GOYANG-SI, South Korea — Not long after Charley Hull carried teammate Lydia Ko to victory at the Hanwha LifePlus International Crown on Friday, she emerged from her hotel room in an all-white track suit and headed down the escalator to a sprawling underground mall.
The destination: Olive Young, a K-beauty juggernaut that’s on a heater, experiencing a 70 percent increase in sales this year with 3.35 million registered members, according to The Korea Times. South Korea is known the world over for its superior skincare products and treatments, a subject that’s near and dear to Hull’s heart.
Ask Hull a question about achieving the perfect glow, and she’ll happily dish on all the tips and tricks she’s learned along the way. The 29-year-old Englishwoman, a three-time winner on the LPGA, is athlete first and golfer second, though she’s having to tone down her work in the gym after suffering several injuries this year.
Golfweek tagged along with Hull to the health and beauty store to learn more about the popular LPGA star’s routines outside the ropes.
The following are excerpts from the conversation:
Ever since I was younger, my mum’s always been into super healthiness. My mum’s Eastern European, she’s full Polish, and Eastern Europeans are very much into being healthy, like eating clean food, all about skincare. So from a young age, I’ve always been told to cleanse and tone my face, to get myself a routine in order. I’d always been not allowed to wear hardly any makeup or anything like that. She’d always say to be natural.
I’m also always out in the sun and the sun ages you, especially for my job. So that’s why I’m always bang on to my skin hair. Like I love skin care. And I never wear makeup. I wear makeup like three or four times a year. I never travel with makeup. I never wear makeup on the golf course. The only time I put on makeup at home is when I’m going out for a girls night out dinner. That’s it, really. Every day I just make sure I wear SPF but every day I’ll cleanse, I’ll tone, I’ll then put on loads of moisturizer and always get a regular facial. Like once a week, when I’m home.
I’m big into laser peels. So BBL, which is Broadband Light, and one’s called Moxi, and that helps with all your pigmentation throughout the years of like skin damage. I started about two years ago. You want to have a bit more mature skin for it, and I’m always out in the sun. They tested my skin age, and they see that this side (right) is a year older than this side. They said do you drive a lot, and I said yeah. In England, we’re righthand drivers so obviously the sun is hitting you right there. Usually when someone goes in, their skin age is higher than their actual age but mine was four years younger, which they said is unbelievable.
I used to drink a lot when I was 18, 19, but from 20, I don’t really drink. I usually drink three or four times a year. Alcohol causes inflammation in the skin, and inflammation is one of the biggest things that can age you.
A lot of people do crash diets and fad diets, but I try and eat a lot of fish, eat a lot of vegetables, because that’s really, really good for the skin. And even like, you know, salmon, skin off the salmon, that’s really good for your skin.
My dad hates filler and everything. When I was younger, I was never ever allowed to get my lips done and about five years ago, I went out and got my lips done. I had filler in my lips, and my dad absolutely killed me. He didn’t speak me for ages, and then, like, three years ago, I got them dissolved and I said, I’m never going to get my lips again.
The Clinic Holland Park (in London), they’re one of the best I think in the U.K. Not many places do BBL and Moxi because you’ve got to be really top to do that to someone’s skin. … I go there, and they just look after my skin like when I have breakouts and everything as well. You want to have retinol on your face like three times a week, that’s really good for collagen production. Because from the age of 25, you start losing a certain percentage of your collagen production every year, and your collagen keeps the elasticity in your skin and keeps that youthful look.
I eat a lot of food that helps boost collagen. Also, I do collagen treatments. … You can also get polynucleotides, which is salmon’s sperm. A lot of good Korean brands have them. Have you heard of microneedling? In the U.K., we’ll do microneedling and they’ll put the salmon sperm on top of your skin and let it soak in and that helps produce your collagen. You can get it done every three months.
I use only medical grade skin care, so if you go to like Clarins and all that stuff, they’re useless. Yeah, they’ll make your skin look good, but they’re not good for anti-aging. …. I use Alumier and Obagi. It’s just really good rejuvenation, preventative for when you’re older.
And water is the main key; water is so important. And a good eye cream as well. Loads of green vegetables, avocados are really good. … I can drink up to 15 bottles (of water) a day, but that’s because I’m on the golf course as well.
