Korean beauty products are in demand. Here's why, and where to find them on Long Island.

One glance at her dressing table tells you there’s nothing simple about Eunha Grace Shin’s beauty routine. Bottles, tubes, jars and more compete for space around a magnifying mirror, proof that the Melville resident is serious about taking care of her skin.

More specifically, she’s a devotee of the Korean philosophy of skin care, a philosophy intended to deliver glowing, flawless skin that’s responsible for creating a huge demand for K-Beauty products in the United States.

Culturally, Korean women are encouraged to have "dewy skin" from a young age, says Shin, a Korean-born emergency room physician currently taking time off to raise five children. But why so many products? “They are very into multiple steps,” says Shin. Her nightly routine consists of seven to eight steps (though some of her friends use as many as 20).

“The whole 10-step process became a craze in the U.S.,” says Hae Jin Chang, brand director for Joah Beauty, the cosmetics division of the Korean American company KISS Products, Inc., headquartered in Port Washington. “There was some buzz around it,” she says, explaining why K-Beauty took off around 10 years ago. As products became readily available in the United States, people were eager to try them, finding them to be effective and affordable.

Joah’s skin care products are designed to prep the skin, “making the face a clean canvas,” says Chang.

Many of the cosmetics in the Joah line also have skin care properties — the concealer is formulated with a hydrating serum, and there’s a setting spray infused with hyaluronic acid.

Affordability is key, says Chang, with prices ranging from $7.99 to $21.99 (products can be found at joahbeauty.com, CVS stores and on Amazon). Chang stresses that taking care of your skin must become a habit, and that you have to start young. “By the time you’re 40, it’s too late.”

Skin care is “an ancient tradition” in Korea, says Cuiting Chen, founder of Hebe Int’l Skincare Centers in Manhattan and Flushing. “From a very young age, Koreans learn from their mothers and grandmothers to care about their skin, boys too,” says Chen. And it’s supposed to be enjoyable, she says. “Pampering your skin should be the best part of the day,” she explains, often done while drinking tea or listening to music.

Chen, who is Chinese, says she focused her spa on the principles of Korean beauty because “it’s so popular all over the world.” It’s based on natural ingredients, she says. Cleansing the face is vital, and she adds, no one in Korea “ever leaves home without applying sunscreen.” The spa offers more than 25 different facials ($250-$420, call 718-427-0782 for appointments), using things like gold, sea collagen and oxygen therapy. All are designed to give clients brighter, more radiant skin. The ideal, says Chen, is to give customers soft, smooth skin “that looks like glass.”

While a facial is a luxury, maintaining the K-Beauty routine requires daily attention. Products are everywhere from department stores to Sephora to Costco. Among Shin’s current favorites: Kahi Seoul Wrinkle Bounce Multi Balm ($24.50 at amazon.com) that she says hydrates skin and “is a perfect pocketbook refresher,” Age 20’s Cushion Foundation with SPF 50 ($37.99 at amazon.com), and Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask ($24 at Sephora and sephora.com).

Watching YouTubers, she learned about COSRX, a less expensive brand widely available at outlets including Costco, Ulta and Amazon. When her father travels to Seoul, she has him bring products from Sulwhasoo, a brand owned by Amore Pacific, one of the leaders in the K-Beauty field. And she has tons of masks, another thing Korean beauty is known for. “Masks are a little luxury, like a spa experience,” she says, noting that they leave skin feeling bouncy and plump, almost wet underneath. “Koreans have an expression for it,” she says. “They like to say chok-chok.”