#kbeauty: How to find a hair salon, skin clinic and optometrist in Korea, even if you don't speak Korean!
Korea by a Korean-American "kyo-po": Part 3.
Part 1: Dogmeat, anyone?
Part 2: Some traveling logistics
You can find a list of all my Korea favorites by downloading NAVERMap onto your iPhone.
I first saw the above book in my friend’s powder bathroom. He’s a plastic surgeon, and thus reading such a book made a lot of sense for a man in his profession. I skimmed a few pages and realized that as enticing as the title was, the book wasn’t for me. Why? Because I’ve lived the through the “lessons of looks and culture” the author talks about, simply from having Korean DNA. I won’t go into it here, but I bet Ms. Hu’s book is a great primer into one of my culture’s definitive characteristics. I’ll leave it be for now.
But there is a bright side to all this, especially for Korean-Americans, and that’s that you and your family can get some high quality beauty work done while visiting Korea. I’m not talking about surgery of any kind, though I’ve heard of people doing that. I’m talking more a good haircut and perm for my kids, and maybe even new glasses that fit our faces properly, engineered in 30 minutes of less! The idea here is that Koreans are so good at appearances, that even the corner barber will get you looking real K-Pop-py for about ten dollars, so you really can’t go wrong in this regard.
So hair salon and glasses for sure for my family. But then I started thinking, Wait a minute, this might be a good time for me to address some of the age spots on my skin. I’ve always had freckles, but they’ve gone out of control since I hit 40. I also have two skin melasmas right near my eyes. I thought these were eyeliner smudges that just wouldn’t budge, but no! They are indeed melasmas.
When talking to family in both countries, people were vaguely of the opinion that there are so many skin clinics that I really couldn’t go wrong with this either, especially if I went to ones that cater toward foreigners. This is of course wonderful, but it didn’t make my search any easier, and I wasn’t necessarily savvy enough to find out where these clinics were on my own.
Hence this post is about how I went about finding basic #kbeauty services for my family when visiting Korea. First, a few quicks link to the establishments we ended up choosing and loving, and then below the links, a bit for non-Korean speakers, and then the nitty gritty of our experiences.
SALON DE RAFFINE | Yangjae Station Branch
GRAND PRIX GLASSES AND CONTACT LENSES
JFEEL DERMATOLOGY CLINIC
If you don’t know any Korean…
This is tricky, but not impossible. I think your best bet is to do a lot of research in advance about what you want to get done, hair-, skin- or eye-wise, and locate Korean establishments that offer English language service either via their websites or their offices. There’s a lot that can be lost in translation, so be as prepared as possible. And if you find somewhere of interest, try and schedule a quick visit in person just to get a feel for the actual place.
I also suggest having a conversation with your hotel concierge, or any American hotel’s concierge, who will generally speak very good English. You could even try the Four Seasons if you’re interested in the highest of high quality services. Just explain what you’re looking for, and the hotel can direct you either to a specific establishment or to a local who can do some research for you. The concierge at the Hilton Garden Inn helped me book my appointment at the hair salon we ended up going to, and it was great! This is a huge industry for Korea, so people are willing to help if you ask. Good luck!
SALON DE RAFFINE | Yangjae Station Branch
How I found them with the NAVERMap app on my iPhone
Find your hotel or homebase on the map. Since the HGI is near a large subway station in Gangnam, I knew there would be quality places around.
2. Clear the address, and scroll to the far right and tap “Hair salon.”
3. Tap on one of the myriad salons that appear. Take a look at the pictures, prices and stylists to see what you like.
4. Do this with a few salons and trust your gut to choose. I was focused on price, so I wrote down all the different prices for what we wanted and chose toward the middle of the pack, which ended up being Salon de Raffine.
5. Once you’ve decided which one is the one, go ahead book your appointment thru the app, or call/chat the salon. For some reason I wasn’t able to use these functions without a Korean cell, so I asked the HGI concierge to call and make an appointment for me. We had an appointment at 11am the next day!
Our experience at Salon de Raffine
We got there right at 11am. Four hours later, my fam walked out with one curly perm + 1 “Magic” straight perm + 1 “Magic” SETTING perm + 3 haircuts, all for around $200.
