What each of the ten steps actually does, the order Korean dermatologists use, and how to slim it down for Dhaka's humidity without losing the glow.
Ten Korean skincare products arranged in order on a soft pink surface to show the K-beauty 10-step routine
korean-10-step-skincare-routine-hero.jpgIf you have spent more than five minutes inside K-beauty Instagram, you have already met the Korean 10-step skincare routine. It is the most photographed, most reposted, and most misunderstood skincare ritual in the modern beauty world. Glass dropper bottles in a perfect line. A patient model patting essence into damp skin. A glowing finish that looks part filter, part magic. The promise is that if you follow all ten steps in the right order, you too will have the famous Korean chok-chok — that bouncy, dewy, sealed-from-the-inside glow.
Here is what those reels usually leave out: most Korean women do not do all ten steps every day. Korean dermatologists are the first to say so. The k-beauty routine is a menu of ten possible steps in a specific order, not a daily checklist. This guide unpacks each step in plain English, shows you the exact korean skincare order that actually matters, and explains how to adapt the framework for Bangladesh's humidity, sun and skin tones — so you get the glow without spending two hours and BDT 25,000 to get it.
The phrase Korean 10-step skincare routine was not coined in Seoul. It was coined in 2014 by Charlotte Cho, the Korean-American founder of Soko Glam, to introduce Western readers to the layered hydration philosophy of Korean skincare. In Korea itself, the same ritual is called something much less rigid — usually just kibon kwanli, basic skincare care — and the number of steps a person uses depends on the day, the season and their skin's mood.
What makes the routine genuinely Korean is the underlying philosophy: layer hydration before you treat, and treat the barrier before you treat the problem. Where American skincare often asks what active will fix this fast? and Japanese skincare asks what is the smallest perfect step I can do?, Korean skincare asks how can I keep this skin barrier so strong and so hydrated that problems become rare in the first place? That is why so many of the ten steps are watery, gentle and humectant-heavy — and why the routine works so well in humid Asian climates like Bangladesh's.
Here is every step, what it does, when to use it, and which ones you can safely skip on a tired Tuesday night. Texture rule: thinnest and most water-based first, richest and most occlusive last. The order below follows that rule exactly.
Numbered diagram showing the correct order of the Korean 10-step skincare routine from oil cleanser to sunscreen
korean-skincare-order-10-steps.jpgThe single most useful thing about the Korean routine is that it cleanly separates the two jobs your skin needs done — protect during the day, repair at night. The order is the same; the steps you actually use are not.
In the morning, skip step 1 (oil cleanser) — there is no sunscreen or makeup to remove. Skip step 3 (exfoliator) — never in the morning, because freshly exfoliated skin is more sun-sensitive. Skip step 7 (sheet mask) — these are an evening ritual. Most people who say they "do the 10-step routine" are actually doing six steps in the morning: water cleanse, toner, essence, antioxidant serum (usually vitamin C), moisturizer, sunscreen. Total time: under three minutes once you have the muscle memory.
At night, the routine is about removal and repair. Always do steps 1 and 2 (the double cleanse) if you wore sunscreen, makeup or have been outside. Steps 4, 5, 6 and 9 are the daily core. Steps 3 and 7 — exfoliator and sheet mask — slot in one to two nights a week each, on different nights. Step 10 becomes an optional sleeping mask or a drop of facial oil on nights when your skin feels especially thirsty.
The Korean approach is sometimes dismissed as marketing theatre — ten steps to sell ten products. The peer-reviewed evidence tells a more interesting story.
A 2019 review in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology analysed the K-beauty practice of layered application — multiple thin watery layers of hydration before any cream — and found that it raised stratum corneum water content significantly more than a single thicker application of the same total volume. The mechanism is straightforward: each thin layer absorbs more fully before the next is applied, so total hydration delivered into the skin is greater.
A 2020 study in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science used confocal Raman spectroscopy to track active-ingredient penetration when product order was reversed. Applying a heavy occlusive cream before a watery serum dropped the serum's penetration by about 40 percent — confirming the K-beauty rule of "thinnest first" is not just folklore.
And a 2022 review in Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology on Korean and Japanese sunscreens (the products that anchor step 10) found that the newer-generation Asian sunscreen filters deliver higher PA ratings — i.e. better UVA protection — at lighter textures than most Western chemical sunscreens. That is exactly why K-beauty sunscreens feel so much nicer on humid-climate skin.
Korean skincare was developed in Seoul, a city with four sharply distinct seasons, dry winters and indoor heating that strips humidity from skin. Bangladesh has the opposite climate for nine months of the year. The routine still works — it is one of the best-suited frameworks in the world for our humidity — but the texture choices matter a lot.
From March to October, keep every step watery. Use a gel-textured oil cleanser rather than a butter-based balm. Pick an essence with hyaluronic acid or fermented extracts rather than a richer fermented-honey one. Drop the eye cream to PM-only and skip step 10 (or replace it with a fluid Korean sunscreen). Sheet masks during these months feel best in the fridge — chilled, they de-puff and calm heat rash.
From late December to mid-February, Dhaka's short dry window flips the texture rule. Add a slightly richer cream at step 9. Layer two hydrating toners in step 4 (Korean 7-skin method: pat the same toner in seven times on damp skin). Bring back step 10 as a true sleeping mask or a thin layer of an occlusive balm one to two nights a week — slugging, in K-beauty slang. We cover the technique in detail in our slugging guide.
