A Korean skincare routine for mature skin, from cleanser to retinoid

A Korean routine for mature skin can stay short. I’d start with three plain steps: a mild cleanser, a moisturizer and sunscreen. Once those are a habit, add one anti-aging ingredient, a retinoid. Below, I’ve picked two Korean products for the later steps: a creamy moisturizer, and a gentle retinal serum for the skin around your eyes.

What changes as skin ages

The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) splits skin aging into two types in its advice on reducing premature skin aging. The first is natural aging, which your genes largely control. With time, skin gets thinner and drier, lines appear, and the face loses some fullness. The second type comes from your environment and habits. The AAD says the sun plays a major role in it. Smoking and tanning speed it up too.

Skincare can’t change natural aging. A routine can protect your skin from the sun, and it can keep skin comfortable as it gets drier. The three steps below do that.

The three steps to start with

For mature skin, these three steps do the most good. Our basic Korean skincare routine is built on them too.

• Cleanse with a mild wash, morning and night.
• Moisturize after washing, and again when your skin feels dry.
• Protect with sunscreen every day.

The AAD’s guide to choosing anti-aging skin care products says dermatologists agree on two products. Sunscreen and moisturizer are “the two most-effective anti-aging products you can buy”. It suggests using them for a few weeks before you add anything else.

Start with the cleanser. The AAD’s menopause skin-care tips say to wash with a mild cleanser instead of soap, because soap can be too drying for mature skin. Don’t scrub either. The AAD says scrubbing irritates skin, and irritation speeds up skin aging. For mild washes, see the Korean cleansers we picked for sensitive skin.

Choose a moisturizer that holds water

Older skin holds less water. The AAD’s menopause tips say that in menopause, skin loses some of its ability to hold water. The AAD suggests a moisturizer after bathing, and again during the day whenever skin feels dry. It says one with hyaluronic acid or glycerin can be especially helpful. Both are humectants, which means they draw water into the skin’s outer layer and hold it there.

Beauty of Joseon’s Dynasty Cream is my pick for this step. It’s the brand’s best-selling cream, and Beauty of Joseon describes it as creamy but quick to sink in, with a dewy finish. Glycerin comes right after water on its ingredient list. Three forms of hyaluronic acid are in there too, along with squalane and ceramide NP. Squalane is a light oil that softens skin, and ceramides are fats found in the skin’s own outer layer.

Beauty of Joseon’s directions put it after cleanser, toner and serum, over the face and neck, morning or night. In this routine, it goes on after washing. At night, put it on after the eye serum if you use one. In the morning, put sunscreen on over the top. If you’d rather have a lighter gel texture, our list of Korean moisturizers has those too.

Sunscreen every day

The AAD’s product guide asks for three things in a sunscreen: broad spectrum, SPF 30 or higher, and water resistance. Broad spectrum means it protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Put it on all skin your clothes don’t cover. Outdoors, reapply it every two hours. The menopause tips add that daily sunscreen can’t thicken thin skin, but it can help stop further thinning. They say to wear it every day, even in winter.

You can use a moisturizer with sunscreen in it. The AAD says that’s fine, as long as it’s broad spectrum and SPF 30 or higher. Our sunscreen guide covers what to check before you buy a Korean SPF.

Then add a retinoid

Once the three steps are a habit, you can think about a retinoid. Retinoids are a family of ingredients made from vitamin A. The AAD’s page on retinoids and retinol says a product with a retinoid is a good option for someone with mild fine lines and wrinkles, or mild uneven color. The page also describes tretinoin, a prescription retinoid. It says tretinoin speeds up how fast surface skin cells are replaced and boosts collagen, the protein that keeps skin firm. Retinol is a retinoid sold without a prescription.

Be careful if your skin is dry. That AAD page says people with skin allergies or dryness are probably not good candidates for a retinoid. If your skin is still dry after a few weeks of daily moisturizer, ask a dermatologist before you start one. The page also says not to use retinoids during pregnancy.

A dermatologist quoted on that page gives the starting advice. Use the least intense retinoid you can find, every other night to start, and build up slowly. Use it only at night, and wear sunscreen during the day. Our guide to retinol and retinal explains how the two common forms differ, and our roundup of Korean retinoids for beginners includes a serum for the whole face.

If the lines around your eyes bother you most, I like Beauty of Joseon’s Revive Eye Serum as a first step. It contains retinal, one of the retinoids sold without a prescription, in a gentle formula. Ginseng extract, adenosine, niacinamide and ceramide NP are in there too, and there’s no fragrance.

It is made for the skin under and around the eyes, so keep it there. Beauty of Joseon’s directions say to pat it on morning and night, under sunscreen in the day. I’d follow the dermatologist’s advice instead: put it on at night only, every other night to start.

Bring in new products slowly

Test each new product on your arm before you use it on your face. The AAD says to apply a small amount to your inner forearm. Do this twice a day for four to five days. If the skin stays free of redness and itching, you can use it on your face.

Start new products one by one. The AAD says using several anti-aging products at once can irritate skin, and irritated skin shows signs of aging more. Stop using any product that stings, burns or tingles. The exception is a prescription product, so ask your dermatologist before you stop one of those.

What to leave out

Hold off on exfoliating until a dermatologist says it’s fine. That includes scrubs and acid toners. The AAD’s menopause tips say to see a dermatologist before you try exfoliation or microdermabrasion. Microdermabrasion is a treatment that removes the top layer of dead skin cells. Skin gets thinner in menopause, and the AAD warns that trying these yourself may do more harm than good. Our guide to exfoliating acids covers what acid toners contain.

The AAD’s product guide says anti-aging skincare gives modest results. It also says “clinically proven” only means a product was given to people to try. It doesn’t mean the product went through clinical trials or got FDA approval.

Give it time, and see a dermatologist for spots

Expect to wait. The AAD says a moisturizer can plump up fine lines within a few days. Most other products take at least six weeks to work, and some take up to three months. Keep using a product if you want to keep its results.

See a dermatologist before you buy anything for age spots. The AAD’s menopause tips say skin cancer sometimes looks like an age spot. If you fade it with a spot treatment, you could delay treatment for the cancer. They also say your risk of skin cancer rises with age, and advise seeing a dermatologist for a skin cancer screening. Once a dermatologist has checked a mark, Korean ingredients for dark spots explains the options for fading it. Every review and roundup we’ve tagged for this skin type is listed on the mature skin page.