Skincare

Just a really short-ish stub

Ulzzangs and idols are like have especially even, bright, glowy, perfect skin so following this example is also quite fundamental.
As I've gone through major skin problems myself, and now have more or less overcome them, I thought I'd share what is believe is the secret to perfect skin.

It's the same as for weight-loss: Perseverance

Don't chose to ignore you skincare problems or brush them off as not being important enough to consult a doctor just because they don't kill you like cancer!
If they bother you on a daily basis, even if just subliminally, they do affect your quality of life and ulzzangs do have flawless skin (with make-up). But you'll only know in hindsight.
That is why I can't blame anyone actually, because if I'd had my way I wouldn't live to tell the tale as it was my mother who forced me to a dermatologist.

1. Cleansing and having a clear skin

   I advise everyone to clean their skin regularly! That means every day, morning and evening.
   If that dries out your skin or anything find a really gentle cleanser.
   I didn't believe that using i.e. a foam cleanser was much more effective than regular water before, but now that my complexion is definitely better than before I have to admit that I was stupid.
   I know it takes a lot of effort and still to this day I'm not cleaning my face correctly over a longer period of time, but I believe my complexion would be better if I did.
   
   Also make us of exfoliators or peelings regularly. If you have sensitive skin, do it only once or twice a week, but if your skin is more like a bitch you can exfoliate every other day (like I do/ would).
   Exfoliating does not only unblock your pores by removing dirt and dead skin cells, it also prompts the growth of new skin cells thus fading (acne) scaring.

2. Moisturising

   I was one of those smartass that believed that my skin didn't need any additional moisture since it was already very oily.
   If you think so too, you are actually very wrong.
   
   If your skin lacks moisture it will produce more and more oil to prevent itself from drying out. I used to wash my face very often, then I had super dry skin around my mouth and within one hour everything was super oily again.
   But I didn't know better nor did I really care.
   
   After I changed or better created my own skincare regimen I firstly noticed that with two times cleansing per day, your skin will be dry! So it needs the moisture! Also, when I applied moisturizer it wouldn't make my skin double oily, but actually it was like normal skin should be.
   
   So I suggest you to find a good moisturiser which additionally tackles one of your problems (oil control, enlarged pores, etc)

3. Other skincare items

   Toners also contain active ingredients to tackle your problems and also a have cleaning effect.
   Eye cream treats the extra delicate needs of the thin skin around your eyes.
   Serums are like moisturisers only that they purely contain active ingredients, so they act as a really health boost for your skin.
   Masks help to repair damaged skin and a more like a once-in-a-while treat for it.
   
   In order to get really really good skin if your skin is naturally impure it is more often than not necessary to use more than just cleansers and moisturisers. And if you are familiar with Asian skincare culture you know that we layer really a lot of products in order to deal with different needs. The result speaks for itself I would say (just take a look at ulzzangs/ idols).
   I can testify to the effect of serums and masks, your skin really feels much better and smoother after using them.
Here are a few skincare routine examples by Koreans so you get the picture.






4. Professional Help

   If you can't handle your skin problems on your own, my advice is to go see a doctor.
   Having a professional by your side will get you much more purposeful to your aim than groping in the dark. Google 'your town dermatologist' to find the most popular/ best dermatologist, he/she will probably pop up among the first links.
   The important thing, apart from perseverance, is trust. It isn't easy, your doctor might switch medication, etc. That is why you have to inform yourself about the treatment, too. Ask him if you have questions (What is the exact problem with your skin?/ Why does he think this treatment is suitable?/ etc)
   Only when you are sure about what is being done to you, you can be a good patient and go through your treatment with ease. Find a doctor that you deem is good and then let him work his magic.
   
   Many Koreans regularly visit skin clinics to have their problems treated. I know a (Korean) guy and even he went to such places frequently and complained about how his skin worsened when he was outside Korea. No wonder their skin is as smooth as a baby's bottom.

5. More tips

   Acne
   1. Keep your face, especially the areas with lots of pimples clean and free.
      To my surprise my skin improved when I changed my bed sheets more often. But I was also under medical treatment and took better care of my skin in general at that time so I can't really tell, but I do believe that a dirty phone or a sweating forehead covered by hair encourage breakouts.
   2. I also realized that oily hair or better the oil from our heads are quite potent after hearing a youtuber saying that she thinks some of her breakouts are caused by her oily hair. Since then I noticed how unwell I feel when I have been avoiding the shower and how pimples will then grow.
   3. Girls I know who fought with acne during puberty eventually got the (birth control) pill as a treatment. This form of acne is mostly caused by too many male hormones and the pill will counter that. As a result, these girls suddenly resurface with baby-smooth skin. Period.
      You might consider that, too.
   
