K-Beauty’s Next Evolution Starts in 2026—and It’s All About Bodycare

Korean skincare has been trending—and at the heart of beauty—for years, but 2025 seemed to support the category’s monumental rise in more ways than one. We saw new product categories reach our shores (think: toner pads) and fresh, innovative ingredients (PDRN), along with a renewed surge of TikTok chatter and an influx of in-store shopping videos at retailers like Olive Young.

So it makes sense that the next natural progression in the UK's K-beauty scene is a new category entirely: Korean bodycare. These products offer the body the same level of care and innovation that facial skincare has been enjoying for years. We’re talking glass skin all over, body barrier care, gentle-yet-impactful exfoliation and the skinification of bodycare via ingredients like PDRN, bamboo and PHAs. Here's what to know—and how to invest—in Korean bodycare in 2026.

As Aesthetic Doctor at the Taktouk Clinic and Korean skincare expert Dr Christine Hall explains, Korean skincare has been quietly growing in the Western hemisphere for the past decade—and in 2025, arguably reached its peak in popularity. "Known for innovation and value for money, Korea has always led the way when it comes to aesthetics and beauty, and now it is being recognised on a global level," she says.

Its popularity is due to several factors. For one, Hall says, "Korean skincare is fundamentally centred around the skin barrier." In an era when we're recovering from a 'more is more' approach that saw the overuse of acids and retinols, K-beauty has arrived at the exact right time. "For centuries, Korean skincare has been about calming, hydrating formulas that strengthen and support the skin barrier. The approach to skincare is very different to what we do in the West. Redness and inflammation are seen as fundamentally bad, whereas often in the UK we sometimes see these as signs that something is working."

"In actual fact," she continues, "what is best is a bit of both worlds: the inclusion of active ingredients in a way that your skin barrier is not compromised." K-beauty ultimately recognises this.

It's also responsible for some of the most innovative skincare formulas over the past decade. Recent examples, says Dr Hall, include serum-to-mist sprays and products with built-in delivery tools, such as cooling or vibrating tips to aid in formula application.

Then there are the ingredients we've adopted because of K-beauty: "Ingredients like ceramides, cholesterol, fatty acids, panthenol, niacinamide, centella asiatica, and fermented extracts were being used clinically and cosmetically in Korea long before they became mainstream in the West," Hall reveals.

An expansion into Korean bodycare thus makes sense, especially given the focus we've put into the 'skinification' of the body category in recent years. We now understand that treating the skin on our bodies with the same level of commitment and dedication should actually be the norm. Our attitudes towards facial skincare—including the belief that we should honour the all-important skin barrier—are also important factors.

"This shift reflects a broader understanding of skin as an organ," says Hall. "Post-pandemic, patients are far more educated about inflammation, barrier damage, and chronic skin stress. There’s also increased awareness around conditions such as body acne, pigmentation, premature ageing of the neck and décolletage, and inflammatory conditions. And with this knowledge, there's a desire to do something about it."

She continues: "The expansion into bodycare is a natural extension of this skin barrier-centric belief. From a medical perspective, the skin on the body is as important as the skin on your face, but is often ignored."

So what exactly does this look like? Well, Korean bodycare honours the key principles (and benefits) of Korean skincare. These include (as mentioned), the importance of protecting the skin barrier, the desire to achieve a sense of 'glass skin' that is clear and healthy, exfoliation in a way that is effective but still gentle and non-damaging, and the inclusion of ingredients we now know and love from the products we use on our face.

"Now, we are seeing body formulas with ceramides and lipids to repair barrier dysfunction (crucial for eczema-prone or post-inflammatory skin). Chemical exfoliants such as lactic acid, gluconolactone, and salicylic acid to address keratosis pilaris and congested skin. Brightening and tone-evening agents such as niacinamide, arbutin, and tranexamic acid and soothing botanicals such as mugwort, centella, heartleaf (houttuynia cordata), and panthenol," confirms Hall. "We’re also seeing formulas with fast-absorbing textures that encourage compliance: an under-appreciated but important factor when it comes to actually using skincare on the body."

Indeed, brands such as Aestura, Illiyoon and Medicube are bringing their body bestsellers to Korean stores, as well as wider retailers that have invested heavily in K-beauty, such as Cult Beauty, Boots and Superdrug. So which should you try as an entry point into this category?

The best K-Beauty body products to buy