Jungmin Lee is upfront about where Jung Beauty stands in her list of priorities: “To me, Jung Beauty is like a newborn baby.” Following the heels of Ksisters, which Jungmin founded in 2016, comes Jung Beauty — its newly launched in-house brand. To say that Ksisters and Jung Beauty lie close to the heart would be quite an understatement; Jungmin’s first venture into Ksisters was inspired by her dream of curating a collection with heart, soul and a lot of love for her two daughters and women everywhere else alike.
Built on Jungmin’s own experience and a belief in genuine reviews, Ksisters has been making waves as a leading platform for the best in Korean beauty (as well as a selection of fashion and lifestyle products). Now Jung Beauty will take the brand’s vision to new heights; dedicated to delivering only the best, they’ve decided to create it themselves. We caught up with Jungmin on her journey to Jung Beauty, the power of Jeong (정/情), Jung Beauty’s first product and how she deals with nagging mum guilt. (Psst! Jungmin also spills her full hair routine.)
1. Before we get into Jung Beauty, tell us more about Ksisters!
Ksisters is a Korean Beauty & Lifestyle curation platform at www.ksisters.sg. In 2016, we started as Korean kids indie clothing label curation platform, inspired by my two daughters. That’s why it’s called Ksisters, which stands for Korean sisters.
After that our K-twinning was a big hit and we were featured in the Straits Times as one of the top 10 K-fashion shops. With more media exposure, our business grew quite quickly. We also grew with a strong mum community called #KsistersFam through deep emotional bonding, called Jeong (정/情). Jeong (정/情) is Korean cultural belief that you can only build emotional bonding over a long time and through heartfelt connections.
2. When and how did you get into beauty?
Even when I was a little girl, I always dreamed about beauty and grew up dreaming about working in the beauty industry. So after majoring in communication and business management, I joined P&G as a marketer. Working with international artists and K-beauty trendsetters for many years was a very exciting opportunity for me!
3. How did Ksisters come to be? And what inspired you to take the plunge and launch Jung Beauty now?
It always starts with Jeong (정/情) that I built with our community, the #KsistersFam. Ksisters constantly evolves and grows by learning from our customers. We started as an exclusively kids clothing company; but with our customers’ encouragement and feedback, we have now expanded to women’s clothing, K-beauty, lifestyle products and even food!
Jung Beauty also came very naturally in. While our team has been doing our best to curate the best for our #KsistersFam in the last two years, due to the nature of curation we sometimes encounter limitations. With our knowledge about our customers and beauty products, along with our passion to bring only the best-of-the-best, we realised it was time to start an in-house brand to do just that! After working hard for the past year, our first baby, the 2-Step Steaming Hair Spa, is finally out!
4. Let’s talk about Jung Beauty — tell us more about the brand!
Jung Beauty’s mission is to bring professional (salon and esthetics) quality care to home care for busy Singaporean ladies. Smart consumers know what quality of care and ingredients are good for their skin, hair, and body, but do not have time to visit spa and salons often. So we made a quick, easy, fuss-free home care system of professional quality, but at an affordable price. No compromises! So you can enjoy your Jung Beauty home care routine while watching NETFLIX and chilling!
5. We’re excited to hear about the first product from Jung Beauty, the new 2-Step Steaming Hair Spa! Tell us more about it!
I’m a big believer of how good hair can influence your daily mood and even self-confidence. We wanted to introduce a really good quality (salon-grade) hair treatment to the home care range. My two missions (for the hair spa) were 1) salon quality smoothness and softness and 2) lasting results. To achieve these, we used the latest K-beauty technology of self-steaming to maximise the absorption of ingredients. Then to prolong the effects we added Step 2, which is a leave-in keratin treatment you can use over the next 1-3 days for longer-lasting results.
6. What was the R&D process like for Jung Beauty’s 2-Step Steaming Hair Spa?
It was all about finding the right balance among the key criteria we set. We didn’t want to compromise on nourishment, we also wanted something self-steaming, that would smooth and deliver beautiful volume, anti-frizz results and a nice scent… But too soft and it would be too heavy for our hair; our heating sensation was also too weak. So to find a balanced formula was a really challenging process!
