What a K-Beauty–Trained Derm Wants You to Stop Doing to Your Skin Immediately

If your skincare routine feels like a constant game of catch-up, Dr. David Kim wants you to listen up. On Breaking Beauty, the board-certified dermatologist (and founder of NYC’s Soho Derm) explains why the “healthiest skin” approach isn’t about chasing viral ingredients—it’s about prevention, consistency, and not overwhelming your face with every active under the sun. 

Here are the strongest takeaways he shares for keeping skin calm, resilient, and genuinely healthy.

Korean Skincare Tips From a Dermatologist

1. Make prevention your default, not your backup plan

Dr. Kim says the biggest difference he sees between Korea and the U.S. is timing. In South Korea, patients start thinking preventatively in their 20s, while Americans often wait until there’s a visible issue to fix. “In the U.S., I feel like people start to come see a dermatologist when they have a problem,” he explains. “They are very focused on prevention,” Dr. Kim notes of Korean patients, who often start with gentle treatments and consistent skincare before damage sets in. He suggests building habits like daily sunscreen and routine care early, so skin stays healthier longer and any future treatments can stay minimal and natural-looking.

2. Wear sunscreen every day, year-round

Sunscreen isn’t seasonal. Repeat after us. Sunscreen IS NOT seasonal. “We all know we should wear sunscreen,” Dr. Kim says, but in practice, many people still skip it because they hate how it feels, smells, or stings once they start sweating. He points out that even highly active people often avoid SPF, despite knowing better. “A lot of athletes know they should wear sunscreen, but they just didn’t want to because they hated the way it felt,” he explains, recalling early experiences that shaped his approach to sun protection. He urges his patients to find a formula you actually enjoy using. Consistent daily sunscreen, he stresses, does more for long-term skin health than any trendy treatment you’ll try to undo damage later.

3. Keep a routine you can actually repeat

When it comes to skincare routines, Dr. Kim says simplicity and consistency matter far more than perfection. “There’s no trick. There’s no one treatment that will get that for you,” he explains when talking about achieving healthy, glowy skin. Whether your routine has three steps or ten, what counts is that you can stick to it day after day. “You really have to have a skincare routine…and then really be consistent with it,” he says. 

Here’s what you need to know about creating your own minimalist skincare routine.

4. Go gentle and steady instead of aggressive and occasional

Intense doesn’t mean better—especially when it comes to trendy treatments and strong actives. “I am a strong believer in doing something that’s gentle more consistently than doing something really harsh and aggressive once a week,” Dr. Kim says. Progress without constantly stressing the skin, he says, is the goal. He warns that people often get into trouble by trying to speed things up, piling on powerful treatments in hopes of faster results. Over time, gentler treatments done regularly tend to deliver better results—and far fewer setbacks—than pushing the skin too hard and dealing with irritation, redness, or prolonged recovery afterward.

5. Don’t stack every active at once—rotate and give your skin breaks

In that same vein, one of Dr. Kim’s biggest cautions is against overwhelming the skin with too many strong ingredients at the same time. “You just can’t overwhelm your skin with that and retinol and salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide and all these things all at once,” he says. Even effective ingredients can backfire when they’re layered without restraint.

Instead, he recommends rotating actives and giving your skin time to recover. “You got to rotate and you got to give your skin a break,” he explains, emphasizing that barrier health matters just as much as results.

6. If you’re fighting melasma, be cautious with lasers and ‘heat’

Melasma requires a much more careful approach than many people realize—especially when it comes to lasers. “Any heat and trauma can actually make melasma worse,” Dr. Kim explains. While lasers can be helpful in some cases, he says they should never be the first move without proper preparation.

He recommends starting conservatively and prepping the skin with brightening treatments before introducing devices. “Sometimes laser is actually not the answer,” he says, noting that prescription and over-the-counter skincare can improve melasma more effectively than heat-based treatments for some patients. 

7. Don’t chase ‘quick fixes’—your lifestyle shows up on your skin

Miracle pills and instant solutions don’t last in Dr. Kim’s opinion. “The key here is to not look for a quick supplement or quick fix, because that never really works,” he says. Even when supplements or trendy treatments seem promising, he emphasizes they can’t replace the fundamentals. Instead, he points back to habits that quietly shape skin over time. “You really have to change your lifestyle,” he explains, naming exercise, nutrition, sun protection, and consistency as the real drivers of long-term skin health. Skincare doesn’t exist in a vacuum. What you eat, how you move, and how you protect your skin daily will always show up on your face—no matter how good your products are.

To hear all of Dr. Kim’s skincare tips and advice, listen to Breaking Beauty wherever you get your podcasts.

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