More Information About Natural Skincare
Natural Japanese Skincare
Japanese skincare built on ingredients Japan has relied on for generations: sake lees and fermented rice, gettou from Okinawa, binchotan charcoal, kumazasa bamboo and camellia seed oil. The collection brings together Japanese skin care products from specialist makers, from a Kanazawa sake brewery to an Okinawan skincare brand, with cleansers, lotions, serums, oils, masks and creams for face, hands and body.
Japanese Skincare Ingredients
1. Sake lees and fermented rice
Sake lees, or sake kasu, are what remain after sake is brewed. Fukumitsuya, a sake brewery founded in 1625, builds its FRENAVA skincare collection around a fermented rice solution, sake lees and sake yeast. Fermenstation makes its unscented facial soap from organic rice lees, and the Sake Kasu Milk Bath + Face Mask can be sprinkled into a bath or mixed into a paste for the face.
2. Gettou (Okinawan shell ginger)
Gettou is a relative of ginger that has been used in Okinawa for centuries, in both food and daily life. Ruhaku grows its gettou organically on Hamahiga Island and builds a full routine around it, from cleansing oil and soap to lotion, night oil and sheet masks: see the gettou skincare collection.
3. Binchotan charcoal
Binchotan is a dense charcoal valued in Japan since the Edo period. Morihata's is made from ubame oak by artisans in the Kishu region of Wakayama Prefecture, the birthplace of binchotan, and is blended into the Morihata Binchotan Charcoal Cleansing Mask.
4. Kumazasa bamboo
Kumazasa is a variety of bamboo that has long been used in Japan for very dry skin. The Sasawashi Kumazasa Balm combines its extract with beeswax and olive oil, with no dyes, fragrance or preservatives.
5. Camellia and yuzu
Camellia seeds have been part of Japanese beauty since the Heian period, when they were used to wash hair. Chidoriya Pure Camellia Oil is a single-ingredient seed oil for the face. Yuzu, the Japanese citrus, goes into the Wacca Hand Cream alongside shea butter and olive oil.
A Simple Japanese Skincare Routine
A Japanese skincare routine usually layers light products rather than relying on one heavy cream: cleanse, apply a watery lotion, then finish with a serum, cream or oil.
1. Cleanse
Start with an oil or cream cleanser, such as the Gettou Reset Cleansing Oil or the FRENAVA Cleansing Cream, then follow with a facial soap like Fermenstation's.
2. Lotion
In Japan a lotion is a light, watery toner applied right after washing. Try the Gettou Balance Lotion, the FRENAVA Balancing Lotion or the Japanese Imperial Rose Skin Toner, distilled from the leaves of the hamanasu rose.
3. Moisturize
Finish with a serum, cream or oil: the FRENAVA Balancing Serum or Emollient Cream, the Gettou Night Repair Oil, or a few drops of camellia seed oil.
Questions About Japanese Skincare
What do Japanese people use for skin care?
Many traditional Japanese skincare ingredients come from food and craft: rice and sake lees from brewing, camellia seed oil, citrus such as yuzu, and plants like gettou in Okinawa. Routines usually layer a gentle cleanser, a watery lotion and a moisturizer rather than one heavy product.
Is everything in this collection made in Japan?
Most of it is. Ruhaku is made in Okinawa, FRENAVA by the Fukumitsuya brewery in Kanazawa, Morihata binchotan in Wakayama and Fermenstation soap in Iwate. The exception is Chidoriya, whose products are made by hand in the USA using traditional Japanese ingredients. Each product page says where it is made.
Where should I start?
A trial set is the easiest way in. The Ruhaku Skincare Trial & Travel Set, the Chidoriya Skincare Trial & Travel Set and the FRENAVA Skincare Trial Set each include a small version of a full routine.