Our main stylist’s name was Chris, or in Korean, 현 구 (pictured below). He and the manager were like conductors, artfully directing us here, there and everywhere whilst keeping all the other clients grooving as well. (A young woman by the name of Mi-kyung helped us as well [also pictured below].) I even managed to have a nice conversation in English with Chris about toxic masculinity and crime in San Francisco. Pathology travels well, I guess.
The salon itself was also beautiful—clean, gently modern and very customer service-oriented. From what I understand, they offer a low introductory price to attract new customers, which is what we got. I can’t recommend it enough!
N.B. Salon de Raffine can also be romanized into Salon de Rapine. Argh.
GRAND PRIX GLASSES AND CONTACT LENS
How I found them with the NAVERMap app on my iPhone
The first thing I did was Google “glasses in Korean language.” I cut and pasted “안경” into my NAVERMap and found quite a few in my area.
I chose OLENS, which was conveniently located right next to the Salon de Raffine.
My experience with Grand Prix Glasses and Contact Lens
After striking out at OLENS after realizing that they had just contacts, I walked down the street to Grand Prix Glasses Contact Lens. I explained to the doctor that we were Korean-Americans looking for glasses to take home with us.
We found frames in about 15 minutes for about $15. Lenses cost another $35. And they were to be done in a whopping 20-30 minutes! Woohoo! New glasses for around $50 that fit great.
JFEEL DERMATOLOGY CLINIC
How I found them with the NAVERMap app on my iPhone
I finally chose Jfeel after doing some research before and during our trip. The key for me was, Can they take me the morning before we fly home? Because I don’t want to sightsee with bandages all over my face. I also did not want to spend more than $300 on this procedure, whatever it was. I just wanted my freckles and melasmas lightened, first time around. Nothing will get rid of them after just one shot anyway. So here was my process:
I Googled “Korean skin clinic expat,” and read thru two clinic websites in English: Renovo Skin Clinic and Ever Skin Clinic. I sent them emails inquiring about scheduling, and a detailed photo of my skin. I exchanged a few emails with Renovo, and they offered:
Crystal Clear Package by Renovo Skin Clinic | LHA Peel + Clear Laser
Cash/Card: 962,500 KRW = USD $700 (as of April 2024)
Package includes:
1. Consultation
2. Skin Analysis Test
3. Doctor consultation
4. Cleansing
5. LHA Peel: Solution 1
6. Clear Laser (Triple Mode)
7. LHA Peel: Solution 2
8. Rejuvenation Light Therapy
9. Ultra Duo Calming Massage
10. Diatomaceous Earth Modeling Mask
11. Final Skincare: Luxury Serum, Rejuvenation Cream, Suncream
12. Daily homecare kitThis was of course much more involved than I was willing to get, and about $400 over my budget. I politely declined, but I really appreciated how quick the response time was.
I should also say here that I never heard back from Ever Clinic, but the first 10 seconds of their freckles video was so hilarious that I just have to share it:
Yup, that was Pippi Longstocking!
Once I got to Korea, I Googled “Korean skin clinic in Korean language.” I cut and pasted “피부과” into my NAVERMap, and found quite a few in my hotel’s neighborhood.
My cousin then referred me to velyB, and I found this review of velyB and Jfeel on Reddit via Google.
I think I just got tired of the multiple romanizations of velyB, making it difficult to pin down. I thus chose Jfeel (“Jphil” is the only other romanization) and that was it. I emailed, scheduled, and showed up.
My experience with Jfeel Dermatology Clinic
Jfeel is clean and sparkly, but very busy. I was one of ten patients receiving treatment that morning. After a brief consult, the doctor prescribed the Pico and NDYag lasers for my skin. After I paid for the services (just below $250 total), I put my belongings in a locker and went to pre-treatment—face wash and numbing cream. I was then led into the operating room, and the doctor zapped away. After post-treatment soothing cream, I was set to go with my tax forms in hand. Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy!
Jfeel was just what I needed in terms of expediency, both in scheduling my appointment and communicating in English. However I would recommend a smaller, more personalized clinic if you’re looking for a relaxing, spa-like setting and experience. Try The Cell Skin, which yet another cousin ended up recommending. Like I said, this stuff is in our DNA.
You can find a list of all my Korea favorites by downloading NAVERMap onto your iPhone.
Thank you for visiting.
I hope I get to go this year, solo. If I do, I will have to visit the salon for sure. Plus a skin treatment of some sort.