2025 K Cosmetic May News Letter

◎ A Day Where Skin Flows Slowly ◎

Even in a busy daily routine, if you want your skin’s time to flow slowly, consistent care is essential. Choosing the right products and using them properly is the foundation.

Feed Your Skin Nutritious Ingredients
In Korea, where the seasons are distinct, people have long consumed nutritious foods when the seasons change. This applies to your skin as well. When choosing cosmetics, go for products with a high concentration of active ingredients rather than just purified water to intensively nourish your skin.

Focus on Antioxidants
Oxygen taken in through breathing creates reactive oxygen species during normal cell activities. While a certain amount is beneficial, excess leads to cellular aging and various diseases. Antioxidants remove the excess and protect cell functions, so skincare products rich in antioxidants are essential.

Don’t Forget Body Skin
Although body skin makes up most of our skin, it’s often neglected. If left dry, it’s prone to damage, weakening the skin barrier and allowing harmful substances to penetrate. After showering, massage in body lotion to moisturize the skin, promote lymphatic circulation, and relieve fatigue.

Train Your Brain
Super-agers who maintain youthful cognitive function even past 80 are known to absorb new information quickly and retain excellent memory. To support this, engage in social interaction, regular exercise, and use inner beauty products that enhance cognitive function.

Build Muscle to Slow Down Aging
Sitting for long periods is harmful to your health. Regular walking and stretching strengthen joints and cartilage. Collagen ampoules and other supportive products can help maintain muscle strength and slow aging.

Start Anti-Aging with the Scalp
Aging begins with the scalp, just like the face. When scalp elasticity decreases, hair becomes thinner and hair loss progresses, making you appear older. A healthy scalp not only improves facial lines and appearance but also needs dedicated care just like facial skin (Hyangjang, No. 166).

◎ How to Use Sunscreen to Slow Down Skin Aging ◎

 

1. How UV Rays Affect the Skin

UV rays are categorized into UVA, UVB, and UVC. UVC is mostly absorbed by the ozone layer, so it’s not a major concern. However, UVA penetrates deep into the skin, damaging collagen and elastin, accelerating aging, while UVB stimulates melanin production, leading to dark spots and pigmentation. Both types of UV rays dry out the skin, reducing its elasticity and regenerative ability.

2. Choosing the Right Sunscreen for You

During seasons with strong UV exposure, it’s important to choose a sunscreen with strong water resistance and long-lasting effect:

•Dry skin: Moisturizing texture

•Oily skin: Lightweight and refreshing formula

•Sensitive skin: Products with gentle, non-irritating ingredients

Tone-up sunscreens are also popular these days. A natural finish and smooth application without clumpingare key. Products that also contain skincare ingredients are ideal for maintaining overall skin health.

3. How to Properly Use Sunscreen

To ensure full UV protection, apply more sunscreen than you think is necessaryand reapply every 2–3 hours:

A proper amount is about two finger lengthsof product

•Don’t forget your neck and ears

•Use sunscreen even indoors or on cloudy days, as UV rays can still penetrate

•Be cautious with expired products, as they may have reduced effectiveness

Since ordinary clothing does not completely block UV rays, it’s best to apply sunscreen even to areas covered by clothesfor full protection (Hyangjang, No. 66).

◎ The Cleansing Season ◎

Tip 1: Choose a Gentle Cleanser

There’s a common belief that double cleansing dries and irritates the skin, but that’s outdated. These days, many cleansers are designed to minimize irritation while effectively removing dirt and impurities, and even help strengthen the skin barrier. If you’re concerned about friction during cleansing, opt for a thicker formula that rolls smoothly over the skin.

Tip 2: Choose Products with Added Skincare Benefits

Cleansing is the foundation of every skincare routine. Removing residue and dust is essential, but if your cleanser also offers skincare benefits, that’s even better. Especially if you're following the slow-aging trend, look for cleansers with anti-aging effects.

Tip 3: For Gentle Deep Cleansing, Use Enzyme Cleansers

In spring, skin often becomes rough and dry. This is when enzyme cleansers come in handy. Enzymes have protein-breaking properties that gently remove excess dead skin cellsand soften the skin. They are also effective in removing sebum thanks to their excellent oil-dissolving ability. Enzyme cleansers typically come in powder form, making them ideal for texture care. The key is to check which enzymes are included(Hyangjang, No. 66).

◎ Japanese Cosmetics Market: Korean Brands Lead in Lip Makeup Share ◎

From 2022 to 2024, the Japanese cosmetics market maintained stable growth, with an average annual growth rate of 4.9%. Among all categories, makeup (6.1%) and skincare (5.4%)showed particularly strong growth.

Korean cosmetics brands recorded the highest market share in the lip (50.4%) and skincare/makeup (42.9%) segments, solidifying their position in the Japanese market.

Major Japanese cosmetic companies such as Shiseidoand Koséare facing limitations in the domestic market, particularly due to a declining population and intensified competition. As a result, they are seeking new growth opportunities by expanding into emerging Asian markets such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand.

Additionally, these companies are striving to overcome domestic market constraints by exploring new growth drivers such as beauty tech, advanced biotechnology, and the senior market.

Beauty Tech Emerges as a Growth Engine

The beauty tech industryhas emerged as a key growth driver in the Japanese cosmetics market.

Japan now boasts the second-largest beauty tech market in the world, following the United States, and has outpaced Korea in market size. The industry is evolving toward enhanced personalized services powered by AI(CMN, April 18, 2025)

The 2025 K Cosmetic May Newsletterwas published by K Cosmetic Inc.

For more information, please visit our website at www.kcosmetic1.com.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us via email at kcosmetic13@gmail.com.