How Korean beauty paved the way for Japanese skin care

Following K-beauty’s viral success in the U.S., Japanese skin care brands are offering American consumers simplified routines.

Double cleansing, toners, serums, masks, eye creams — and that’s just the half of it. While 10-step skin care regimens have become a mainstay of Korean beauty trends popularized in the U.S., simplified beauty routines from Japan are now also gaining attention, promising clear skin in as few as four steps.

K-beauty’s elaborate routines and fun, effervescent packaging are still wildly popular, but they’ve also paved the way for consumers to seek out Japanese skin care, with its focus on pared-down routines and simpler ingredients.

Japanese beauty uses traditional methods for a hydration-focused four-step routine that begins with cleansing and ends with moisturizer. K-beauty routines typically involve two rounds of cleansing, a sheet mask and exfoliation. Skin care experts told NBC News that J-beauty, as K-beauty’s minimalist counterpart, may be what American consumers are looking for.

K-beauty’s mainstream success in the U.S., from sheet masks to laser facials, has led Americans to associate the country’s beauty exports with innovation and “glass skin.” Key products in Korean skin care routines, like hyaluronic acid and oil-based cleansers, and brands like Laneige and Tonymoly have become staples.

Audrey Depraeter-Montacel, the global beauty lead for consulting firm Accenture, says the popularity of Korean skin care in the U.S. has made way for a Japanese beauty resurgence. “I think Korean and Japanese beauty have always been there,” Depraeter-Montacel told NBC News. “But now with the rise of that in a market like the U.S., I think it puts those brands under the spotlight maybe more than ever, and gives the opportunity of some brands to come back.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/-japanese-skin-care-korean-k-beauty-rcna163512

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