Ever since I was in fourth grade, I have used a skincare routine religiously. I still remember my first skincare routine; it consisted of the new Glossier milky jelly cleanser that all of my friends were obsessed with, the Kiehl’s cucumber toner, moisturizer and midnight serum every other day as well as the Innisfree sunscreen in the morning. Looking back on it, my still baby fourth grade skin probably did not need that much product on it, let alone such expensive products, but I fell into hardcore “ride or die” mentality with my skincare routine. 

Over the years I’ve evolved my skincare routine to perfectly fit my dry skin type. Currently, I use all Asian products and I actually believe that Asian skincare products are the best as well as cheapest on the market. I was in a testing period for a while where I used 12 products on my face, but I managed to narrow it down to seven, sometimes eight at night and five in the morning. For my night time routine, I use the Ma:nyo oil cleanser, Goodall vita C foam cleanser, Anua 77 percent toner, Goodall vitamin C serum, Anua 77 percent lotion, Goodall vitamin C under eye patches, Kahi multi balm and once a week I use a sheet mask. In the morning, I do the same thing except for the under eye patches and the oil cleanser, which I replace with the Innisfree tone up sunscreen. 

Asian Skincare has recently taken the internet by storm, with the most popular brands being Innisfree, Dr. Jart+ and Laneige. Ever since I’ve switched to a mainly Asian based skincare routine, I’ve found that my skin has been much better and my skin type has even changed a little bit, going from combination skin to more dry skin. 

Asian skincare has been known to be more gentle and most brands that you find are going to have something good for every skin type. Asian skincare is also notoriously great for sensitive skin types because all of the ingredients that are popular are gentle on the skin. For example, Korea’s most popular toner right now is probably the Anua 77 percent toner, and the number one ingredient in it is 77 percent Houttuynia Cordata Extract which has anti-inflammatory elements in it that help soothe the skin. 

Western skincare still has a lot to catch up on compared to Asian skincare. There are great brands out there that I have used and enjoyed, but ultimately, I’ve found that the way western skincare is formulated with high concentration in ingredients that can irritate the skin even with just one use. Western skincare also tends to be focused on certain skin types and there aren’t many products out there that are great for just normal or combination skin types. I also have found that Asian skincare is more user friendly even in its packaging, and they just come in more fun ways to use them. 

Because they have gained so much popularity, Asian skincare brands can be found at a lot of beauty stores and online shops. Sephora carries one of the most popular brands, Innisfree and Amazon has a wide selection of brands from Asia. Both Asian and American skincare have great brands that fall under each culture, but if you’re looking for something that is more gentle as well as cheaper, I would consider taking a look at some Asian skincare brands.