Weird But Wonderful Korean Skincare Products

This multifunction cream contains snail mucus, a liquid that snails excrete when they’re under stress.  Apparently, the same ingredient also helps relieve your stressed skin.  It might sound a little gross, but in truth snail mucin extract can improve skin’s texture and reduce acne scars.  It also contains skin regenerating properties which is of course good for anti-aging.  Besides this product, which CORSX dubs an All-in-One cream, there are many specific-purpose Snail Mucins you could take a look at.^[N1]

Apparently, salmon eggs don’t just go well on top of your sushi. According to Besolbo, they go well on your skin too. Careful that its appearance may deceive you, these tiny orange balls ain’t really edible. It does contain salmon roe extract that treats wrinkles and has a whitening effect. You can apply 2-3 beads of these babies on your face as both moisturizers (during the day) and sleeping pack (at night).

Bird’s nests used to be exclusive ingredients available only to kings and royalties. Today, it still remains one of the most premium ingredients in Asian dishes. Apparently, it works as a premium treatment for your skin as well. Holika Holika’s cream contains bird’s nest extract that works as a brightening agent. On top of that, this product’s got pure gold extract that helps detoxify your skin.

The secret to South Korean flawless complexion: a good scrubbing using vulcanic clay mask extracted from the many mountains surrounding the country.  This mask removes excess oil without the annoying stripping effect that similar products usually do to the the skin.  A good 15-20 minutes of application every fortnight will definitely leave your skin clear and your pores nearly invisible!

Koreans sure love their cattle animal skincare. This time, it’s horse oil cream which is extracted from the prancing animals’ body fat. It is said that the horse oil resembles human sebum, making it a natural agent for moisturization that can last for up to 72 hours. The product is said to “deeply penetrate the skin without feeling greasy” - certainly a plus for daily usage.

Thick, lathery cheese on your face might seem bizarre at first, but this product has gained popularity in Korea for promoting skin elasticity, reducing dryness, and reversing skin aging. The texture is mozzarella cheese-like, dense and takes a while to set, which means it’s probably better as an overnight cream. But you best believe it’s all worth it when you wake up the next day with a bouncy, radiant skin.

We had donkey milk, we had cheese, so why not include mayo while at it? Though this is technically not a skincare item, it’s certainly a unique beauty ingredient that deserves a mention. Despite its condiment bottle-inspired packaging, this hair care product doesn’t actually contain mayonnaise. It’s instead rich with egg yolk extract, shea butter, and macadamia seed oil to moisturize, nourish and rejuvenate dull hair.

Apparently, sugar doesn't just go into your desserts, it's also great for your skin! The black sugar in this face mask helps exfoliate dead skin cells, remove blackheads and oiliness, and free up clogged pores - leaving you with a smoother skin. With black sugar, macadamia seed, and shea butter in the formula, enjoy a gentle sensation on your sweet face all day every day.

Yes, you read that right, this product contains starfish extract. It comes with many alluring benefits: it promotes wrinkle correction, skin hydration, and dark circle concealing among others. This product contains a high 60% concentration of the ingredient, which explains why it’s become a star among similar products.

Placenta has indeed been known as nature’s greatest healing and repairing agent. It’s more commonly used in the medical field but why not also bring its usefulness to the beauty world? That’s why Mizon comes out with this placenta-infused skincare product. The ingredient is undoubtedly potent at smoothing over wrinkles, repairing damaged skin, and reducing eyebags.

Biodance is a prominent player in the Korean skincare industry.  Their most-loved product is a bio-collagen real deep mask, a hydrogel type mask with 1.19oz of concentrated collagen essence.  It has gained a devoted fan base with its feature requiring over 4 hours of (typically, overnight) wear for active ingredient absorption.