Eric Nam Spills All of His Skin Care Secrets

To say that the most recent season of Traitors was an emotional roller coaster would be an understatement. We’re still reeling from the season 4 finale, when winner Rob Rausch knocked out fan favorite Eric Nam with a sneaky act of treachery. With his perfectly styled hair and airbrushed-looking skin, Nam, a K-pop star and TV personality, became one to watch as the show progressed. (The first comment I made when I started the season was, “Wow, Eric has perfect skin!”) The stress from even just watching Traitors would have been enough to send most anyone’s skin into a downward spiral. But somehow, even in the face of a heartbreaking betrayal, Nam maintained a spotless glow. Though he might not have won this season of Traitors, he did win over skin care enthusiasts nationwide.

Nam said his game plan for the show, even after a mid-season switch from Faithful to Traitor, was to remain authentic. “I didn’t want my introduction to mass America to be one of a lying, deceitful Traitor,” says Nam. “But if I were to ever come back, I would play the game differently.” If the opportunity for an All-Stars season of Traitors ever presents itself, Nam hopes he can start as a Traitor and shock viewers with some strategic moves of his own. Until then, fans can look forward to hearing Nam’s voice acting debut as Aang in the upcoming film The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender. Below, ELLE caught up with him to talk skin care holy grails, Korean hair styling secrets, and hard-boiled eggs.

What is your skin care routine? Give us all of the details.

Well, first off, I always do my skin care routine twice a day: morning and night. I start with a double cleanse using a cleansing balm by Then I Met You and the La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+ Gentle Foaming Cleansing Oil. Then I use the Celimax Ji Woo Gae exfoliating pads before going in with the Torriden Dive In Serum. For moisturizers, my newest find is the Dr. Reju-All Barrier Cream and, if I’m feeling really boujee and I get a good discount on it, I use Baume 27 by Cosmetics 27. And for lips, I use a balm from a Korean brand that is just making its way to the States called Nonfiction. It’s a lot and I don’t do all of this every day, but when I feel up for it.

Do you have a holy-grail product?

The COSRX Ultra Light Invisible Sunscreen. It’s my absolute favorite.

What was it like getting ready every day on set? Was it stressful? A little spooky?

It was stressful. I think the hardest part was that we had to wake up super early and stay up super late. If you look closely throughout the season, Rob and I look increasingly worse because we’re not sleeping. The Traitors have to stay behind, filming everything in the turret, plus shooting the additional B-roll of us walking around the castle. We then have to wake up with everyone else.

All Traitors contestants are responsible for their own skin prep and glam. How much time did they give you all to get ready?

Yes, we do everything ourselves. Basically, we get up, get ready, have a horrible breakfast, and then it’s straight into challenges. So there isn’t much time at all.

Eric Nam and Rob Rausch on the set of Traitors season 4.

Clips of a few cast members eating hard-boiled eggs at breakfast went viral numerous times across social media. Have you seen the clips, and what did you think about the food in the castle?

There’s just a bowl of cold, wet hard-boiled eggs that everyone is sticking their hands in. If you saw me eating that, it’s because I desperately needed protein. There was smoked salmon but I didn’t even know about it until the end of the season because everyone would eat it so quickly. Every day I was like, Where are my rations? But then, with all of that bland food, they randomly imported passionfruit to this remote castle in Scotland. What’s going on there?

You’ve interviewed some of the biggest K-pop stars in the world on your podcast. What have you learned from them about skin care?

Diet is very important. When I eat right, my skin gets better. Also, in Korea, people are very serious about going to the dermatologist and getting treatments. I know some of the K-pop girls have some of the craziest contraptions to keep their skin looking good.

What are some of your favorite treatments to get in Seoul?

Honestly, I have no idea what they do. I just close my eyes and let them work.

Even after crazy missions on Traitors, your hair still stayed intact. What’s the secret?

Growing up, nobody knew how to do Asian men’s hair because it’s extremely thick. But as I got older, I found treatments. One of the biggest tricks that a lot of Asian men use is called Korean Down Perm—it’s a relaxing treatment that helps lay your hair down on the sides.

To style, I usually use wax. And depending on the look I’m going for, I’ll mix it with a curl cream or a gel. Curl cream gives it a softer look, and gel usually gives it a harder cast. Then, I lock it all in with a finishing hard spray and my hair will literally not move. To get everything out, I use conditioner to loosen it up, then go in with shampoo. I just told you all of the secrets of Korea, by the way.

You recently released your music video for “How the Fire Started” starring Rob Rausch and Maura Higgins. What was it like filming that?

We shot the video the day after we filmed the reunion. So after I finished Traitors and got stabbed in the back, this song was the perfect representation of what happens when you give somebody your heart and they rip it out, throw it on the ground, and run it over with a UPS truck. So it was the least they could do, but we all had a lot of fun.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.