Skin Secrets From Japan’s ‘It’ Girls

While Korean beauty may have stolen the spotlight in recent years, Japanese beauty (or J-Beauty) has long been considered the epitome of skincare products. Japanese girls take their skincare just as seriously as K-beauty enthusiasts and have been up on their skin regimes for decades.

This is no surprise when you consider the many ancient Japanese traditions and ingredients that have laid the foundations for modern beauty exports. And unlike the Korean 11 step beauty routine, much like their style, Japanese skincare is all about keeping things simple. Below we break the 3 core steps of the Japanese beauty ethos, which despite its simple execution is guaranteed to deliver maximum impact

Never Forget To Cleanse

We get it, it might be late, and all you want to do is get into bed, but there’s no excuse for skipping taking your makeup off. This one step is arguably the most important in a Japanese girl’s routine and rightfully so too. Even if you don’t wear make-up, things like pollution, free radicals and city grime can affect your skin, which means there’s no point layering on multiple all-singing, all-dancing serums, creams, moisturisers and acids if your base canvas is still covered in the day’s grime.

（２）Incorporate an Oil

A lot of us are scared of oils and we get it, if you have oily skin, the idea of putting more oil on your face seems counterproductive, but despite popular belief all skin types can benefit from facial oil. Though a facial oil alone won't work to deeply hydrate the skin, they do lock in moisture, meaning an oil is best used as the last step in your skincare routine in order to help your moisturiser work that bit harder and lock in moisture.

（３）Exercise

While we’re all well versed on the health benefits of exercise, growing evidence suggests it may also have a positive impact on our skin and could be responsible for evening out skin tone, flushing toxins and calming puffiness. It’s no wonder then, that Japanese girls prioritize exercise throughout their day.

Ishihara Rimi’s Skincare Must-haves!

The Japanese actress Ishihara Rimi is the epitome of the J-beauty glowy skin ideal. To find out how she gets her skin looking so good, we did some digging to find out her Japanese skin secrets.

(1) Moisturise, Moisturise, Moisturise

After drinking lots of water and cleansing our skin, the art of moisturising is probably the step that is going to have the biggest impact on your skin. In fact, in J-beauty routines, moisturising is considered the crucial step that can, fundamentally, have the most immediate impact on your complexion. For centuries women in Japan have patted lotions onto their skin - instead of rubbing, which enables the product to really penetrate the skin.

（２）Beauty Tools

Japanese skin care is all about rituals and traditions, and women in Japan treat their beauty routine as part of the day where they get to treat themselves. For Ishihara Rimi, that is with a steam facial. A face steamer can work to unclog pores, remove toxins and essentially help to deep cleanse the skin before you go in with your other products. Plus, it’ll give you that spa-like feeling at home, what’s not to love?