   Skin Brightening
   I know that Vitamin C has skin brightening effects and there are at least a 1,000,000 DIY Vitamin C skin brightening mask/ srubs recipes out there which promise to lighten your skin color. Honestly, I'm skeptical about how much it can do and if it's even possible to achieve visible results.
   I also know that there are many skin brightening creams, etc but I also doubt these. I have tried one cream before (didn't help, but I didn't use it very often, soo...) and some of my BB Creams have 'WHITENING' written all over them (no sort of change here, too). Imho I think those creams are better to treat sun sposts, or local hyper pigmentation than changing your whole skin color.
   But I haven't really looked into that yet.
   What I would advise you to do is, stay indoors, always walk, sit, lie in the shadow use a lot of sunscreen, think positive (I really think that helps. At least then you will imagine to be fairer and as long as you are happy... wait, is that a tip?)
   
   Scars and dark/red spots
   Minor scars or discolouration will fade away over time, but if you want to speed up the process, use creams that help lighten them and regularly scrub your face. Scrubbing removes old skin layers. The regrowing new skin will be more and more normal and finally the scars/ spots will be gone.

Last but not least, the message I want to get across is that, in order to get perfect skin you need a bit of luck (that turning-point or a good doctor or a good product), some delicacy of feeling concerning your skin's needs and problems and as I said perseverance as improvement takes time and also finding the right products).
What you don't need is to spend tons of money on high-end skincare items or shallow TV ad food supplements. I think it is possible to get/ maintain a quite normal looking complexion (what I have now) with average products.

Of course you still need to try around a bit as every skin is different, what I mean is that there certainly isn't only one product that will help you. If you want to go from normal skin to idol/ ulzzang skin you might have to invest more.

A

Maybe all of what I said above makes more sense after you have read my skin care experiences.

I had always had mildly to quite bad skin ever since I was 9/ 10 years old. In fact I had a huge disgusting thing on my face which can't even be called pimple anymore during that time. It grew and grew, was black, filled with disgusting I-don't-know-what and would stay for a very long time. I guess it was something like the king of pimples from hell. I wonder how I still had friends...
Okay fast forward to puberty, I have always been the girl with impure skin. I always had at least 3 pimples, accompanied by red spots (remains of past pimples), but nothing too severe.

Then suddenly things got worse. My skin became terribly inflamed , I had countless of little bumps all over my cheeks, which made me look like I had the pest. Especially when the sun shone in a way that would make them cast monumental shadows these little bastards looked really huge.
Among them were bumps filled with pus (or whatever that is that white pimples are filled with).
When I washed my face those pimples would be scratched opened due to the movement, which resulted in many many tiny wounds on my face (like tiny needlesticks). Running my hand over my face or simply washing it hurt so much cuz of this stinging pain. I thought I will never ever be able to do it again.
I was convinced that I will never ever have normal skin again, because those 1000s of pimples were so real

One day my mother had enough. She made me see a dermatologist before, when I was 12 or so. I returned with a stick to apply something onto my face which I never really did, so no wonder I saw no results.

So to the doctor I went. He is actually really well-known, and surprise, his homepage is the first link when I googled. I came back with Epiduo which I was supposed to use for 6 weeks and then come back. This cream dries out the skin to the max! It became disgustingly flaky around my mouth. And I looked more abnormal than ever
Initially things got slightly better (or it was my imagination), but after 4 weeks it was worse than before. I had more of this pus filled pimples and they seemed to spread down my chin and up to my eyes.

My mother made me go see the doctor sooner then in 6 weeks. This time I received antibiotics; for around 6 weeks I got one tablet a day.
A MIRACLE HAPPENED! The disgusting bumps and pimples vanished relatively soon and by the time I used up the antibiotics I was not only healed, but my complexion looked better than it had since I was 9 years old!!!
I later googled the usage of antibiotics to treat acne and many say that it wouldn't help. Well, it does.

At the same time my mother dragged me to skincare shopping and I started to cleanse my face and apply moisturiser religiously. I tried two brands, Eucerin which only mad me break out more and La Roche-Posay which even when my skin was at the peak of its misery seemed to help somewhat.
I swore to myself to stick to a strict skin care routine forever - and kept it up a few months until Christmas. I got lazy and the condition of my skin worsened (to its usual self, some pimples here and there).
But once I started to take skin care a bit more serious again my complexion was pretty much clear.

Right now it stays quite clear for a couple of days even when I don't cleanse it regularly. Only after a few days when the oil from my facial skin and head have accumulated my skin will make itself felt by growing a few pimples.
Whenever I feel that I will get a real huge pimple, I use La Roche-Posay Effaclar A.I. to kill them before they even start to exist.
My complexion is still far from perfect though, it is never 100% smooth (not even 90%), I always have some kind of bumps (not really pimples), redness, a million of blackheads and super enlarged pores (very sad about the last). I haven't really tried to tackle the large pores (haven't seen any improvement with LRP products, so will try new ones).

What I also noticed is that one product (Etude House AC Clinic Daily Gel Lotion) caused break-outs for me before, but now it's is no problem. I don't know why my skin reacts differently now that it's healed, but I dare to say that a healthy skin will stay healthy easier than healing 'ill' skin).
Til now I'm sticking with La Roche Posay, but when I used other cleaners/ moisturisers my skin didn't show any bad reaction, so I will switch to other products soon.