What is Glass Skin and How Can You Achieve It?

Glass skin is nothing new. It’s a trend that first made an appearance a few years ago, making the move from K-beauty to the Western skincare world. However, unlike many other skincare trends that disappear after a season, glass skin has stuck around, and for good reason!

Wondering what glass skin actually is and how you can achieve this sought-after look? Read on as Introstem explains!

What is Glass Skin?

Glass skin is exactly what it sounds like – skin that looks so crystal clear and pore-less that it takes on a glassy sheen. It’s exceptionally smooth, even, and intensely moisturized, resulting in a translucent, lit-from-within glow.

Think that glass skin is out of reach for you because of the blemishes/fine lines/discoloration that you sport? Think again. With the right skincare routine and products, anyone can achieve that enviable glassy look. It may take some time and dedication, but this will pay off in the long run once your skin is looking flawlessly luminous.

How to Achieve Glass Skin

While many believe that glass skin can only be achieved with a long and complex 15-step skincare routine, this is, fortunately, not the case. Sure, you’ll need to do more than simply cleansing and moisturizing but it’s still possible to rock glass skin with a shorter routine, so long as you layer on your skincare products correctly:

Start With a Double Cleanse

Just like glass skin, double cleansing is another trend that we can thank K-beauty for. In fact, the two go hand-in-hand together, with double cleansing usually the very first step to achieving glass skin.

If you’ve never double cleansed before, you’ll be happy to know that it doesn’t involve anything complicated. Instead, it simply consists of cleansing your skin twice, rather than just once. However, rather than using the same cleanser twice, double cleansing is best done with two different cleansers. 

The first cleanser that you use should be an oil-based cleanser. Oil attracts oil, so this will remove all of the oil-based impurities from your skin, such as sebum, sunscreen, and pollutants. This should then be followed up with a water-based cleanser, just like the Introstem Stem Cell Mousse Cleanser. As you’ve probably guessed, this will tackle the water-based impurities on your skin, including sweat and dirt. 

The result is skin that’s thoroughly, instead of partly, cleansed. This is absolutely key if you want your skin to look beautifully clear and glassy.

Gently Exfoliate

Glass skin has an incredibly smooth texture, which is difficult to achieve unless you exfoliate. Exfoliation removes the rough dead skin cells that clutter up the skin’s surface, revealing the fresher and younger skin cells that lie beneath.

However, when it comes to exfoliation, there can definitely be too much of a good thing. In the world of K-beauty, exfoliation is always done gently. Harsh exfoliants are avoided at all costs in an attempt to save the skin from irritation and inflammation, both of which would prevent you from achieving glass skin.

So, although you may be tempted to go all out with a potent exfoliant that promises to immediately clear away all of the blemishes on your skin’s surface, keep the long-term health of your skin in mind and always opt for a gentle exfoliator. 

The Introstem Stem Cell Facial Peeling would be a good choice. It combines mandelic acid and bamboo powder. Both of these are mild exfoliants that wouldn’t be very effective on their own. However, together, they’re able to both chemically and mechanically exfoliate the skin. The pair does an amazing job yet without causing any irritation whatsoever. 

Add Moisture With a Sheet Mask

One of the secrets behind glass skin is moisture. The more moisture your skin cells have, the plumper, dewier, and more luminous they’ll look. However, when it comes to giving your skin this extra moisture, a single application of a hydrating product isn’t going to cut it. Instead, you need to provide moisture in layers, and a sheet mask is a great layer to start with.

Sheet masks are fantastic for hydrating the skin. Not only do they contain high concentrations of hydrating ingredients, but the physical barrier that they form over the top of the skin helps to push those ingredients in. They’re not able to evaporate in the way that they otherwise would have, allowing your skin to drink up all of that moisture instead.

Hydrogel masks, such as the Stem Cell Rejuvenation Facial & Eye Mask, are the most hydrating type of sheet mask. Unlike fabric sheet masks, hydrogel itself is extremely hydrating. This is ramped up with the hydrating ingredients that the hydrogel is soaked in. In this case, they include sodium hyaluronate, glycerin, and red algae.

Flood Your Skin With a Hydrating Toner

Let’s now move on to the next layer of hydration; a hydrating toner. In many K-beauty routines, a hydrating toner is followed up with an essence. However, some toner formulas double up and function as both. They hydrate and rebalance the complexion like a toner should but they also provide an array of nutrients in the way that an essence does.

