Preventing rather than curing is the key to beauty, right? In this article, we will explore why you should consider Japanese skincare! 🙂
You may know someone obsessed with Japanese beauty. Perhaps you even know someone who requests certain products when they hear about your trip to Japan. Over the past few years, Japanese skincare has spread far beyond just the Japanese market.
Japanese skincare formulations are renowned for their simplicity as well as their natural ingredients. Why is it so simple, you may ask?
Well, first off, Japanese women are known to have youthful-looking skin well past their youth. It is often hard to tell their age, just like Korean women. They achieve a similar goal through their skincare rituals and diet — more youthful-looking skin.
But of course, there is no doubt that every woman is beautiful and unique, c’mon we all are regardless of our skin problems. You may wonder, however, what’s the secret to their flawless skin? In short, it entails layers of skincare and, of course, a healthy diet.
Japanese skin care products are mild and gentle on the skin, preventing wrinkles and fine lines. Keeping this routine is not very difficult, and you can get there even if you use local products.
In short, Japanese skincare is loved by skincare enthusiasts around the world for a variety of reasons.
Let’s now briefly look at it 🙂
Key reasons:
A lot of people believe that J-Beauty is one of the best skincare brands of all time for these following reasons:
*Ingredients
The ingredients in Japanese skin care products differ from those in Western products, and many of them offer more benefits. Indeed, Japanese women use a variety of products to hydrate and layer their skin with moisture.
Aloe Vera, camellia oil, green tea, and hyaluronic acid are some of the most important moisturizing and anti-inflammatory ingredients in Japanese skincare. In addition, these components create a barrier on your skin that keeps moisture in and bacteria out.
For centuries, these ingredients have been used to brighten, hydrate, and exfoliate the skin!
*Minimalist (simple)
Japanese beauty is characterized by its minimalist philosophy. Simple steps and simple ingredients make up their rituals.
Compared to Western or Korean skincare products, Japanese skincare products tend to have simpler ingredient lists. There is a significant difference between Japanese skincare formulations and those from other countries because they do not include botanical extracts and various ingredients together as part of a single product. J-beauty focuses on functionality and simplicity for long-term results. The key is simplicity.
Indeed, a winning combination of Japanese skincare combines simplicity and nature.
*Effective
Japanese skincare products are known for their natural, time-tested ingredients as opposed to Korea’s innovative and always-evolving products.
J-beauty has an innovative mindset, intricate rituals, and sustainable ingredients that work effectively on the skin.
*Affordable
Japanese skincare products are available in a wide range. The good news is that you don’t have to seek out luxury brands to get high-quality products. In Japanese products, you’ll find a wide range of high-end brands that are very affordable and effective!
The Japanese market has some of the best skincare products, including Shiseido, a high-end, high-quality brand, as well as Hada Labo, an affordable and well-liked brand which I love and will review soon.
*Dry Sensitive Friendly
The Japanese beauty product market emphasizes hydration and moisturization over aggressive cleansing. Their products are packed with nourishing oils. This makes it attractive for people who suffer from dry and sensitive skin!
Perhaps trying a product full of new ingredients could be fun for you; one that could benefit your skin. However, there is also a higher risk of skin irritation due to a larger number of potential irritants. Because there are so many ingredients to rule out, you might not even be able to tell which ingredient broke you out or inflamed your skin. Because of this, you might find Japanese skincare formulations more forgiving and easier to work with, especially if you have sensitive skin.
Japanese skincare routine
Japanese skincare aims to achieve that ultra-soft skin texture known as mochi-hada (rice cake skin). Their skincare routine emphasizes moisturizing and smoothening products that nourish the skin to achieve softness. There are still a few steps to the Japanese skincare routine, but this is better than Korean skincare because there are fewer steps.
Let’s say it’s a simplified version of Korean skincare. Let’s look at it 🙂
1. Morning Skin Care Routine
- Cleanse gently to help remove dirt and bacteria from the skin. The Japanese use a double cleanser to further remove impurities
- Apply a softener (toner): Often, cleansing is not enough to remove all dirt and residue from the skin. Toners remove residue, tighten pores, and restore pH levels to the skin. As a result, the following skin care products are better absorbed by the skin.
