Food Ingredients in Skincare: Nutrient-rich Korean Skincare to Serve Your Skin!

What if food could go not just in your mouth, but on your skin, too?

As the emphasis on health and wellness grows in recent years, 'eating healthy' is no longer only about what goes on our plate, but also what goes on our face. There's a rising trend of choosing minimalist skincare formulas containing only the bare essentials, using natural and unadulterated ingredients.

A good example of this trend is happening in the K-beauty scene, where brands are unveiling one after another skincare products made with food as a raw material. 'Food-based skincare' is becoming a thing as the ingredients in your food cupboard make their way into pipettes, tubes, and bottles.

From avocados, to ginseng, to carrots, natural ingredients we're ever so familiar with now not only belong in dinners, but also in our daily skincare routine. And not only are these components good for your body when served on a plate, but they provide an equally nutritious and balanced meal for your skin.

Many food ingredients in skincare are nutrient-rich, including a slew of vitamins, proteins, and antioxidants. Extracting nutrients from pure, unprocessed foods help arm our skin against free radical damage and slow down signs of aging while boosting its self-repairing abilities.

Food-based skincare often feature clean and gentle formulas free from harmful ingredients as well, promising hypoallergenic care that is safe on sensitive skin and approved by Korean celebrities and general users far and wide.

Facial Cleansers

Food Ingredient in Skincare: Cleanser Recommendation｜Arencia Rice Mucin Cleanser

Meet the viral rice mochi cleanser Korean girls are stockpiling! Arencia's cleansers get their signature stretchy texture thanks to a meticulous production process of kneading over 7,200 times. The slightly gooey cleanser envelopes every inch of your skin to gently roll away pore-clogging impurities and dead cells buildup with rice powder.

Imbued with over 30 plant-based components, the two-way cleanser not only works as a cleanser but also as a wash-off mask. It leaves pores visibly tightened and skin clarified and plumped, fully justifying its popularity.

Food Ingredient in Skincare: Cleanser Recommendation｜Isntree Yam Root Vegan Milk Cleanser

Yam root is rich in amino acids and mucin that can soothe, nourish, and form a moisturising protective barrier on skin. This moisturising cleansing lotion cleanses gently with yam root and none of the harsh surfactants often found in ordinary facial cleansers. The rich, dense foam seeps into pores to whisk away dirt and excess sebum, so that skin is left purified but not stripped. Dewy and smooth, your skin will feel as if you were using a lotion and not a cleanser.

Face Serums

Food Ingredient in Skincare: Serum Recommendation｜Sungboon Editor Green Tomato Pore Lifting Ampoule

Bothered by stretched, visible pores? Reach for the green tomato ampoule! Lauded as the No.1 pore serum on Olive Young for two consecutive years, Sungboon Editor's hero ampoule features green tomato at the heart of its formula. It tackles pore concerns from various angles, controls oil secretion, and improves skin elasticity to offer results in as little as one week! The refreshing and watery gel-like texture minimises pores while moisturising, eliminating rough bumps and restoring skin to a smooth, bouncy, boiled egg-like state.

Food Ingredient in Skincare: Serum Recommendation｜celimax The Real Noni Energy Ampoule

Enjoying newfound popularity recently, the noni fruit is a superfood rich in more than 150 nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Famous as a quick fix for fatigued skin after an all-nighter, this Korean serum is packed with 71.77% Noni Extract for powerful moisturising, soothing, and antioxidant benefits. It revives compromised skin with an abundance of energy and nutrition, repelling dullness and keeping your skin's glow on!

Food Ingredient in Skincare: Serum Recommendation｜Aprilskin Carrotene Clarifying Serum

Carrots are rich in β-Carotene, an excellent skin antioxidant that can be converted into vitamin A in the body. This substance helps regulate sebum secretion, which can prevent acne and closed comedones from the root, making this serum a must-have for oily skin. The addition of carrot seed oil, carrot water, and carrot protein also help to moisturise, reduce irritation, and strengthen your skin's natural barrier.

Food Ingredient in Skincare: Serum Recommendation｜Anua 70% Peach Niacinamide Serum

Did you know that peaches have a niacinamide content 2-5 times that of other fruits? Anua's Peach 70% Niacinamide Serum is concocted with 70% fermented peach essence, which suppresses melanin and reduces its deposition on the epidermis of the skin, fading the appearance of blemishes and spots. It also helps to accelerate the metabolism of old, dead skin cells, restoring skin to a clarified, even and smooth state – rosy as a peach.