This is exactly what the Introstem Stem Cell Facial Toner does. With aloe vera leaf juice and hemp seed oil, it’s wonderfully hydrating. Both ingredients are packed with moisture. However, it also contains grape stem cells, cucumber fruit extract, and chamomile extract, all of which are loaded with antioxidants. The witch hazel extract in this formula is noteworthy too – it will shrink the visibility of enlarged pores to help bring out that glassy look. 

Try to apply your toner while your skin is still damp after removing your sheet mask. This will help to lock in all of the leftover goodness from your mask before it’s able to evaporate.

Quench With a Hydrating Serum

It’s now time to hydrate again, but this time with a serum. Denser than a toner yet lighter than a cream, serums offer a format that can efficiently carry active ingredients in a way that takes them deep into the complexion. This means that a serum is able to bring about some serious results, so long as you pick the right formulas!

Since glass skin is your aim, a hydrating serum is a must. Ideally, you also want your serum to be capable of brightening your complexion and giving it a glow. 

This is why many glass skin aficionados ensure that their skincare routine involves the use of a vitamin C serum. Look for one that contains a stable form of vitamin C, combining the antioxidant with several hydrating ingredients. The Introstem Stem Cell Vitamin C Serum, which boasts two types of vitamin C, does exactly that. The blend of plant oils in this formula will keep your skin glowing while the antioxidants work their long-term magic.

Mask the Appearance of Dark Circles With an Eye Cream

In order to achieve glass skin, your skin needs to look even in color. This will be difficult to do if you find yourself constantly battling dark circles.

For some, getting rid of dark circles is as simple as getting more sleep. However, for others, dark circles may be caused by anything from genetics to sun damage, meaning that eradicating them requires some extra effort.

The good news is that this is something that the Introstem VitisCell Radiance Dark Circle Eye Cream can help with. It contains a long list of ingredients that have been proven to balance out how even the skin’s tone and texture look. In addition to lightening the look of your dark circles in the long run, this cream is also capable of brightening the appearance of your eye area straight away, which will immediately have your dark circles looking less noticeable.

Moisturize and Protect

The final step of your glass skin routine should be to moisturize, as well as protect during the day. A moisturizer is essential for not only providing yet another layer of moisture, but also for locking in all of the other layers that you’ve applied. Without a moisturizer forming its seal over your skin’s surface, a large percentage of those hydrating products that you’ve just used will end up evaporating into the air.

As mentioned, during the day, you need to think about SPF too. Sun damage, be it in the form of lines, dark spots, an uneven skin tone, or anything else, isn’t conducive to glass skin. Instead, your skin needs to look pristine, making SPF a must. However, since many sunscreens leave a white cast on the skin, detracting from that translucent glassy quality, you may want to opt for a lightweight SPF moisturizer instead, just like the VitisCell Facial Shield Cream SPF 30. 

In the evenings, SPF isn’t needed. Instead, you’ll need to ramp up the moisture since the skin loses a large amount of moisture while you sleep. Go with a cream like the Lumi-Cell Phyto-Silk, which can be found in the Introstem Lumi-Cell Collection. It will leave your skin feeling deeply hydrated while giving your skin’s surface a silky, glassy sheen.

Turn Your Attention to Your Lifestyle Habits

Of course, glass skin can’t be achieved with a solid skincare routine alone. Instead, you’ll also need to turn your attention to your lifestyle habits.

If you smoke, it’s time to stop. You’ll never be able to achieve glass skin if you’re also suffocating and damaging your skin cells. The same applies to excessive alcohol consumption. Dehydrated skin will never look glassy!

Your diet also has a direct impact on your complexion. Drink plenty of water and fill your plate with fresh, wholesome foods if you want your skin to thrive. 

Regular exercise is essential as well. It will keep your circulation strong, which, in turn, will keep your skin looking healthy.

Summary

When it comes down to it, glass skin can’t be achieved overnight. It requires a certain amount of dedication and commitment to your skincare routine, as well as, of course, the right skincare products. Follow the routine above and you’ll be off to a great start. You’ll start to see some improvements in your complexion in a matter of days, and it won’t be long before you can proudly show off your own glassy appearance.

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