Rahasia Kulit Cantik Artis Korea

Go Hyun-Jung, a Korean actress best known for her luminous and youthful skin, published her skincare secrets in a “beauty documentary” titled “Go Hyun-Jung’s Texture” in 2011, the same year she turned 40.  The book (a bestseller that sold out in just two days of its launch), covers Go’s beauty philosophy as well as her tips for leading a healthy lifestyle. The beauty tips in this book written in Korean, have been translated and summarized into this post together by me and my mum over Christmas.

Go’s beauty tips affirm my philosophy that beauty is as much about rituals as it is about specific products and brands.  So many people ask me for “miracle” product recommendations and are surprised (almost disappointed) when my response is that cleansing and exfoliating are the foundations of clear skin.

I hope you find these beauty tips helpful in your quest for clear skin!

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1. Know Your Skin Type & Treat Your Skin from the Inside Out

• If you are prone to problem skin, keep a food diary and observe the effect different foods have on your skin.
• Go avoids salty and spicy foods to keep her skin clear, and alternates her diet with plain / bland food to re-calibrate her skin from the inside.
• Interestingly, she does not stick by the “8 glasses of water per day” rule.   She simply encourages “following your thirst” and drink when you feel you need to do so.
• Her favourite beauty foods are raw salads, fresh apple / blueberry/ carrot juice, grapefruit tea (which suppresses her appetite & keeps her regular), honey, and she takes organic Vitamin B and C.

2. Cleansing is the Key to Clear Skin

• Wash your hands before applying any makeup or skincare.  Also try to avoid touching your face except when cleansing or applying makeup
• When washing your face, mix foaming cleanser with warm water and work up a foam the size of an egg. Start from behind the ears and the jawline, and once the cleanser is warmed up, move towards the centre of your face.
• It takes her 15 minutes to cleanse her face, partly because her skin has very fine hairs (like peach fuzz).
• To treat skin breakouts naturally, wash affected areas with salt and lukewarm water to sanitize the area and prevent the breakouts from getting worse.
  

3. Skincare Commandments

• Whilst she cleanses her face from the jawline moving to the centre, she applies skincare (Eg. serums, toner) from the centre and outwards.
• For neck cream, she starts from beside the jawline down to the decolletage in an outward ‘C shape’ motion.  (Imagine yourself applying neck cream in the shape of the Chanel double ‘C’ logo)
• Apply skincare once it is warmed up in your hands, and press both palms onto your face to improve absorption of all the skincare layers.
• She discards skincare after 2 months of use for hygiene reasons – a steep contrast to the 12 months we’re usually told by other beauty experts.
• Hand cream should be applied up to the elbows, and neck cream all the way down to your decolletage.
• It takes her 20 minutes to apply body lotion, leaving no areas un-moisturised.
• Apply toner with your hands, not cotton pads to reduce redness.
• She has a two step facial mask routine, starting off with a cleansing mask followed by a nourishing mask.