A K-beauty obsessive plans her holidays around trips to 24-hour Korean spas — and spends thousands chasing perfect skin.
Uwu Tofu, 29, became fixated on beauty after suffering from acne and feeling like an “ugly kid.”
“I remember in seventh grade, when I felt my ugliest, I thought, ‘I’m going to make a business plan on aesthetic improvements so that by the time I hit college I’m going to be the hottest person ever,’ ” the Texan recalled.
“I was thinking, ‘OK, I have braces and acne right now. By year eight my braces will be off, and then in high school I’m going to learn how to put on makeup.’”
Now, the content creator is hooked on Korean beauty and wellness, often flying 1,435 miles across the country to her favorite LA spa and maintaining a long wish list of skincare products.
Over the years, she’s tried everything from Rejuran injections to radiofrequency microneedling, ultrasound lifting and facial contouring treatments. A salmon sperm facial left her crying and clenching her hands in pain, but wanting more.
Tofu estimates spending between $2,000 and $3,000 a month on Korean skincare, spa visits and beauty treatments.
“I’d be lying if I said my teenage insecurities didn’t still fuel my obsession with beauty today,” said Tofu, who has 575,000 followers on Instagram (@iamuwutofu).
“But now I want to enhance the features I already have and maintain my skin health as I get older.”
After watching beauty tutorials on YouTube as a kid, Tofu developed her own aesthetic and became particularly interested in Korean skincare.
She is constantly researching products but tries to finish each bottle in six months before buying another, partly to avoid waste and partly because she once learned the hard way what can happen when products expire.
“I have used expired skincare before, thinking it was no big deal. No — my face broke out,” she said.
Her three favorite affordable products are Birch Moisturizing Sunscreen UVLock SPF 45, Madagascar Centella Hyalu-Cica Moisture Cream and the pink Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask.
“Korean skincare has always worked better for me. I grew up with Asian beauty standards as an Asian-American, and looking like a K-pop idol was always the goal,” Tofu explained.
“They keep my skin hydrated and protected from the sun, which is what I care about most. Protecting your skin from UV rays is one of the best ways to maintain youthful-looking skin.”
Her obsession also extends to Korean wellness.
Whenever she visits LA, Tofu likes to spend her downtime at Wi Spa, a Korean spa open 24 hours a day.
For a $35 day pass, visitors can use hot tubs, a cold plunge and wet and dry saunas.
“My perfect day starts with getting naked and soaking in the hot tub, followed by a Korean body scrub. Then I go into the wet sauna, the dry sauna and finally the cold tub,” she described.
“After that, I head upstairs for kalbi — Korean short ribs — and a green juice. Then I visit the jade room and the ice room before having a nap for several hours.”
Tofu’s beauty experiments can be considerably less relaxing.
She recently tried a salmon sperm facial, where the fish’s DNA was applied to her skin during microneedling.
After 30 minutes of numbing cream, the device was passed across her face — an experience she compares to being tattooed. She rated it an “eight or nine out of 10” on the pain scale.
“Imagine getting your face tattooed. It even sounds like a tattoo needle. When it was on my cheeks, I was like, ‘OK, it’s fine,’ but once it started going into places where the numbing cream was either thin or not there, I was like, ‘I’m getting stabbed,’ ” Tofu said.
“When it went to my hairline, I was literally clenching my hands like I was praying and I started crying.”
She refused to have the device passed over her lips, after being warned that area would be particularly painful.
She said she shelled out $778 for the hour-long Rejuran treatment with microneedling.
Despite the pain and the two-week recovery, Tofu says she was pleased with her complexion a little over a week later.
“I like the results. My skin tone is a lot more even and places where I would usually have redness, it’s definitely not there,” she said. “Now I literally wake up with a glow, it’s amazing. I think I’ll definitely try Thermage next.”