- Lotion or Essence: As a water-based product, the essence contains a high concentration of active ingredients. Applied after toning, it hydrates the skin. Essences are lighter than serums and moisturizers and address issues such as dryness, fine lines, and redness.
- Serum: A serum is a targeted skin care product that contains a high concentration of active ingredients. Choose a serum based on your skin concern. For hydration, buy a serum containing hyaluronic acid. To treat fine lines, hyperpigmentation, and uneven skin tone, choose serums with vitamin C, collagen, or retinol.
- Rich moisturiser: Japanese skincare routines include moisturizers that form a barrier on the skin and lock in moisture and other ingredients.
- Eye cream: There is not enough care taken for the delicate under-eye area with lotions, creams, and moisturizers. To protect and nourish the area around your eyes, you need an eye cream.
- Sunscreen UV protection is a serious concern for Japanese women. As daily sun protection is more important in Asian countries, sun-care products tend to be more elegant on the cosmetic front. Sunscreens with these characteristics tend to be less greasy, more suitable for daily use, and have higher Sun Protection Factors (SPFs). They tend to have better sunscreen protection for the skin.
2. Night Skin Care Routine
- Cleansing oil (to remove makeup); they usually cleanse once a day (in the morning) to prevent the skin from drying out. At night they often use cleansing oil to remove makeup and impurities accumulated during the day.
- Serum to hydrate and fight specific skin concerns.
- A moisturiser to hydrate the skin for the night.
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As you can see, a typical Japanese morning routine includes facial wash, lotion, cream, and sunscreen. In the evening routine, cleansing oil is added to remove makeup and a nourishing serum replaces sunscreen.
The steps can also be adapted or skipped according to what you think your skin needs. For instance, your skincare routine can be enhanced by adding a face mask.
Skincare routines in Japan are based on layering. They believe in layering products to nourish the skin from cleansing to moisturizing. In J-beauty, gentle double cleansing and double moisturizing are often recommended as skincare steps. Of course, it’s not a must but many Japanese women are incorporating it into their routines.
Why should you consider it?
As a whole, Japanese beauty products contain fewer chemicals, which are kinder to the skin and strip away fewer natural oils. I’m sure women everywhere (including myself) want pure, clean, radiant, glowing skin. Skincare regimens using high-quality, natural ingredients are the easiest and most effective way to achieve a gorgeous, natural glow. And what better option than Japanese skincare? Even Western brands are taking note of the Japanese beauty industry’s pioneering practices!
Japanese skincare not only does it focus on prevention, but with its effective simple and minimalist ingredients, you can be assured that you are in good hands. This is why there has been an explosion in the Japanese skincare market over the past decade. In part, this is due to the Japanese discovering natural skincare treatments and formulating them into high-quality products.
In the case of dry skin and sensitive skin, Japanese skincare is the best option. Aside from the simple and effective ingredients, the easy steps to follow make it easy for you to achieve naturally glowing skin without putting much effort into it.
Asian skincare over Western skincare?
After reviewing and analysing a variety of research articles on Japanese skincare, we can say that Japanese skincare is amazing. If you’ve never tried it, it is a lot different from Korean and Western skincare. It’s a whole different culture and mindset in terms of skincare.
Different skin care systems and belief systems In Western and Korean skincare, you find a lot of emphasis on the skin. Unlike Americans, Koreans and Japanese don’t see skin as something to treat. They see skin as a part of the body to be taken care of accordingly.
Related:
*Korean skincare vs Western skincare
What to take into consideration:
The quality and structure of skin differ between ethnic groups. According to studies, Asian, Black, and Caucasian skin types have different moisturizer absorption rates, water loss rates, water barrier sensitivity, and visible signs of skin ageing. It means that a product’s effectiveness can vary greatly depending on the ethnic group. The formulation of their products differs across different markets to suit different skin types.
A few studies have compared different types of “Asian skin” to see how much variation there is. As an Asian, your skin is likely to respond better to Asian skincare products. The formulation of these products is based on skin concerns rather than different skin types. As a dark skin woman, I can testify that the products do work for women of colour as well and you do not have to be of Asian descent to use the products. 😉
Ultimately, if you are looking to take your skincare routine to the next level, Japanese skincare may be the answer!
It is not only simple and effective but also affordable! And there’s something for every skin problem including people with dry sensitive skin 🙂
