The Power of Dr Jart | The Secret to Good Skincare
Dr Jart has been a big part of Korean beauty since the beginning. It was founded in 2005 by a well-regarded dermatologist, Dr Jung Sung-Jae working hand-in-hand with an architect Lee Jin Wook. This also formed their leading name – a mixture of ‘Dr’ and ‘Art’ - forming Dr Jart. From the beginning they had high standards, heavily tested formulas and have been setting trends for over 20 years. The architect Lee reached out to Dr Jung, curious about how skincare could be optimized to be more. More for the consumer – with a mixture of products and science that there hadn’t been before. They worked hard for 3 years to develop products that were purely beneficial, for a variety of skin problems and spread their effects throughout Asia – a blend of science and traditional skincare.
Their First Product... Was BB Cream?
The first skincare product that Dr Jung and Lee Jin Wook worked in tandem to create was a BB cream. If you don’t know – BB creams was one of the first products from K-Beauty to hit the international market. It hadn’t occurred to Western companies to improve foundation formulas with a blend of skincare – moisturizing agents, SPF+ protection, pore care etc. So, once it really hit markets – it was a hit! Dr Jart does claim that they were the first Korean BB cream, but despite us digging - we can't confirm this for sure. The original true BB cream was made in Germany by Dr Christine Schrammek - and was later adapted by South Korean innovators. However, they were definitely one of the ones to bring BB cream to the globe - and therefore bringing Korean beauty as a whole to the rest of the world.
The Rise of Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment
Their first massive hit was their viral Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment. As their BB cream was designed to help vanish redness and balance skin-tone, they created a moisturizer that does that on its own. Using a base of centella asciatica (tiger grass), this cream became viral for how it corrected red spots and irritation in one application.
It’s rich in repairing allantoin, gives SPF+30 protection and wowed the world with its instant tone-up effect. It allowed people with damaged skin to use the cream to help tone down redness, without irritating their skin with a thick layer of foundation or BB cream.
Ctrl A (Acne Care)
This was followed by their Ctrl A line – enriched with tea tree. Designed to calm and refresh acne-prone skin –it used a combination of high-concentration tea tree extract to eliminate acne-causing bacteria, whilst also soothing and refreshing redness. Their CTRL A Cleansing Foam was a fan-favourite for its ability to vanish acne with a few uses, combined with cooling witch hazel, aloe vera and pine tree. It prevented skin drying out, but provided a good relief (especially from hormonal acne), to help clear skin quickly and balance health.
Rubber Mask Shot
Old fans of Dr Jart might remember their famous ‘Mask Shaking Rubber Shot’. These little faces were iconic in K-Beauty stores for years – containing little sachets that you would mix together to create a rubbery mask, to infuse soothing ingredients into your skin. They were replaced by Dr Jart’s Cryo Rubber masks, which comes with a ready-made mask and an ampoule that you apply first, before sealing it with the seaweed-based mask. It creates a cooling, refreshing treatment (hence Cryo in the name). The little mask faces are still a staple that you’ll see in old-school K-Beauty stores.
Every Day Sun
Another long-time beloved from Dr Jart was their carefully formulated sun safety line. They were on the frontier of making lightweight, high-protection sunscreen that was healing for skin, as well as with high SPF+ protection. From their Every Day Sun Moisturizing Sun serum which provides SPF+50 along with nourishing ceramides to their Every Day Sun Waterproof Sun Milk, which provided deep protection even on the go and when swimming – their sunscreens have been a long beloved pick from skincare fans.
Ceramidin Line
What about dry skincare? Dr Jart covers this with their famous ‘Ceramidin’ line. This calming line up is deeply rich in boosting ceramides (which help fill cracks and damaged regions of a skin barrier to improve hydration) along with soothing panthenol and citrus extracts. It provides a brightening base, with deep and refreshing hydration. From their soothing toner, to their restoring and gentle Ectoin-Infused cream. Why ectoin? Ectoin is deeply protective and moisturizing to skin – having the ability to treat even aggressive skin conditions, such as atopic dermatitis and eczema.
Dr Jart+ has gone through a big period of change in a post-pandemic world. They've reformulated a variety of their formulas (boosting a lot of them), are releasing new lines and improving on everything that they had before. We're likely to see some exciting new products from them being released through 2025, so keep and eye out. And if you are after quality skincare that has your back, is formulated and tested by dermatologists - check out the Dr Jart+ range available on Arktastic!
Looking for more exciting skincare stories? Check out the history of the famous Dr Althea (another famous Dr brand from South Korea) that heralds nature with soothing skincare. Or check out the scientific formulas from Medicube:
