cooperate well with government requests. 

The Korean beauty market is among the top 10 around the world, with an estimated worth of over $13.1 billion in sales 2018, according to Mintel, a global market intelligence agency. Facial skin care products are extremely successful and have achieved record $7.2 billion in sales. And one in five facial skin care launches in South Korea, the agency reports, is actually a beauty face mask. 

South Korean beauty products are known as the Michelin beauty application standard globally. Based on a rich tradition of embracing beauty and self-care, Koreans spend around $2.5 billion dollars annually on beauty related products with projected consumption to increase over the next 5 years. Koreans mostly purchase blemish creams and color correction serums. Many Koreans are larges consumers of anti-aging formulation because looking young is important in Korean culture.  Face masks are also another popular product in Korea. 

All Korean wave products are part of the same ecosystem. One industry enhances the appeal of the other. Two industries that go hand in hand are K-pop and K-beauty. K-pop fans are the best consumers of Korean cosmetics, and KBeauty fans will learn about K-pop, whether they love it or hate it because most beauty lines are endorsed by K-pop stars and influencers. 

Korean beauty experts know that people don’t want to know what lipstick matches their skin tones or how to cover up some of those bags under the eyes. Instead, consumer behavior was studied and “detoxing” was definitely high on the list. The development of famed Korean triple cleanses and 10-step skin-care regimens all derive from the detox crave. Part of the appeal is branding and packaging too! Many times you will see cushion compacts, panda-shaped eye masks, and textures that certainly provide sensory experiences: “bouncy creams” and “slippery” essences. 

Over the last 10 years the world is looking at Korea’s beauty routines and adopting practices that are proven. The use of face masks has always been very popular in Korean culture and now people across the world are starting to use beauty face masks more often. The reason people like to use face masks is that they help leave skin nice and soft and keep the face free from any blemishes. Face masks are great additions to any skincare routine to target specific skin care concerns. Masks help hydrate skin, remove excess oils and help improve the appearance of pores—while providing a relaxing, spa-like experience at home. 

Should everyone use a face mask? Absolutely! Face masks are the perfect skin care treatment to help anyone with skincare concerns and apply preventive measures to keep skin clean and healthy. 

Korean beauty has not only affected women, but it has also reached the standards of men. The beauty standards for males in Korea are similar to that of women. 

This trend is starting to be adopted by the rest of the world. Nowadays there are many more beauty related products that are being marketed to men. Since the market for male beauty products has increased in Korea, there is a global increase in the beauty products marketed towards men. In most parts of the world the general consensus is that men are to be big and strong, but the beauty standards for males in Korea has always held a preference for smaller men. This trend is starting to change the way society views how men should look and I expect that the future for male beauty standards will continue to be influenced by Korea’s preferences. 

The beauty standards in Korea are definitely changing how the world views beauty. They are redefining what it means to be beautiful and as a result are industry leaders when it comes to beauty and quality. The world is expected to continue to adopt the similar beauty standards found in Korea. 

Everyone should introduce masking into their skin care regimen. Just a few relaxing minutes a day can give skin a noticeable transformation that a person can see and feel. The Beauty market provides “functional cosmetics,” a label allowed by the Korean Food and Drug Administration for anti-wrinkle, elasticity-boosting, pigment-fading and sunscreen properties. Korea has become the testing ground of many world-famous cosmetic companies. 

Seoul Mamas is an authentic KBeauty private label expert partnering with clients globally to add or create luxurious Korean beauty products and skincare lines for their brands. They study the behavior behind cosmetic use in Koreans and provide world-class, high-quality components to their clients. Korean consumers are very knowledgeable about their ingredients and beauty products they use. Some would say they are quite picky. As early adapters of new products, Seoul Mamas knows the cosmetic trends that are moving quickly due to high-speed Internet and heavy use of social media. Partnering with a company like Seoul Mamas provides the pipeline to authentic, high quality and proven beauty ingredients that sets the tone for the global beauty standard. 

Young Korean consumers are very keen to try the new trend, and they certainly don’t want to be left out of the mix when their friends are using a new product. This transfers to the influencers of the world who promote K-beauty products which is an experience that is brought through formulas that are enjoyable, unique and proven.

Beauty is being the best possible version of yourself on the inside and out.