K-Beauty and Mama

K-Beauty. If you’ve been into skincare even SLIGHTLY over the past year or so, you’ll know at least SOMETHING about K-Beauty and the immense following it’s garnered world-wide at this point. Terms like “glass skin” float around the inter-webs alongside lengthy 10 step skincare routines, serums, essences, and of course the infamous face mask! So what exactly is the big deal about K-Beauty and skincare, and how can it benefit you as a mama both during and after pregnancy? We’re going to take a look at that and get into a couple of our favorite self care products that hit both K-Beauty’s and Mama’s standards for skincare and self care. 

So, let’s start with the basics!

What is K-Beauty?

In the simplest of terms K-Beauty is used to describe skincare products derived from South Korea. These products mainly focus on the health and hydration of your skin with the end goal being that luminous, dewy, healthy glow. Skin that shines on its own without layers of foundation and products. Sounds pretty perfect, right? This is often achieved through what has now become the NOTORIOUS 10-step beauty routine that layers cleansers, toners, serums, essences, and moisturizers to treat and pamper the skin and maintain maximum hydration. They pair this with spot treating and zoning in on the specific needs of YOUR skin.

The beauty of these products and routines is that they are incredibly versatile and layering them enables you to choose what skincare concerns you’d like to address. This is what we would call the “big deal” behind the K-Beauty routine and is something that’s perfect for mama because you’re creating your own skincare super team! 

How do we put this into practice for Mama?

The key is finding products and ingredients that are safe for mama while also addressing some of our main skincare issues, and pregnancy comes with a few! With one of it’s major focuses being hydration, K-Beauty definitely aligns with some major skin concerns of most mamas-to-be. As our skin stretches and grows, things like itchiness, dryness, irritation and stretch marks especially in areas like the belly, thighs, breasts, and arms are very common.

Aside from that there are definitely some ingredients you have to avoid when expecting. Things like retinoids, salicylic acids, phthalates and parabens to name a few. It can often feel a bit overwhelming as an expectant mama being faced with choosing the best ingredients not just for yourself but for your little bean-to-be.

What are some ingredients that are well-known in K-Beauty but also great for mama? We’re glad you asked! 

• Hyaluronic acid - A big player in the skincare world in general but also in K-Beauty! It’s great for boosting hydration and a phenomenal ingredient when we’re talking about dryness, irritation, and those pesky stretch marks.
• AHA - Ingredients like glycolic and lactic acids, these are fantastic chemical exfoliants that gently remove dead skin cells to help keep your skin fresh and healthy looking.
• Azelaic Acid - A powerful antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory ingredient.
• Vitamin C & E - Wonderful for increasing collagen production and protecting your skin from harmful UV rays. These vitamins can come from many sources but one of our favorites is Avocado Oil! An oil we personally love using.

Though the K-Beauty market is vast not all products are created equal in the eyes of maternity skin care, and we know that jumping into a full on 10- step routine can be a bit overwhelming! This is why at Element Mom we’ve begun by focusing on hydration and beautiful belly skincare with two of K-Beauty’s heavy hitters, an ultra nourishing stretch mark cream and belly mask duo tailored specifically to mamas, both throughout and after pregnancy, looking to boost and maintain that healthy glow. As a mom centered brand whose skin care philosophy stems from that of K-Beauty, we have strict standards for using EWG approved ingredients proven safe for you AND baby. Not only that, but many of those deliciously nutrient rich ingredients listed above? Yeah, we’ve got a lot of those too! So whether you’re looking for that next level moisturization with our Mega Moisturizing Stretch Mark Cream, maybe a little much needed you-time with our Mega Moisturizing Belly Mask, or maybe your starting your own healthy mama skincare routine, we’re excited to be diving into K-Beauty and bringing all of our mama’s with us! 

Our main takeaways? 

* K-Beauty has formulated a really fantastic approach to looking at skincare which can be incredibly beneficial for mama’s-to-be when forming a healthy skincare routine, but it doesn’t have to be confusing or lengthy to be effective.

* Focus on the basics, your power line up. Start with any skin concerns you may have and then build a routine around caring for your skin with those concerns in mind.

* K-Beauty is a great avenue for expectant mothers because it focuses on the hydration and health of your skin using skin healthy ingredients that mama will love.

* Skincare is self care! So indulge a little in something that’s good for your body and your mind.