“Men and women in South Korea are meticulous when it comes to maintaining healthy hair with a three-step process. After washing the hair with shampoo and conditioner, they often apply a hair essence or hair oil to achieve a shiny head of hair. Hair masks, serums, milks and hair mists are all must-haves,” explains Cho.
Korean haircare promotes the use of carbonated water to wash your scalp. This helps remove dirt, balance the pH levels of the scalp and unclog pores effectively. It is a great way to keep your hair health in check.
“According to my hair stylist, Korean women use a hair essence or oil every single day, which is why they have such silky, soft, and shiny strands.” A personal favorite for Cho is British M's Organics Annatto Hair Oil, while Lee is a fan of the Mise en Scene Pearl Shining Hair Essence.
The reason Asian hair tends to be thicker is that it has around 10 layers of cuticles. Cuticles are the small areas around the inner protein structure of your hair–they are there to protect those proteins.
In Korea, people like to wash their hair every day because of environmental pollution (fine dust, gas emissions, etc). Whereas people in America generally tend to wash hair every 2-3 days due to the common perception that it's much healthier for your hair.
“Men and women in South Korea are meticulous when it comes to maintaining healthy hair with a three-step process. After washing the hair with shampoo and conditioner, they often apply a hair essence or hair oil to achieve a shiny head of hair. Hair masks, serums, milks and hair mists are all must-haves,” explains Cho.
The cuticle layer in Asians is thicker with more compact cuticle cells than that in Caucasians. Asian hair generally exhibits the strongest mechanical properties, and its cross-sectional area is determined greatly by genetic variations, particularly from the ectodysplasin A receptor gene.
Since ancient times, Koreans have only used natural, harsh-free ingredients for their skincare routines: green tea, “snail slime”, bamboo extracts, propolis, and honey are just some examples of the elements they used and have passed through generations.
The cuticle is the outer layer that protects the individual hair. The many layers on an Asian hair are also more dense and wider and thicker than on Caucasian hair. That gives the hair an illusion of being really shiny and silky.
Many idols have confessed they use an ACV rinse every time they wash their hair as a way to keep their hair healthy, shiny, and smooth.
Double cleansing is important. For Koreans, it's considered so necessary that no one ever washes their face just once. You must remove your make-up first and then wash your face again with a second product to get your skin deeply cleansed.
A form of Korean Hair Essence, Korean Hair Coating involves using hair product in damp hair to be combed in and allowed to stay for about twenty minutes for maximum effect. Using collagen and soy proteins, hair coating helps to repair damaged hair as well as give it a soft, shiny, healthy coat.
“I use the Extra Shine Spray — this is my little secret,” Appleton spilled. “I saturate the shine spray all over the hair and then I use a flattening iron.” He recommends pulling a comb through each strand with the straightener to help “separate it” and keep things “smooth.”
Treat your hair to Moroccan oil every day
Uee's (Kim Yu-Jin) secret to super soft and shiny hair lies in Moroccan Oil. The Marriage Contract actress and K-pop singer recommends applying Moroccan oil to the ends of your hair every day to ensure that it stays shiny and velvety.
Korean beauty advocates double dose of skincare products to seal the benefits and preserve the skin's health. This is why Korean women live by the rule of double cleansing, double eye mask and double hydration in their skincare regimen.
It's the result of an extensive skincare routine and naturally sourced hydrating extracts present in almost all Korean skincare ranges. For people who don't know, glass skin is flawless skin that is pore-less and translucent. It refers to almost baby-like bouncy skin because their skin is the healthiest.
Caucasians have the highest hair density among the ethnicities studied. Black people have the lowest. Asian people have hair density that falls somewhere in between.
Japan, Spain and Sweden are widely known for having people with healthy hair, but there are also other countries like India, France and Russia that are also known for helping people keep their hair natural and not messing with any artificial coloring.
There are plenty of blue-eyed Asians. This probably happens when the traditional blue-eyed allele comes into a family from a (possibly very distant) European ancestor. Blue eyes then resurface in a child generations later if they inherit the allele from both parents.
Korean hair products are filled with moisturizing and soothing ingredients like argan oil, goat milk, and shea butter. You can smooth on a scalp scaler or pop on a self-heating sheet mask (yes, there are sheet masks for hair!) for silky, smooth strands in no time.