Even if you’re not putting your makeup on, you should always cleanse and tone. And always wipe your makeup off at night because that can age you. Never gives your cells time to recover.
I use La Roche-Posay and (Riemann) P20. Those are the two best for your face. Always make sure to use a special sunscreen for your face, and I reapply it every six holes on the golf course. I put a different one on my body than I do my face. I’ll use anything on my body.
I’m really into red light. I use an infrared light every single night. It’s really good for collagen production. That’s really good for pushing your creams in, lifting and everything. It’s a probe. I do 30 strokes there, 30 strokes there. You can get the lamp as well.
I like lymphatic drainage, that’s really important. Because when you fly, you get really puffy because you’ve got water retention, and the lymphatic drainage helps push all the toxins out. I pretty much land, get a facial and straight back to golf.
I never wear foundation. I only wear tinted moisturizer. When I’m tan in the summer, I don’t even wear tinted moisturizer. … bit of bronzer, do my lips, put some mascara on and that’s me done. One of my favorite product lines is Salt and Stone.
I used to smash sun beds when I was younger, so I never ever got tan lines. But that’s bad for your skin.
I break (diet cheats) down into three days a week. One day if I fancy a burger and chips, I’ll have that, but I’ll eat clean the rest of the day. Another day, if I fancy a coke, which I never drink fizzy drinks, but I’ll have a coke and that’s another cheat. Then one day if I fancy a chocolate bar, I’ll have that, but I don’t have them all in the same day.
I was never allowed a fizzy drink untiI I was 12 years old. I was never allowed McDonalds or Haribo sweets or anything like that. So, as an adult, I’ve never craved it. My mom has always been very homemade, fresh, cooked food. If you had a treat, maybe Friday have a pizza, but apart from that, no.
As you get older, you never crave it, which I’m thankful for my mom for doing. Because I see so many people these days give their kids cans of coke, however many sweets that they want, and the child probably thinks oh, they’re the best parents ever. No, you’re killing your kid. You are though really, aren’t you? Feeding your body toxins.
I can’t do anything (at the gym) at the minute at all because of my ankle and my back. I’m going to be out a few months, but I quite like the rest. I’m eating healthy. Because I haven’t been to the gym, I’m 10 kilos (22 pounds) lighter than I was at this time last year. But I prefer my body shape when I don’t go to the gym.
I hate doing weights because I get quite big, which I don’t like that. As long as I can start running in a few months time, that will be fine. But I’ll never be allowed to lift a weight again because of my back. Which is good because I hate lifting weights because I get bulky. Bands and Pilates is the best way to go … and running.
Yesterday, my back was really bad but today it’s been fine. It could be the way I walk, the way I sit, anything. I’ve got spinal scoliosis. I’ve got a bend in my back that we didn’t know about. I’ll show you. (Pulls out a scan.) Can you see that joint is normal? That joint is double the size over the wear of the years. See that big white thing there? That’s a cyst. And that litlte white one, that’s a cyst there. So, that’s what’s happening.
I don’t travel with a suitcase. I just travel with hand luggage and a golf bag. I don’t do more than two weeks away, and I don’t take a going out outfit, I just wear track suits the whole time. I don’t go out. I see when we’re away as business. I’m just hotel room, golf course and just chilling.
I have a Louis Vuitton hand luggage bag. I put my wash stuff in the golf bag, my hair care, my face care and that’s it. I’m easily the lightest traveler on tour.
After I won (Kroger Queen City Championship) I bought myself a private number plate (license tag). It says, “You big dosser.”
After the British Open I got myself a pink Chanel handbag. But I have loads of Chanel handbags. I bought it for Bells baby shower to match it. I bought this Chanel set five years ago and had never worn it.
I’ve got a big closet. I love my closet. I have two houses. My walk-in wardrobe at my house near Wentworth has all my clothes in there and stuff. I like clothes. I buy stuff and might not wear it for a few years.
The biggest thing I’ve done shopping … in an hour I did a hundred grand. Yeah, I did. I bought two Rolex watches and a handbag … for myself. And then I sold them on for more.
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