Are hair essences about to become the next beauty must?
Are hair essences the new in thing for our hair? According to Charlotte Cho, Soko Glam curator and co-founder, not to mention an esthetician and author, they are. On a recent trip to Korea, the renowned Korean beauty and skin advice guru found that the spritzer helps give hair moisture, shine, and volume, but without a sticky residue. Plus, they come in all kinds of scents, like Apple Mango. Yum. We can get behind that.
“I get my hair dyed in Korea because it’s so much cheaper there,” Cho told Marie Claire. “My hair wasn’t in the best shape and my hairstylist asked me if I use a ‘hair essence.’ He was shocked when I said I didn’t because apparently everyone does there.”
Cho also said that beauty shops are everywhere in Seoul. “You know how Starbucks is on every street corner in Manhattan? Same with beauty shops in Seoul,” she said to Byrdie.
What, exactly, is an “essence,” for those of us out of the beauty know-how lingo? Originating in Korea, it’s super concentrated lotion or liquid and chock full of good-for-your-skin (or hair) ingredients. “Hair essences are similar to the essences you put on your skin because they’re very lightweight—they’re not heavily oiled serums,” said Cho to Marie Claire. “They really help with shine, volume, and making your hair feel soft.”
Again, sign us up. Though they’re not the cheapest beauty products out there ($16.97 for 100 ml), if you just use a few mists a day, your bottle could last a while. And with scents like that Apple Mango one…
ICYMI, Cho wasn’t always a beauty expert, but more like one of us. While growing up east of L.A., she went from barely having a beauty regimen (“lip gloss and a deep tan,” according to Byrdie) to becoming iconic in the field. Now, Cho has 31.6k followers on Instagram and just became the new beauty editor for the uber-popular site, Soompi.
In Cho’s early 20s, though, things were different. “I thought skincare was something you thought of when you were much older and actually saw signs of aging,” she told Byrdie. “If I had acne breakouts, I just covered them up with makeup. None of my friends really knew about skincare either.”
Sound familiar… or is it just me?
The good news is, there’s hope for all of us yet and, thankfully, we have Cho to help guide us along the way in our beauty product-making decisions.
Now, I’ll BRB. Need to order some of that Apple Mango Hair Essence STAT.
