By Jude Chao featuring Jae Jeong, CEO of Haruharu
K-beauty can be overwhelming. With so many brands to choose from, so many products to try, and so much FOMO to overcome, finding the select few truly promising and original contenders can feel nearly impossible. Shops like Glowie Co can help—by curating the most interesting brands they have access to, they help narrow the field for the rest of us. That’s why I was excited to see Glowie Co take on Haruharu, an indie Korean skincare brand that I’ve known about for a while thanks to a friendly relationship with their US distributor.
The Meaning Behind Korean Skincare Brand Haruharu
To help introduce Haruharu to Glowie Co’s customers, I interviewed Jae Jeong, the brand’s CEO, to find out more.
Jae Jeong, the CEO and founder of Haruharu
Haruharu means “everyday” in Korean, and Jae explained that “by naming our brand ‘Haruharu’, we strive to create cosmetics that blends well a casual & routine daily lifestyle. We eat ‘everyday’, we have a teatime ‘everyday’, we chit-chat ‘everyday’, we go to bed ‘everyday’. Like those basic routines, we want our cosmetics to be a part of everyday life.” It’s far from the ultra-elevated, ritualistic aesthetic that many brands try to convey in their products—Haruharu is meant to be down to earth, rather than intimidating.
The down-to-earth philosophy reflects in Haruharu’s ingredient choices and product selection, too. As Jae told me, “Our brand took out overwhelming elements/ingredients from our products to provide a simplified skincare experience. That is what our brand message we wish to deliver to users.”
Haruharu: Simple But Not Basic Skincare
Simple doesn’t necessarily mean basic, though. From their inception, Haruharu has emphasized liposomal technology in their formulations to help deliver ingredients most effectively to skin. Liposomes are essentially microscopic lipid pockets surrounding water-soluble ingredients. The lipid pockets help these ingredients penetrate skin’s lipid barrier. Jae says:
Our natural ingredients have been processed with our parent company DFS’s own fermentation technology, and penetration of active ingredients into the skin is enhanced through our own technology called “Natural Liposome.” Most active ingredients of cosmetics cannot be absorbed into skin due to the oil layer, so with our natural liposome tech, we wrap the active ingredients with natural oil extracted from ginseng, so our skin takes that ingredient into the body as a part of it, so it can be absorbed into skin deeply. Some companies also adapt that tech but the key difference is that we make that oil wrapping with natural ginseng extract.
So it’s not just liposomes, it’s ginseng-based liposomes. With luxury brands like Sulwhasoo and History of Whoo offering super-expensive ginseng oils, it’s exciting to see a more budget-friendly brand making use of the antioxidant-rich herb’s potential for skin.
My personal favorite products from Haruharu all come from their Black Rice line, which I was fortunate enough to try last year. When I asked about the concept of the Black Rice products, Jae told me that “the line contains 100% fermented Korean grown black rice extract, which has 16 times higher anti-oxidant effect than black bean, and 30 times higher than normal white rice.” It makes sense for these lightweight anti-aging products, which I especially loved during summer for their watery, refreshing consistencies.
Delivering New Skincare Experiences
Even as Haruharu launches its products at sites like Glowie Co, however, the brand has to continue looking ahead. The pace of product development and competition in both K-beauty and the global cosmetics industry keeps accelerating. Jae has a clear plan for the brand’s near future:
“People do not simply want a product, but want something that gives extraordinary experience to them. So we are finding a way to give that experience. In addition to that, we keep following beauty trend that all societies commonly have, like using naturally derived ingredient rather than synthetic, cruelty-free, free of harmful ingredients, eco- friendly and upcycling products. All these will ultimately provide a brand new experience for consumers and that is the road map that we are trying to go down.”
Haruharu’s upcoming plans include a vegan line. With a focus on ethics and sustainability alongside down-to-earth but effective products, the future could be bright for this brand.
My Favorite Haruharu Products
Haruharu WONDER Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner - $22
I absolutely loved this toner in summertime. Smooth and slippy with a soft scent of lavender, it glides on skin easily and sinks in instantly, leaving my face plump and refreshed without any stickiness or residue.
Haruharu WONDER Black Rice Facial Oil - $32
You know the trick I like to do with patting an oil on under a sheet mask? This oil works beautifully for that, leaving my skin super nourished and smooth all through the next day. It also mixes well with creams and lotions that need a little extra moisture.
What Haruharu products do you want to try?