Korean Treatments That Are Worth the Hype
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I had the opportunity to go back to Korea this past fall. The first time I went to Korea, I focused most of my energy on shopping. I went a little crazy in buying everything I could get my hands on back in 2016 when I went. This time around, I focused more of my time doing treatments that I wasn’t able to do in 2016.
I had a personal color analysis, a 15-step scalp treatment, a full skin analysis, a facial, and a gel nail manicure. I’m going to go through each one and talk about my experience with each and talk about which ones I found to be worth it.
Table of Contents
Personal Color Analysis
Personal color analyses are all the rage in social media these days. You can’t research things to do in Seoul without coming across someone who swears this was life-changing for their shopping in Korea. Of course, I was curious about getting a personal color analysis. I guess you could say that I was successfully advertised to.
For my personal color analysis, I booked an extended color analysis and a 15-step scalp treatment from Ecojardin in Gongdeok. I booked for myself and a friend and I contacted them through Instagram DMs for a reservation. I’ve read that some people don’t get replies back from Instagram. If you want to make a reservation with Ecojardin through Instagram, make sure to measure their reservation account. I had no problem booking with them by using this account.
A big part of the reason I went with Ecojardin was they were able to do all the hair treatments that my friend and I wanted to do and they had the personal color analysis service that I wanted. They have way more services available like makeup lessons, Kpop idol makeup makeovers, haircuts, hair coloring, hair perms, etc. It’s a full-service salon. The best part for my friend and I was also that they were very foreigner-friendly. Even the staffs that didn’t speak English fluently tried really hard to communicate and absolutely everyone was sweet, professional and accommodating.
I booked the Extended Color Analysis. In addition to clothing and accessories consultation, the extended session also went through the types of makeup that would suit my skin well. My stylist also went through my makeup bag with me to critique the makeup and fragrances I was already using.
We started with the clothing color analysis. We went through the colored fabrics held up to your chest. For a lot of it, I had no idea what I was supposed to be looking for, to be honest. I didn’t know what the stylist was looking for. That was until we got to the neon swatches. I immediately noticed how the bright colors made the rednesses in my skin look way worse. When we got to the yellow and lime green shades, I noticed how it made my skin look sallow.
After talking with the stylist and going through all the color shades, it turned out that I’m in the Summer color family. More specifically, I was in the Neutral Summer category. This made a lot of sense to me. My undertone is neutral so it made sense to me that the colors that looked better on me were in the neutral tone as well. Because I have an olive skin tone as well, the colors that looked great against my skin were neutral lavenders, neutral baby blues, and neutral terracotta pinks. Even in the picture I snapped, when I had those colors next to my face, I could tell my skin looked more radiant and even-toned.
In the advanced color analysis, my stylist also showed me what types of makeup would work well with my skin tone. As expected, the recommendations were in the neutral family. My stylist also encouraged me to pick neutral pinks and neutral purples My stylist also encouraged me, when picking out glitters and shimmers, to opt for ones that have a silver or pink shimmer as opposed to gold because it works better for my skin. The rom&nd Peony Nude Garden Better Than palette is a great example of the type of eyeshadow I was recommended. My stylist also recommended I try lavender shades in my lip glosses and in my blush. This was the most interesting recommendation I got! I don’t often reach for lilac blush or lip products. I know they look incredible on different skin tones, especially darker skin tones but I haven’t experimented a lot on my own. My stylist said that cream blushes especially would look great in a lavender tone. My stylist also suggested that because my skin is well-suited to neutral shades when choosing between warm or cool-toned makeup items, I should choose the cool-toned versions instead. Even for contour products, she recommended I use a more neutral, gray-toned brown instead of the warmer ones.
My stylist even recommended what kind of jewelry I should wear! I was surprised to find out that I should be wearing silver instead of gold because it stands out more beautifully against my skin whereas gold and rose gold disappears against my skin tone and makes me look old apparently. 🙃 I didn’t mind hearing this because my stylist also said that diamonds look best against my skin tone. She’s fancy. 🤣
The only criticism I have for the color analysis was that the makeup styles, the clothing styles, and even the hairstyles were all locked into the Korean aesthetic. That’s not surprising because I was in Korea, after all, but I don’t know if everyone has that same light and airy aesthetic. Even the clothing recommendations given to me were the refined and elevated styles and I know for a fact a lot of people prefer a street style so I wish that the consultation tailored the recommendations based on each person’s style.
However, I still totally recommend this treatment. It was amazing to have someone assess your skin’s tone and make the makeup and jewelry recommendations. It can help people with figuring out why certain makeup or certain hair colors don’t work for them. I was also happy that I passed the makeup bag check. All of the makeup I was already using was in the neutral terracotta pink family which was one of my recommended colors.
15-Step Scalp Treatment
I took very few videos and photos at the spa because I was shyy. I took even less when I was doing the 15-step scalp treatment. I didn’t take any pictures of the 15 steps but found them in this creator’s Lemon8 post. This treatment was also done in EcoJardin.
It started with a scalp analysis where they take a wand and take really, really up close pictures of your scalp and discuss the biggest problems with the scalp. I wasn’t surprised by the state of mine. I have really thin hair due to some hormonal issues so the issues the treatment was going to try to address were the blockages in the roots and the redness in my scalp.
What followed were massages, oil treatments, light treatments, shampooing, conditioning, steam treatments, and that waterfall treatment you see all over social media.