Year-round in Bangladesh, the steps that never bend are sunscreen and gentle cleansing. Our latitude puts most of the country in the "very high" or "extreme" UV index range for the majority of the year, and cumulative UV exposure is the single biggest driver of melasma and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation on the skin tones we serve. If you cut every Korean step but two, keep the double cleanse and the SPF 50 PA++++.
And if you are still figuring out which skin type you are flexing the routine for, start with our companion piece How to Identify Your Skin Type before you spend another taka.
You do not need ten products to do the K-beauty routine well. You need five thoughtfully chosen ones that together cover steps 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10 — the daily core. Below are five Labisha-curated picks, each justified by specific ingredients and concentrations rather than marketing copy.
Product recommendation
A sherbet-textured cleansing balm that melts into a silky oil on contact with skin.
Why it works: Acerola, papaya and West Indian cherry extracts dissolve sunscreen and sebum cleanly, and the balm emulsifies fully with water so nothing pore-clogging is left behind. The benchmark step-1 product in K-beauty for over a decade.
Best for: Step 1 — anyone wearing daily sunscreen, makeup or living in polluted cities
Product recommendation
A low-pH (around 5.5), gel-to-foam cleanser built around fermented green plum extract and lactic acid.
Why it works: Pairs perfectly with step 1 above as the water-based half of the double cleanse. The low pH respects the acid mantle, and the sulphate-free base cleans without stripping — exactly what step 2 should do.
Best for: Step 2 — all skin types, including sensitive
Product recommendation
A featherweight essence with 96 percent snail secretion filtrate.
Why it works: That 96 percent concentration is clinically meaningful, unlike products that list snail mucin as the seventh or eighth ingredient. It hydrates, repairs the barrier and fades post-acne marks gently. Read our snail mucin deep dive for the studies.
Best for: Step 5 — combination, oily, dehydrated and post-acne skin
Product recommendation
A clear water-based serum with 10 percent niacinamide and 1 percent zinc PCA.
Why it works: Niacinamide at 10 percent is the most evidence-backed concentration for visibly reducing pore appearance, regulating oil and fading post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation — the single most useful active for our market. See our niacinamide guide for the trial data.
Best for: Step 6 — oily, combination and acne-prone skin
Product recommendation
A lightweight chemical sunscreen with SPF 50+, PA++++, rice extract and probiotic ferments.
Why it works: The current best-in-class daily Korean sunscreen for medium-to-deep South Asian skin tones — high broad-spectrum protection, no white cast, layers under makeup without pilling, and the rice extract adds a soft brightening note over time.
Best for: Step 10 — every skin type, every morning
Half the wisdom of the Korean routine is knowing which steps to leave out on a given day. The other half is knowing which products to actively avoid no matter how beautifully they are packaged.
No. The 10-step routine is a menu of possible steps in a specific order, not a daily checklist. Most Korean women use about 4–6 steps on a typical day, with exfoliator and sheet mask added once or twice a week. The order is the part that matters, not the count.
Oil cleanser → water-based cleanser → exfoliator (1–2x a week) → hydrating toner → essence → treatment serum or ampoule → sheet mask (1–3x a week) → eye cream → moisturizer → sunscreen (AM) or sleeping mask (PM). Thinnest texture first, richest last.
Yes, but do not start all ten steps at once. Begin with the five-step core — cleanser, toner, essence, moisturizer, sunscreen — for four weeks, then layer in a treatment serum, then exfoliation, then sheet masks. Our companion guide How to Build a Skincare Routine From Scratch walks through the full ramp.
About 30 to 60 seconds — long enough for the previous layer to feel absorbed rather than wet, but not so long that the skin starts to dry. Waiting longer than two minutes is unnecessary and just makes the routine feel slow.
Yes, if you choose the right textures. Use a gel oil cleanser, watery essences, a niacinamide serum at step 6, and a fluid oil-free moisturizer at step 9. Skip the heaviest sleeping masks and overly rich creams. Many oily-skin readers find the layered hydration actually reduces sebum over time because the skin stops over-producing oil to compensate for dehydration.
Better than most other frameworks, because K-beauty's bias toward watery, lightweight textures suits humid weather. Stick to gel and fluid formulas from March to October, and shift toward slightly richer creams during the short December–February dry window.
The Korean 10-step skincare routine is best understood as a beautifully ordered menu rather than a daily checklist. Every step exists because it solves a real job for the skin — removing sunscreen cleanly, restoring pH, layering hydration, delivering a targeted active, locking it all in, and protecting against UV. You will rarely need all ten on the same day, and that is the entire point of the framework: it gives you the order so you can flex the count without breaking the logic.
Two takeaways worth keeping. First, the k-beauty routine is about layered hydration before any active — get that one principle right and you have captured most of the benefit. Second, the korean skincare order is non-negotiable but the number of products is entirely yours to choose; six well-matched products beat ten mismatched ones every single time.
When you are ready to build your own honest version, browse our curated Korean skincare at the Labisha store — every product mentioned in this guide is import-verified, and our team is happy to help you trim the routine to what your skin actually needs. Welcome to the calmer, smarter side of K-beauty.
About the author
Labisha Editorial
Reviewed by Labisha's in-house skincare research team — replace with author byline + credentials when assigned.
Labisha is Bangladesh's curated importer of premium skincare from Korea, Japan and the United States. Our editorial team writes guides that combine peer-reviewed dermatology research with the climate, water and skin-tone realities our customers actually live with.
This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a board-certified dermatologist for personalized treatment, especially if you have a pre-existing skin condition or are pregnant.
Keep reading
More from the Skincare 101 library.
Shop the products in this guide
Skincare 101 library
Explore the other 100 guides