“According to my hair stylist, Korean women use a hair essence or oil every single day, which is why they have such silky, soft, and shiny strands.” A personal favorite for Cho is British M's Organics Annatto Hair Oil, while Lee is a fan of the Mise en Scene Pearl Shining Hair Essence.
“Men and women in South Korea are meticulous when it comes to maintaining healthy hair with a three-step process. After washing the hair with shampoo and conditioner, they often apply a hair essence or hair oil to achieve a shiny head of hair. Hair masks, serums, milks and hair mists are all must-haves,” explains Cho.
The cuticle is the outer layer that protects the individual hair. The many layers on an Asian hair are also more dense and wider and thicker than on Caucasian hair. That gives the hair an illusion of being really shiny and silky.
Hair masks play a significant role in the Korean hair care routine. This is to impart deep nourishment and conditioning to the hair. They use oils such as argan oil, coconut oil [3], or castor oil among other emollient ingredients in their hair masks to treat dry hair, frizziness, and split ends.
“According to my hair stylist, Korean women use a hair essence or oil every single day, which is why they have such silky, soft, and shiny strands.” A personal favorite for Cho is British M's Organics Annatto Hair Oil, while Lee is a fan of the Mise en Scene Pearl Shining Hair Essence.
In Korea, people like to wash their hair every day because of environmental pollution (fine dust, gas emissions, etc). Whereas people in America generally tend to wash hair every 2-3 days due to the common perception that it's much healthier for your hair.
The reason Asian hair tends to be thicker is that it has around 10 layers of cuticles. Cuticles are the small areas around the inner protein structure of your hair–they are there to protect those proteins.
The texture and waviness/curliness of your hair is directly correlated to your hair follicle shape. Most east asian have round hair follicles, which produce straight hair. While, caucasians have semi oval and oval hair follicles shape, which produces wavy and curly hair.
It has been reported that Asian hair is generally straight and is the thickest, while its cross-section is the most round-shaped among these three. Caucasian hair is generally straight or wavy and is the thinnest, while its cross-section is relatively elliptic.
South Asian families all have a different oil they swear by, though: Vatika, Dabu Amla, almond oil, castor oil – it's really the dealer's choice when it comes to scalp massage.
Kelp (kaiso) and Seaweed (wakame ) are found in almost every Japanese dish and are highly rich in keratin and iodine, which are both highly necessary for healthy skin, nails and glossy elastic hair.
Kim Kardashian's hair secrets
One of Kardashian's go to's is Carol's Daughter Monoi Hair Mask, which is rich in essential fatty acids and antioxidants that fortify damaged, chemically-treated hair.
Many idols have confessed they use an ACV rinse every time they wash their hair as a way to keep their hair healthy, shiny, and smooth.
Honey Glow
"Like you highlighted your face with honey (or kkul in Korean) to achieve an allover hyper-glossy, mirror-like shine," explain Chang and Lee.
In ancient China and Korea, hair was regarded as a precious legacy from parents. Most people would never cut their hair after they became adults, and cutting off one's hair was a penalty for minor crimes. Both men and women would coil up their hair and many hair-coiling styles were developed.
Hair Growth Rate
Asian hair shows the fastest growth rate in comparison to the other two hair types. African hair has the lowest growth rate.
A side-swept pixie haircut is the most popular Korean haircut.
According to a survey conducted among South Korean men in 2022, around 51.8 percent of respondents stated that they were shaving or taking care of their beard once a day. On average, South Korean men shaved around 5 times per months.
Koreans brush their teeth 3 times a day. From a young age, Koreans are taught to brush their teeth at least three times a day. They were advised to brush their teeth after every meal for 3 minutes. You'll be surprised to see how many Koreans actually have a toothbrush and toothpaste set at work.
Double cleansing is important. For Koreans, it's considered so necessary that no one ever washes their face just once. You must remove your make-up first and then wash your face again with a second product to get your skin deeply cleansed.
Korean's like most Asians have naturally black hair. So darker shades of colors or various tones of brown are most preferred as a hair color in Korea.
Deficiency in many vitamins — including Vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B12, iron, zinc, and vitamin B7 (biotin) — can also cause hair thinning and hair loss. We're also in the northern hemisphere which means you're probably Vitamin D deficient.