by The sucking-on-a-straw look is driving a worrying new trend in buccal liposuction, a minor but terrifying surgical procedure in which a small pocket of fat is excised from the inside of the mouth to hollow out the cheekbones in search of appearance “carved” (the term used to describe facade, sculpted architecture).
South Koreans have honored the art of the snatch long before the phrase existed because the high regard in the Asian country is a firm face without flaws, and yet, they rarely succumb to surgical shortcuts. In Korea, it’s about three core principles: smart skin care, non-surgical treatments and sculpting faces.
Why Korean skin care is so good
The root cause of skin sensitivity is the destruction of the skin’s barrier (a vital lipid-rich layer that keeps pollutants from entering and water from escaping) with aggressive percentages of potent acids as we do in the West, resulting in an increase on cases of rosacea and adult acne, dermatologists tell me often.
The star ingredients in Korean skin care are not big hitters like vitamin C and retinol (effective though it may sensitize) but gentle brightening agents like glutathione and niacinamide along with mild extracts like mandelic and azelaic acid, complemented by fermented probiotics used for centuries to calm. weak skin barrier.
By blending ancient traditions with the best technology, Korea is the leading manufacturer of exosomes, a collection of proteins and lipids that nourish skin cells in repair mode, and can be found in Korean super creams for includes Celltweet Firming Moisture, which really soothed my redness. Exosomes don’t come cheap (yet), but there is a lot of good Korean skincare at a reasonable price. Here are my top five.
The five best Korean skincare products, from £14
Good Morning Cosrx Low pH Gel Cleanser, £15.99, Look Amazing; Erborian Skin Therapy Multi-Perfect Night Oil-Serum, from £21, Space NK; Joseon Beauty SPF 50, £17, Cupid skins
Celltweet Firming Moisturizer, £120, Pinkoi; iUNIK Propolis Vitamin Eye Cream, £14, Skins
Other treatments
The face of Golki
Iris Maglanoc at Dr David Jack’s Belgravia clinic is one of the only therapists in the UK trained in Golki (bone energy) facial massage, also known as the Korean Glass Skin Facial. Maglanoc says: “Our bones thin first as we get older – when this happens the muscles and skin move to the south because there’s nothing to cling to.”
Golki, she explains, can change the shape of your face. It involves strong hand movements that work on meridian points and acupressure on the face to manipulate the bone structure and muscle tissue to address asymmetry, while moving stagnant toxins out through the lymph nodes to brighten the complex and to clean.
“Koreans don’t fall for quick surgical procedures, they regularly have Golki facials and combine it with a medicated or Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) treatment to brighten it as well as a good skin care regimen,” she says.
If you don’t like a firm face massage it’s best to avoid this, but if you want results I haven’t found anything better for naturally redefining contours.
A Korean Glass Skin Facial, including cleansing, exfoliation, LED massage and Golki, costs £170 at Dr David Jack.
Korean non-surgical facelift
Radiofrequency strengthens and lifts the skin – Julianne Moore regularly extols its virtues. Not all devices, however, are created equal. I tried the 5 Billion EXO RF Facial treatment with Dr. Shameema Damree, a specialized aesthetic doctor trained in South Korea. Dr. Damree uses the Korean Virtue RF machine with microneedling, similar to the Morpheus8, but smarter.
“Future RF delivers small, high-energy pulses that are better absorbed than older technologies that emit constant heat, which can cause scarring,” says Dr. Damree. It combines skin tightening technology with medical grade exosomes (messengers with proteins and lipids containing growth factors) and hyaluronic acid to restart collagen synthesis slowed by age, while targeting redness and pigmentation.
“Tight, smooth skin reflects light better – hence the “glass skin” effect that Koreans are known for,” she says. The treatment begins with skin cleansing before an anesthetic cream is applied to the face, lips and neck for 25 minutes. When the skin is numb, Dr. Damree uses a small handpiece with ultra-fine needles to administer the radiofrequency to the skin in gentle stamping strokes. It is almost painless, but sometimes it can be pinchy. Between each energy pass (full face), Dr. Damree applies a serum with exosomes and hyaluronic acid, then repeats the process twice.
In the days and weeks that follow, the skin around my eyes feels tighter and my eyelids are less puffy. But the most noticeable difference is my less prominent jawline, chin and neck. Three sessions are recommended for significant results, although I got results with one. Downtime is minimal. Morpheus8 or Profound RF are two national treatments that combine Radio Frequency with microneedling. Exemptive therapy, although an emerging treatment, is available from Dr. Barbara Sturm, Dr. David Jack and Dr. Sophie Shotter.