Moisturisers, Creams, and Lotions

Food Ingredient in Skincare: Moisturiser Recommendation｜Bonajour Eggplant BHA Water Cream

Containing the key component 'lupeol', eggplant has remarkable anti-inflammatory, oil-controlling and firming effects. Infused with an impressive 75% of eggplant extract, this cream deeply hydrates and gently exfoliates, controls sebum production, and maintains skin's water-oil balance, solving all the skin concerns of combination and oily skin types at once! Available at a budget-friendly price and hydrating in a quickly absorbed water-based texture, it's no surprise that this BHA cream is a favourite among Koreans users all year round.

Food Ingredient in Skincare: Moisturiser Recommendation｜Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream

Bestseller of the traditional Korean Hanbang-inspired brand Beauty of Joseon, this cream fuses rice bran water with a variety of moisturising ingredients for an all-round hydrating formula you can't go wrong with. The light and spreadable texture glides like water on skin and instils a rich dose of nutrients and nourishment, keeping your natural barrier moisturised and strengthened. Quench your skin and let it glow with health.

Food Ingredient in Skincare: Moisturiser Recommendation｜Anua Rice 70 Intensive Moisturizing Milk

Fusing rice bran water with rice extracts, Anua's own Rice Water complex is 3 times more effective in brightening compared to ordinary rice bran water. Working in tandem with ceramides, niacinamide and hyaluronic acid, this rice formula mends compromised skin barriers and keeps your skin hydrated and sebum production balanced. The natural and mild formula is free of artificial fragrances so that damaged and sensitive skin types can use it with confidence.

Food Ingredient in Skincare: Moisturiser Recommendation｜Farmstay Real Avocado Nutrition Oil Serum

Widely known as a superfood well loved by gym rats, avocados are packed with vitamins, minerals, and fibres, and is recognised by the Guinness World Records as the most nutritious fruit. And now the ample nourishment avocados offer is also considered a rare skincare holy grail! Lightweight and non-sticky, this skin-friendly avocado face oil penetrates deep into skin to nourish, rebalance oil-water levels, and brighten dull complexions. The high-concentration nutritious formula also forms a moisturising film to keep skin hydrated.

Pads and Masks

Food Ingredient in Skincare: Pad/Mask Recommendation｜Skinfood Carrot Carotene Calming Water Pad

Made with Jeju Island's finest raw carrots, these thick waffle pads are soaked with Carrot Extract and moisturising ingredients. A single pad is sufficient for daily hydration and soothing care. The vegan formula has completed skin allergy tests and is free from toxic ingredients, promising safe and worry-free care for sensitive skin. If that isn't reassuring enough, these toner pads also boast an impressive track record of 18 beauty awards and a 4.8-star rating from Olive Young customers.

Food Ingredient in Skincare: Pad/Mask Recommendation｜Skinfood Egg White Pore Mask

Albumin, found in egg white extract, has good hydrophilicity and can form a soft protein membrane on the surface of the skin, which enhances the stratum corneum's moisture retention, prevents water loss, and improves dryness. This wash-off mud pack rolls away excess sebum and dirt deep-seated in pores, achieving cleansing, oil control and hydration all at once to leave you with firm, fair, and flawless skin.

Food Ingredient in Skincare: Pad/Mask Recommendation｜Sungboon Editor Meoru Podo Vita C Turn-over Dark Spot Pad

Rich in antioxidising and brightening ingredients, mulberry grapes boast excellent antioxidant ingredients among other grape varieties. These Sungboon Editor toner pads utilise patented grape vitamin C ingredients, which work in tandem with pure vitamin C (3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid, a vitamin C derivative) and other derivatives to inhibit melanin production, improve hyperpigmentation and brighten your overall complexion.

They also nourish and lock moisture in thanks to a hydrating formula of 10 types of hyaluronic acids and the calming duo of centella asiatica and allantoin, leaving skin hydrated and bouncy.

Food Ingredient in Skincare: Pad/Mask Recommendation｜Biodance Sea Kelp Gel Toner Pads

Rich in minerals and fucoidan, sea kelp has powerful moisturising and calming benefits, with soothing abilities 5 times more powerful than centella asiatica. The unique gel-textured pad, transparent when applied, will turn white once your skin absorbs the active ingredients. This indicates that the toner pad's rich 243Da ultra-low molecular collagen formula has penetrated deep into the skin to fully improve elasticity and firmness.