Charlotte Cho - The Little Book of Skin Care: Korean Beauty Secrets for Healthy, Glowing Skin

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Cover lettering and illustrations by Gemma Correll

This book is written as a source of information only. The information contained in this book should by no means be considered a substitute for the advice of a qualified medical professional, who should always be consulted before beginning any new diet, exercise, or other health program. All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this book as of the date published. The author and the publisher expressly disclaim responsibility for any adverse effects arising from the use or application of the information contained herein.

THE LITTLE BOOK OF SKIN CARE. Copyright 2015 by Charlotte Cho. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

FIRST EDITION

Illustrations by Gemma Correll

ISBN 978-0-06-241638-4

EPub Edition November 2015 ISBN 9780062416391

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To Umma and Appa,

who gave me Korea and America

and the best of both worlds

I thought I was beauty obsessed, and then I experienced Seoul.

Seoul breathes beauty, and its air is skin care. In Korea, it seems that everywhere you look, multitudes of products sell the promise of flawless, dewy skin, and you only have to glance at the porcelain faces passing by on the sidewalks to know that this isnt false advertising.

A California native, I was just out of college when I moved halfway around the world to live in South Korea, and as soon as I arrived, I experienced skin culture shock. Western cultures tend to think skin care is about as much fun as flossing your teeth: just another end-of-the-day chore to rush through before bed. But in Korea, taking good care of your skin is something to be enjoyed; it isnt just beauty or vanity, but an investment in your well-being. I soon came to understand that I was now living in a country where skin care was not just about the products on your bathroom shelf, but a mindset that permeates your lifestyle, from the food you eat to the clothes you wear.

My own journey to understand Korean skin care made me a believer, and when I left Seoul, I took with me a passion to share what I had learned. This led me to start my own Korean lifestyle and beauty website and e-shop, Soko Glam, and to pursue my estheticians license in New York. Through Soko Glam, Ive been able to hear personal stories from women (and men) of all ages and all cultures who decided to follow the Korean skin-care routine and have seen their skinand confidencechange for the better.

In the United States, when we think of skin we think of problems. When a pimple rears its ugly head right before an important date, or the first time we notice fine lines appearing, we experience panic, worry, and regret. We fight acne, combat wrinkles, and banish blackheads. Its us against our skin, and our only ally is an unrealistic jar of miracle cream that almost always lets us down.

Our brains are filled with marketing mumbo jumbo thats a potent combo of myth and misconception. Its no wonder that people still use skin products based on age and gender, or believe that drinking water will give your dry skin relief, because thats what weve been told for generations.

As I learned more about skin care through my esthetician training, and the more I talked to people who were totally confused about what to buy or how to use certain products, I knew I had to put all my skin-care secrets from Seoul into a book. Because, really, they shouldnt be secrets anymore.

In this book, Ill share with you how a California girl like myself became immersed in Koreas beauty culture and changed the way I saw and took care of my skin. Whether youre reading this to start your first skin-care regimen, improve the one you have, or simply learn about how another culture approaches beauty, this book will do all that and more.

Sadly, reading this book alone is not enough to improve your skin, but take heartits the first step. Itll take a bit of work on your part, but Ill hold your well-moisturized hand along the way. Ill guide you step-by-step through some of my best-kept Korean skin-care secrets, from night and day skin-care routines, to why your entire body, not just your face, needs exfoliation, to how to choose and then use the right moisturizer. Ill also show you how to pull off the no-makeup makeup look that Ive seen on women in the streets of Seoul (and regularly on New York and Paris runways). Ill pair my technical esthetician knowledge with advice from Seoul beauty experts to answer your toughest questions about skin and to help provide solutions to common skin issues. Learning about Korean skin care will change the way you think about your skin and how you treat it. Youll be excited to start a routine, and once you get going, you wont want to neglect it.

If youre a little doubtful, let me assure you: Yes, you can be excited about skin. Its only the largest organ of your body. You ready?

F or the first twenty-one years of my life, I was the quintessential L.A. girl. I had a year-round tan and blond highlights and lived in flip-flops. I wore cutoff shorts from Abercrombie & Fitch and sipped on vanilla milkshakes with my burger and fries, and naturally, I worshipped the beach. As soon as I could drive, I was cruising my parents sedan to the mall, where I went shopping with the extra cash I made working as a cashier at a sushi restaurant.