That said, we never rushed. Since we are an independent label, one thing we could do was that we didn’t have to compromise on the launch date or anything else, because we could afford to wait until we’d found the optimal formula.
7. Is there anything that sets the 2-Step Steaming Hair Spa apart from other hair packs in the market?
I think the first thing you will notice is its luxurious rose scent. The essence-like formula will instantly smooth your hair cuticles and deeply nourish them; the hair spa aims to softly protect your hair from all kinds of daily damage and stress.
8. Singapore and South Korea have very different climates! Are there any differences in hair care here and in South Korea?
Only Korea’s summer is similar to Singapore weather! Besides summer, spring, fall and winter in Korea are all very dry seasons. Our skincare and hair care routine (in Korea) is all about hydration, layering and deep nourishment to keep the moisture-levels up. But when I came to Singapore 5 years ago, it was very different; very humid and hot days all the time! While I prefer to have very heavy treatments in Korea, here I prefer more light treatments that won’t weigh down my hair too much! Because I want soft and smooth hair, but I don’t want it to look greasy/oily.
9. What is it like running and building your own brand alongside being a mum (to two daughters, no less)?
To me, Jung Beauty is like a newborn baby. From the name, its mood, characteristics and every detail, I had to build it from scratch and keep monitoring it every single hour. It is a marvellous experience but a heavy duty — like you’re having a newborn baby all over again! My two daughters easily get jealous about their “youngest sibling”, saying mum loves Jung Beauty more than us. Feeling mum guilt is already part of my daily life and I think something unavoidable as an entrepreneur.
But I do make sure to have good bonding time with my two daughters. One thing I am trying [to do] is to be more present. So when I work, I can forget about them and focus on work without the guilt. But when I spend good quality time with my girls, I really focus on them and make sure they can have my full attention!
10. Share with us your own hair care routine!
I wash my hair everyday with Phytopecia’s Hair Boosting Shampoo for my sensitive scalp. Before shampooing, I make sure to brush my hair, so I can remove any dirt first. After that I shampoo my hair. My tip is after lathering don’t wash right away — I leave the shampoo in for 2 minutes so it can give a nice minty feeling to my scalp. Then, I wash with room temperature water. I make sure to wash my scalp thoroughly, but rinse gently for the rest of my hair. There’s no need to scrub your hair harshly, because this will lead to cuticle damage!
Once or twice a week I use Jung Beauty’s 2-Step Steaming Hair Spa to keep my hair soft and smooth. Step 1 is a hair mask wrap with self-steaming, which I leave on for 20 minutes before washing off. Before drying my hair, I apply Phytopecia’s Hair Tonic for the scalp and Jung Beauty’s Step 2 leave-in Keratin treatment. (The amount of Keratin treatment provided is quite generous, so I can use it for 2 – 3 days.) This way you can always enjoy soft and smooth hair!
11. What’s next for Jung Beauty? Can you give us a little sneak peek?
We are working on a skincare product that will give you Korean glass skin. We’ll share it with our DC Edit friends once it’s ready — don’t worry *wink*!
Introducing: Jung Beauty’s Salon-Grade Hair Spa…From Home!
There’s something quite unparalleled about the feeling of fresh-out-of-the-salon hair, when you’ve just had your tresses thoroughly smoothed, treated and nourished. The downside? Probably the opportunity cost of time and a weeping bank account. That said, there’s no shortage of great hair masks and tonics you can indulge in at home — but what about a proper hair steam?
Meet Jung Beauty’s solution for salon-amazing hair: the 2-Step Steaming Hair Spa. A salon-grade hair mask that simulates professional treatments with its steaming first step and leave-in keratin essence (second step). Powered by the best in hair care ingredients including Coconut Oil, Hydrolysed Keratin and Silk Amino Acids, the hair spa promises intense repair and hydration. Expect salon-worthy results in the form of healthier, brilliant and more manageable locks.
Hear it from us — stay tune to our next #SheByDC feature where we got our community to try Jung Beauty’s 2-Step Steaming Hair Spa for themselves!
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Shop the new Jung Beauty 2-Step Steaming Hair Spa, available exclusively on Ksisters. To keep in the loop of Jung Beauty’s exciting happenings and upcoming launch, follow them here!
Take care,
Melisa