It was also followed by a styling session afterward. At the end of the treatment, they took the scalp wand and observed the state of your scalp after the treatment. Mine definitely looked less red and inflamed after the treatment. Also, in the days and weeks afterward, I observed that my hair felt healthier and felt thicker. I had problems with my hair looking flat but my hair looked healthier and held more natural volume after the treatment.
Probably the most important takeaway I got from the treatment is that you need to take care of your scalp much like you do your skin. It was important to use a scalp shampoo and regularly use a scalp tonic to maintain a healthy scalp.
Do I think this treatment is worth it? Maybe? Don’t get me wrong, it was incredibly relaxing and my hair was silky smooth for a few days after and full of volume long after the treatment. HOWEVER, for my own hair, I feel like I’ve been able to care for my own scalp my using scalp shampoos and scalp tonics. So, I’d say it’s definitely an experience but if there was something to cut, I’d be comfortable cutting this treatment.
Full Skin Analysis and Facial
For the facial treatments, we went to the FI-NE Clinic in Gangnam. The front desk staff and dermatologist was able to speak in English so my friend and I were able to communicate fine. To book here, we had to fill out an initial appointment form. The clinic will set up a consultation appointment for you and when you get to the clinic, you’ll be able to pick the procedures you want to have done after talking to the dermatologist. Keep in mind that if you’re only in Korea for a few days, there might be a limited amount of procedures you’ll be able to do.
It might be surprising but this wasn’t high on my list. My skin’s constitution has never been bad. Aside from some rednesses and some dryness in some areas, my skin is pretty calm. I’m also terrified of needles in my face area and I’ve decided a long time ago that I’d rather get old and wrinkly. My friend was the one who opted for the more invasive procedures. The procedures she picked were painful and even the dermatologist and the practitioner working on her were worried. My friend has an incredibly high pain tolerance so she was mostly fine.
I opted for a much more relaxed Aqua Peel facial. My concerns were some dryness and clogged pores in my t-zone so the Aqua Peel facial was perfect for that. The procedure consisted of deep cleansing, hydration serums, and suction to clear out and tighten the pores. My face was hydrated and luminous after that but we were told not to put on any makeup for 24 hours to give the treatment a chance to soak in so my main gripe was vanity. Our pictures that day left us looking not that cute.
I also opted for a full skin analysis which was an eye-opener because in almost every vertical, my skin didn’t pass. 😅 The FI-NE Clinic used the Mark Vu Korean Skin Analysis system which uses multiple LED arrays delivering ultraviolet (UV) and visible light. The system is designed to asses a person’s pores, wrinkles, hidden wrinkles, total pigmentation, hidden pigmentation, melanin (brown), and hemoglobin (red) pigmentation, sebum, porphyrins-acne, skin tone, dark circles, skin glow, uniformity, hydration, and skin sensitivity. Because it checks many of these areas, the skin analysis system is able to give a personalized skincare recommendation to target each person’s problem areas. After all the checks, the test also gives you your skin’s age. Mine was 36 which isn’t as bad considering that I’m only in my early thirties!
In terms of recommendation, since I didn’t participate in any invasive procedures, I don’t know if I’m qualified to speak to those if you’re looking for Botox, fillers, and the like. I will say that the full skin analysis and the Aqua Peel procedure were well worth it to me.
Korean Gel Nails Set
Getting my nails done in Korea has been one of my bucket list items for a long time! I know there are people who love minimalist nail design but I’ve always wanted to try Korean-style nails where each nail has its own distinctive design. I was glad that I had my nail appointment after I had my color analysis so I chose a purple and lavender color story.
We had my nails done at OU Nail Shop in Hongdae in Seoul. We booked our appointment through Instagram DMs. We were also required to send in a deposit via Paypal to confirm our appointment. The deposit was deducted from our total bill after the nail appointment was completed.
I will have to say this treatment is 100% recommended. I loved getting my nails done with the ladies at OU Nail Shop. I hate getting my nails done in salons in the US because, without fail, the nail techs stateside will make me bleed because they tend to be rough with my cuticles. The ladies at OU Nails were precise, efficient, and skilled. There are a lot of tools that can cause cuts and burns in a nail shop and I had none of that. This was the first time I’ve ever gotten my nails done and not had my cuticles bleed.
My friends and I chose to go with one of the Event Art Nails. The salon has a few designs that they create for the month. We were in Seoul in October so there were a lot of Halloweeny type designs. The purple set I ended up getting was a bit more on the space theme which I also really loved.
I really recommend this nail shop. The ladies here know their stuff. They aren’t completely fluent in English but they’re able to communicate enough to talk to you about any nail length or color choices.
Not only were they skilled, they were very sweet and cheerful. We were there around Halloween and they had on Halloween costumes while they worked and it was very cute! I loved this treatment and if I ever go back, I’m getting my nails done in this studio again.
This isn’t a comprehensive list of all the treatments you can do in Korea. We didn’t end up doing any body treatments like lymphatic drainage or body contouring. We didn’t get to visit any Korean spas and do any saunas, body scrubs, herbal steams, and the like. However, I felt really good about the treatments I did get in Korea and didn’t regret any of them. Korea has high-quality beauty treatments and there are gems in many areas of the city. The specific treatment you get depends on your priority but I will say that I don’t expect you to be disappointed with any of the treatments that you get in Korea.
