Why This Korean Herb Belongs in Your Skin-Care Regimen

Well+Good Editors

October 24, 2018

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It's not just for tea and supplements.

Staying on top of every hot-off-Instagram beauty ingredient (looking at you, squalane and CBD) is fun—but sometimes following the latest skin-care buzz can make you miss out on the natural cure-alls people have been swearing by for centuries.

Like, for instance, ginseng. You might be familiar with the knobby herb's health-boosting rep in your morning tea or supplement (it's said to reduce inflammation and support immunity)—but PSA: It's also a multi-tasking skin-care wonder.

OG Korean beauty brand Sulwhasoo has known this since 1966, when it harnessed ginseng's powers in its ABC Ginseng Cream (still available today as Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream EX). "Founder Suh Sung-Whan grew up in GaeSeong, a renowned city for its exceptional Korean ginseng cultivation," says Mark Choo, director of research and innovation at AMOREPACIFIC U.S., Sulwhasoo's parent company. "He believed that ginseng’s exceptional benefits for our bodies can also be delivered to our skin."

Ginseng is having a full-on beauty renaissance.

Today, that's led to an entire collection of creams and serums backed by 50 years of research, including the just-launched Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Water and Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Emulsion (integral parts of the full youth-boosting routine, which complete the circle). In other words, ginseng is having a full-on beauty renaissance.

And it's backed by serious hydration prowess. "Each step of the Concentrated Ginseng regimen allows deeper penetration through the multi layers of the skin, which primes the skin to absorb each product," says Mark Choo. "A strengthened moisture barrier means higher water and moisture retention, for a visibly plumper, smoother appearance—and that leads to a natural glow."

Keep scrolling to find out how ginseng can help you toward your baby-soft skin goals.

It plumps and firms skin

You smear on moisturize-as-you-sleep masks on every night like it’s your job. But if you’re wondering what more you can do for smooth, glowing skin, adding ginseng might be it.

“Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Water provides moisture to the skin and prepares the skin and complexion for the nourishment provided by the Emulsion, which also has firming benefits,” Choo says.

The main line-smoothing ingredient is Steamed Ginseng Water Concentrate™. The rarefied resilience booster is the result of decades of ginseng research, which has allowed skin-care pros to tap the entire ginseng plant for its known hydration superpowers. “The concentrate is created by drying steamed ginseng in a vacuum and then recovering the vapors through a cooling process,” Choo says. Pure magic.

The ginseng-infused goodness is made to be easily absorbed by your skin, thanks to a blend of bioscience and encapsulation technologies that make up Sulwhasoo’s unique ginseng delivery method (AKA, it goes straight to your pores so you’re immediately more luminous).

It hydrates a parched winter complexion

Raise your hand if dry/dull/tired skin is a constant problem when temps dip (same). Turns out, ginseng-infused products can help you seal in moisture and banish seriously parched skin (consider the ginseng water and emulsion a boost of hydration straight to the face).

That’s because the all-star combo of Steamed Ginseng Water Concentrate™ and ginseng seed oil in the day-and-night formulas is designed to deliver moisture on contact and nourish dry, flaky skin. "Sulwhasoo's Concentrated Ginseng products not only pave the way for better skin-care absorption, but also nourish the skin and help strengthen the skin's natural moisture barrier," says Choo.

The result: A long-lasting smoothness all season long. So whether you use all of the creams, masks, and serums from the Concentrated Ginseng system (or snag a few favorites), you can say the resulting dewiness is science-backed—for real.