2020 Korean Plastic Surgery & Skin Procedures Trends

The number of foreigners visiting Korea for cosmetic surgery and skincare amounts to 100 thousand a year. The Korean plastic surgery market is also estimated to be KRW 5 trillion in annual value, making up almost 25 percent of the entire global market value, estimated at KRW 21 trillion. With this rough information, there is no doubt that South Korea is widely considered as the “plastic surgery capital” of the world these days.

Just like fashion and technology, plastic surgery also has its trends. If you are interested, continue to read on as we will be sharing the latest trends of cosmetic procedures in Korea, the plastic surgery capital of the world!

1. Find your own beauty

Source: Evie Fatz

Previously, many people would show doctors photos of celebrities such as Song hyegyo and Kim taehee who are considered as traditional, typical beauties in Korea. This implied that people wanted to look like a completely different person. That actually caused many people to look pretty similar though the creation of many stereotypical facial features. The saying “Gangnam Mi-in (강남미인)”, which means Gangnam Beauty, was also created as a result.

However, these days, many people no longer want to change their image entirely; they want to get more natural enhancements. The keyword here is “enhancement”. In fact, many of our clients told us, “I still want to look like me. I don’t want to be a different person. I want to look natural, but I also want to look better.” Instead of showing us photos of celebrities, they would instead show us their own selfies and say that they still want to look like how they do in their photos.

In the past, people often tried to fit into the so-called “societal standards”, but today, more and more people are starting to embrace their unique individuality and beauty and we cannot agree with this approach any less. For instance, going for a V-line procedure is not about changing your face and how you look entirely, it is about tightening your facial line and reducing bulky jaws to further enhance your beauty.

2. Flawless Healthy Skin

Source: Personal Skin Analysis at Cellcure Lab Korea

Some of you who are interested in make-up may notice that Koreans prefer lighter or soft coloured makeup. That is why having a good skin complexion is considered a top priority among Koreans. Korean beauty consumers favour a dewy, glowing complexion (Do not confuse GLOWING skin with OILY skin. They are both very different!) and they do not like to wear thick make-up. They often try to achieve glass looking skin with light and simple make-up. The look can be achieved if your skin is very healthy, even-toned, and plumped with hydration that it is almost translucent. Most of the K-beauty cosmetics are focused on nourishing your skin so you get to look incredible with little makeup and at the same time reap the skin benefits from the products. Beauty trends also lean towards soft, light-toned eyeshadow, natural-looking eyebrows, and maybe stronger colours on the lips.

The most effective procedure to achieve hydrated and glowing skin is Beauty Injections. If you are interested in such procedures, you would probably have heard of injections such as the Baby cell injection, Salmon injection (PDRN, Rejuran healer), Aqua injection, Chanel injection(NCTF filorga), etc.

Since you can get a visible result with just a one-time procedure, it is very popular not only among Koreans but also among foreign visitors. The ingredients used are different in different kinds of injections, but they mostly include hydrating and rejuvenating effects. With this procedure, you can say bye-bye to your heavy make-up bases and switch to lighter bases instead. 

Do you have any plans to visit Korea? If you do, you have to put this procedure on your Must-do lists! You can also check out our website here for more information on these procedures!

3. Looking Youthful & Refreshed 

Another major cosmetic trend is anti-aging, with high popularity in lifting procedures such as the V-line lift to achieve a more youthful-looking face. People don’t just want to look prettier, they also want to look younger. There are a number of non-invasive lifting procedures other than the traditional surgical way of lifting. Lifting laser and thread lifting are definitely one of the most popular procedures currently and it is suitable for both the younger and older age groups. In fact, doctors have said that the non-invasive lifting procedures are more prevalent among young people in their 20s and 30s.

The following are 3 different kinds of lifting procedures and it is recommended for you to choose the most suitable procedure depending on your severity. For instance, surgical facial lifting is not recommended to patients in their 30s - 40s.

1. Lifting laser - Ultherapy, Shurink, Liftera, Renova, etc.

What lifting lasers do is target energy using ultrasound or radiofrequency(RF)  into a certain layer of the skin to stimulate collagen and elastin production. It reduces fine wrinkles and makes your skin tighter.

2. Thread lifting - V-line Silhouette Soft Lifting, Elasticum Thread Lift, Mint Lift, Blue Rose Lfit etc.

This is also a non-invasive type of lifting procedure and has a short downtime. A thread lift is a type of face-lifting technique that is performed by inserting threads under the skin into the tissue, followed by pulling of the skin to lift and enhance the face. This can visibly improve one’s appearance by reducing wrinkles. It can last 1 - 5 yrs, depending on what type of thread you use.

Source: Elasticum Lift

3. Traditional Lifting surgery (MACS lifting) - Recommended for patients in their 50s

The MACS lifting is a surgical method of lifting and it has the strongest effect. If one has severe sagging skin, it might be difficult to correct it with lifting laser or threads. The facelift surgery reduces sagging skin and wrinkles by removing excess skin and tightening the facial muscles. For those who want a long-lasting and dramatic improvement, this will be the solution.

Related: Jessica Iskandar and Mom: Mrs Woen's Korean Anti-Aging Makeover Story

Apart from the above-mentioned lifting procedures, stem-cell related procedures are also really effective in reducing signs of aging.

1. Stem-Cell Therapy

In 2016, Korean luxury health care facility Chaum added stem-cell therapy to its long list of skincare and anti-aging treatments. The clinic’s stem-cell banking program allows patients to harvest their own fat stem cells, which can be used to develop fat grafts for the face, ultimately restoring fullness and tightness of the skin for up to 10 years. If you are interested, you can look up the Evercell - Anti Aging Stem Cell Facial Treatment with a special price for Eunogo’s guests!

2. Stem-Cell Banking

Stem-cell banking is the extraction, processing, and storage of stem cells so that they may be used for treatment in the future when required. Stem Cells have the amazing power to transform into any tissue or organ in your body, which explains its ability to restore fullness and tightness of the skin. On top of skin benefits, stem cells also have the potential to treat over 80 life-threatening diseases and provide numerous benefits to both the patient and his/her family.

 

We have shared the latest trends of cosmetic procedures in Korea and we hope it was useful! Most importantly, all cosmetic procedures have to be performed as per your unique characteristics to bring out your own unique beauty.  To make it successful, getting plastic surgery from qualified and experienced doctors is truly essential.

You can get more information from Eunogo on top-tier clinics and doctors on a specific procedure in Korea. Please request a consultation here or contact our concierge at concierge@eunogo.com or Whatsapp +82-10-6576-1267.