Renewme Skin Clinic

Ssambap: Korean Lettuce Wrap. Ssam literally means "wrap" and bap means "rice"; which you might be already familiar with from bibim bap  and kim bap . Of all the wonderful foods and cuisines Korea has to offer, I would say ssambap is one of the healthiest. It's a great chance for you to increase your vegetable intake - something I've heard plenty of foreigners complain about in Korea. True, salads aren't always available in Korea, but there are still ways to find and eat fresh, green veggies. This place is located about 5 minutes away from our Seocho branch. Go straight down Nambu Terminal station exit 5, turn left at the big crossroads and immediately make another left. Name of the restaurant is Shigoljip (시골집) which means "country house." The place was already packed with people during lunchtime. We had to wait outside for a few minutes to take our seats. The prices here are quite reasonable: 8,000 KRW for a basic mea...

Professional skin treatment for acne can be, while the best option available, admittedly costly. I'm sure many of us at one point in our lives had tried some sort of home remedy as to avoid paying a visit to the dermatologist. And with the massive inflow of information found on the web, it can be difficult to choose which instructions and tips to follow. That is why today, I am providing a set of guidelines suggested by our very own dermatologists, on ways you can take care of your acne-prone skin. Skin care is not just a one-time action; it needs to be habitual and consistent if you want to see improvement. *Disclaimer: Not all products will necessarily work for your skin. If you find that a product makes your skin worse, please don't use it just because it was recommended! 1. Face Washing Wash your face twice a day, keeping it short and simple (KISS rule applies here too!). Recommended cleansers: Dove soap Clear & Clear Continuous Control Acne Cleanser Cetaphil...

So technically, it's spring. It said so on the calendar - February 4th was the official start of spring. Of course, right now it feels like anything but. I can't survive a day in the office without my electric heater, nor can I leave the house without at least 3 layers on and a thick woolen scarf. I should have been born somewhere closer to the equator. Like... Hong Kong. Or Singapore. :) Anyway, combined with the yellow dust blowing in from China, Seoul is arid and contaminated. Even the trees are sick and dry, and need to rely on artificial watering via water pouches that look like IV drips. Imagine what the weather is doing to your skin! Keeping your skin moisturized is crucial especially during the dry winter periods. Lotion makes a big difference; if I don't apply lotion on my legs after showering, they feel super dry, tight, flaky, and just plain gross. For the face especially, it's important to maintain moisture to prevent premature aging - I can't stre...

What a restless day I've been having! Just a few more hours and it will officially be the start of the Seollal holidays. Also known as Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year, this is the first day of the lunar calendar year. Date changes every year, since the lunar calendar is different from the Gregorian calendar we normally use. This day, thankfully, it falls on a Thursday - and in Korea, we have the day before and after off as well. That makes it a 5-day weekend! Whoohoooooooo! To celebrate in advance, we at the office went out all together for dinner. The restaurant of choice is called Hang Bang Yang Yuk Gwan (항방양육관), a place that specializes in lamb (yang means sheep/lamb). I was super hungry and unfortunately forgot all about taking a shot of the entrance. Will include it on the map though, if anyone is interested in visiting! Anyway, this place is Chinese food. Lamb is not a Korean dish, I think - it's not common here anyway. I don't recall having lamb in Asia befor...

I have been living in Seoul for more than 10 years now, after growing up in New York. And every once in a while, I get a massive craving for Mexican food. To be honest, I can't tell which Mexican dish is authentic or not. I just want a big fat burrito, with lots of guacamole and beans and sour cream and all the good stuff. Mexican food is a lot more accessible in Seoul these days, and when my colleague said she had never tried it, I pounced on the opportunity - and so last Friday night we arranged a dinner of glorious Mexican food at Gangnam, a bustling area with just about every type of restaurant you could imagine. Julio entrance The place is quite easy to find. If you are taking the subway, go straight from Gangnam station exit 11, and turn right at CGV theater. Keep following that little alleyway uphill, and you will see this Julio on your right. We entered a little after 7, when there were plenty of seats available. Just about half an hour later, however, the restaura...

So every Wednesday, across from the office (Seocho branch), a small market opens from morning to evening, run by Nonghyup, known in English as the National Agricultural Cooperative Fedeation (NACF), an organization that seeks to promote and aid agriculture here in Korea. The products sold by NACF are generally known to be safer and trust-worthy, which is at least what my mother tells me ;) So from across the street, it doesn't look like much. The scale of the market is quite small, since it's only in front of one of the many small NACF branches. But a look closer and you will see the market has a lot more to offer! This tiny place is jam-packed with dried goods, fruits, vegetables, grains, rice, and ready made food all cultivated in Korea. This place is the epitome of 100% Korean food - the type not even modern Koreans frequently eat. In one corner, you can purchase fresh corn-on-the cob, steamed and juicy and ready to eat. Korean corn is completely d...

Treatment for keloid scars can be quite difficult, but I've seen patients desperate to get rid of them. Keloids are a little different from normal scars; they develop as a wound begins to heal, but can grow beyond the actual wound and encroach upon other skin tissues. It's hard to predict the progression of keloids, when or whether they would form at all, since this depends mainly on your individual skin type. Keloids can form from pretty much any factor: surgery, pimples, burns, scratches, wounds, piercings, vaccinations... Any injury that involves healing of the skin can trigger a keloid scar. The overgrown collagen can appear as pink, or reddish brown, and is rubbery/shiny in texture. Though they are not contagious, sometimes keloids can be itchy and painful, which is an indication for treatment. Plus, they are simply not pleasant on the eye either. The best treatment for potential keloids would be, of course, to prevent them altogether. If you have had a keloid scar ...