Former The Cut beauty editor Christina Han dreamed of opening a Korean spa, but she quickly realized that many people recoiled at the concept of public nudity, which is commonplace in traditional Korean bathhouses. While the modern spa experience is private, silent and often seen as a self-care ritual, Korean bathhouses double as vibrant community centers. „It’s a bathtub — a giant bathtub — and people are just there to get clean and catch up on the latest gossip,“ Han tells Fashionista.
To bridge the gap between a Korean spa’s signature exfoliating treatments and consumers‘ valued privacy, Han and her business partner Esther Nordlinger created Sluff, a body-care brand launching on Tuesday with a $48 kit that brings the bathhouse experience (sans public nudity) into your shower.
Photo: Courtesy of Sluff
Sluff’s three-step routine begins with its Pre-Sluff Bar to get what Han calls „the slip“ off, a.k.a. removing all the creams, lotions, body oils, SPF and other surface oils present on the skin. The bar soap is formulated with coconut and olive oils, along with charcoal and pumice for a textural experience. The inclusion of charcoal and pumice was also inspired by Jeju Island („the Hawaii of South Korea,“ Han adds), which is home to cliffs of volcanic stone.
„I just wanted to have these small but meaningful elements of my Korean heritage brought into the products to pay homage to that,“ she says.
After rinsing the suds off, manual exfoliation with Sluff’s bright green abrasive mitt is up next. This is where the magic happens: „Your skin starts rolling off like eraser shavings,“ Han says. „It’s immensely, disgustingly satisfying.“ The 100% viscose mitt (which features thumb holes for extra grip) sloughs off dead skin, product build-up and sweat to reveal softer, smoother skin.
„The second you get out of the shower, it really feels like you’ve shed a pound of skin off,“ Han says. „With the scrubbing and the motion and the physicality of it too, sure, you get the blood pumping, so you pop out and you feel completely refreshed, revitalized, all of the above.“
Photo: Courtesy of Sluff
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The third and final product in Sluff’s routine — a lightweight eucalyptus body lotion — stands out as Han’s favorite. Though, the post-shower lotion wasn’t made for the glass skin trend currently dominating the body-care space via glossy body oils and shimmering creams. In fact, Han rejected that „wet feeling“ altogether. „I really wanted something that seeped right into the skin and didn’t leave that heavy layer on top,“ she expands. With a jelly-like consistency, the matte-finish lotion delivers hydration through jojoba oil, aloe leaf juice, centella asiatica extract and rice proteins.
Han recommends using Sluff’s system once a week for a deep scrub, but it can also be used every day for gentle exfoliation. Sluff is launching exclusively through its direct-to-consumer channel, sluff.com, but is also looking to potentially partner with retailers like Ulta Beauty or Target in the future. As for its big-picture goals, a „Sluff House,“ or the brand’s modern take on a traditional Korean bathhouse, could also become an eventual reality. For now, though, Han is focused on producing a functional body-care assortment. As she says, „no fluff, just Sluff.“
„I want to take over your shower and I want to make sure that everyone’s actually walking around with clean, soft, smooth skin,“ Han adds. „But really, I want to continue just creating products that don’t necessarily add to the clutter.“
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Ref: https://fashionista.com/2026/05/sluff-korean-bathhouse-body-care-brand-launch
