 In Korea, you start your anti-aging routine as early as 11. And even babies get facials. Sounds like we've got some catching up to do. It's time to sprinkle a little substance into our beauty routines. By learning the roots of your favorite trends, who history's earliest trendsetters were, and how to rock the looks they inspired. Sheep mass! Before it's over, you'll be asking, can I borrow that? Imagine approaching your skincare routine the way you might approach nutrition or fitness. In Korean culture, this is the way of life. And now, the highlights of Korean skincare history in under 60 seconds. The roots of Korean skincare can be traced back to principles of Confucianism, which dominated Korea in the 14th century. The focus was on inner beauty. So clean and unadorned skin was a must. To keep skin healthy and youthful, it's not uncommon for Koreans to take frequent trips to the family facialist. And now, Korean skincare has expanded worldwide into a $6.5 billion industry. Some ingredients found in K-beauty products include ginseng, aloe vera, bee glue, and snail mucin. That snail slime, folks! But don't be grossed out. These tiny creatures are packed with the ingredients that keep your skin glowing. Joining me is beauty editor David Yee, who provides skincare tips both men and women can use. David has perfected the 10-step Korean beauty skincare routine. I'm so excited to get your skin on fleek. Koreans are all about healthy skin from the inside out. Where do we begin, and how can I help you? Yeah, so the first step is a double cleanse. And that's going to start with an oil cleanse. An oil cleanse is great because oil traps oil. So this one is amazing. We're going to use just a little dollop, and then you're going to apply it to your face. You're just going to swipe it up. I'm going to splash this just really... Like we're in a commercial? Oh. It's like a major genocore. Look at me. So graceful. Okay. So the next is a cleanser. You can use a foam cleanser. You can use whatever cleanser you like. After your oil cleanser gets rid of your makeup impurities, this one actually cleanses it very thoroughly from the inside out. So what's the next step? The next step is my face is super dry from patting it. So I like usually just misting. Do I have permission to do this? Yeah, let's do it. Okay. How do you feel? Refresh? I feel refreshed. So we're going to go immediately into a toner. Do you use toner on a daily basis? Okay, you don't. Think of your skin as a dried sponge right after you put water on it. It hardens. And so if you're going to put moisturizer onto hardened skin, it's going to evaporate, get on your pillow. It's not really going to be useful. You just dab a little, you put in your hands, and this bounces out the pH, but it also softens your pores. I feel like I'm not doing my skincare right. What do you do? Soap and water. Okay, we're going to- Okay, sometimes I do clay mask. I do, you know, I do moisturizers. I feel like I do the base level. So this is really helpful. And the thing is about Korean skincare. It's just about intention and what you really need, what your skin is speaking to you. So a lot of people don't have, you know, perfect skin. Who has flawless skin? And so when I am experiencing kind of some pimples or blemishes, I always turn to pimple stickers. It's a hydrocolloid sticker. And basically you put it over your pimples and it sucks out the sebum. First of all, I just put it on like that. Good job. Anywho, let's move on to the next step. It's exfoliation. And we're not talking about walnut scrubs. We're not talking about anything abrasive. We're talking about acids. A lot of times when you do have pimples or blemishes, it's because your pores are clogged. And so think about skin cells as glue together. They're super, super tight. And so an AHA acid will actually break the scent cells apart. So I will probably do this probably three times a week. Three times a week. So you don't want to do it too much. And so I'll just swipe just so gently. So I feel that in K-Beauty, we would be so remiss if we didn't speak about what? Sheet mask. They not only hydrate your skin, they treat your skin. They soak your skin with essences and vitamins that you don't really get elsewhere. So this one is a hydrogel mask, and this is an upgrade from the sheet cotton masks. Okay. But this comes in two, but I'm going to let you handle. Oh my God! This is the most amazing feeling ever. But then the bottom half, you'll have to be my mirror. Okay. You did an amazing job. Like, you're an expert, obviously. So you're going to keep this on for a good 15 to 20 minutes. Do not sleep with a sheet mask on. Okay. Because it'll do the opposite. It will actually dehydrate your skin. Okay. So what's next? The next step is the essence. Essences are full of antioxidants, vitamins. This one has pure vitamin C. Love that. Vitamin C is all about brightening, not lightening the skin, brightening your complexion. I can relate to dull skin because my skin can look so dull. Oh, really? Flat, absolutely. So I look for products that have this brightening component that can help it come to light. And so what you're going to do is, you can put this directly onto your skin, just a little drop. You put it into your hand. Got it. And then you can just dab. Love it. And take this time to reflect about your day, about how you're going to accomplish your goals, destroy your enemies, and literally just move on with your life. So the next step, we need to get into eye care. So the eye cream trick is you put it on your weakest finger, which is your ring finger. And that is because your eyes and the skin around your eyes are so delicate. I kind of separate the two. And then I'll gently dab, dab, dab, dab, dab up. I'll dab up to the brow bone and then back down. So now that we've done eyes, are we at the last step? We're at the last step. This is really cool. It's a sun oil. And an SPF 50 is really important because it prevents the 99% of UVA, UVB rays into your skin. So when do you do this routine in the daytime or in the nighttime? I'll do this in the daytime. It'll probably take, if we're not talking, maybe like 12 minutes. And it's perfect time to just unwind and just be thoughtful and mindful of what you experienced in that day. All right, so David, I learned so much, but I want to know, how did you get into this? It was just a natural process of growing up. Just as you was wash your face or you would bathe, you would do a 10-step Korean routine. Skin care allowed me to be very self-reflected. And so skin care to me isn't just about healthy skin. It's about reflecting on who you are as a person, as an individual, and loving yourself from the inside out. I feel like you are so in tune with your Korean identity. Was that a journey for you? Yeah, I mean, I feel like for a lot of Asian Americans living in a white culture, you kind of go into two different camps. One is you want to assimilate and you want to become white, or you deviate and you reject white culture and you become kind of ethnocentric. And I just really embraced who I was. I was very self-aware that, okay, I'll never be white. I'm never gonna look like these people. But why would I want to? My Korean culture is beautiful. I love my almond eyes. I love my yellow skin tone, my jet black hair. It's who I am. It's who I am at the core. And being Korean, being Slasian is amazing. I have to admit I'm very jealous because growing up as a South Asian girl, I wished I was white. So it took me a long time to come into my own and learn how beautiful my differences were. And I hope more people can kind of hear your story and just really own the things that make them who they are. Thank you so much, David, for showing me your 10-step routine. And I want to pick up the conversation with you guys. So how many steps are in your routine? Let us know in the comments down below and we're excited to keep the conversation going.