Korean Skincare Routine for Excess-Oil-Prone Skin
A five-step routine built around high-strength niacinamide to manage sebum, minimize pore appearance, and hold a matte finish through the day.
This Korean skincare routine for excess-oil-prone skin uses a 20% niacinamide serum as its core step, supported by an exfoliating toner pad, a soothing cream, a matte-finish sunscreen, and a blurring powder. The result is a soft, non-greasy look that holds without feeling dry or stripped.
Who This Routine Is For
If your skin looks controlled in the morning but turns visibly shiny or greasy by midday, this routine was designed with you in mind. It suits oily, pore-prone skin that has not responded well to lighter sebum-care routines — skin that needs something a step further than a standard niacinamide formula.
The routine also works for anyone dealing with persistent oiliness alongside visible pores and minor blemishes. It aims to manage excess oil without stripping the skin, but the toner pad contains exfoliating acids and several essential oils and the serum concentration is high, so people with sensitive skin should patch test first and may want to use the pad less often.
How Koreans Approach Sebum Control
In Korea, managing oil is treated as a layering problem, not a single-product fix. Oily skin is one of the most commonly addressed concerns on Korean shelves, and it is typical to see dedicated sebum-control products at every texture level: watery toners, lightweight serums, oil-absorbing creams, and setting powders. Korean consumers often treat these layers as a system rather than interchangeable options.
Exfoliating pad toners — pre-soaked cotton pads with AHA or BHA — have become a standard first step for pore-focused routines. They replace both a secondary cleanse and a traditional liquid toner. Finishing powders made from skincare-grade ingredients (rather than makeup-grade pigments) are also a growing category, used to blot without layering cosmetic product on top of skincare.
Step by Step: How the Routine Works
Step 1 — Exfoliating Toner Pad
The routine opens with the medicube Zero Pore Pad 2.0. After cleansing, residual surfactants and impurities can remain in the pore; this step addresses that before the active ingredients go on.
The pads contain Lactic Acid and Salicylic Acid (an AHA and a BHA respectively), along with Willow Bark Extract. Lactic Acid works at the skin's surface; Salicylic Acid is oil-soluble and can work inside the pore lining. Because this step uses both acids, daily sunscreen use is not optional — it is required to prevent UV sensitivity.
Step 2 — Sebum Control Serum
This is the routine's central step. The Jumiso Niacinamide 20 Serum delivers niacinamide at 20%, a concentration that places it firmly in the high-strength category. Niacinamide is a derivative of vitamin B3 and is formulated here to address excess oil production.
The serum also contains Tranexamic Acid and Glutathione alongside the niacinamide. The formula is water-based and absorbs before the next layer goes on. Because the concentration is high, Kayty's routine notes recommend a patch test for sensitive skin before incorporating this into a daily routine.
Step 3 — Blemish Soothing Cream
The numbuzin No.1 Pantothenic B5 Active Soothing Cream comes next, and its role is to calm and soothe skin that has been dealing with persistent sebum and minor skin troubles. It contains Silica — which has a soft-focus, mattifying quality — and Pantothenic Acid (vitamin B5), which supports soothing.
