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Whatever your skin type, there are Tatcha products for you: The Water Cream for oily skin, The Dewy Skin Cream for dry skin, The Indigo Calming Cream for sensitive skin, and essentials for normal and mature skin, too. Tatcha began with founder Vicky Tsai’s own skin. Years of long hours and constant travel in a finance career left her face red, cracked, and reactive, as she describes in her book Pure Skin. On a trip to Japan, a friend introduced her to blotting papers, which geisha used along with camellia oil, or tsubaki, to keep their skin luminous and healthy between performances. In Kyoto, she learned to mix rice powder and camellia oil into an exfoliating treatment, and her skin began to heal. Tatcha was founded to share these Japanese botanicals in gentle, effective formulas. No two faces are the same, so the collection has grown to suit every skin type: Dry, normal, oily, sensitive, and mature. What are the basics of skincare? Every face, regardless of skin type, needs three basic products: A cleanser, a moisturizer, and a sunscreen. Skin is the largest organ in the human body, and its chief function is to act as a barrier that keeps moisture in and irritants out. Protecting that barrier is the main goal of skincare. A cleanser removes dirt and makeup, a moisturizer helps seal the barrier, and a sunscreen protects against overexposure to ultraviolet rays. The American Academy of Dermatology lists gentle face washing and daily sunscreen among the habits that benefit just about everyone. Three products might be all you really need. Depending on your skin’s needs, you may also want products that balance its oil and water content or add nourishment with active ingredients. Figuring out your unique skin type can help you get closer to the skincare routine that’s best for you. What’s my skin type? Most skin types describe how much oil your skin produces: Dry, oily, or somewhere in between, which is often called normal or combination. Sensitive and mature skin are two more types that can overlap with any of them. A dermatologist can confirm yours, but if you’d like to figure it out on your own first, we recommend two simple tests. The bare-face method Wash your face gently, pat it dry, and leave it bare. After 30 minutes, check your cheeks, chin, nose, and forehead for shine, then check again after another 30 minutes. If your skin feels tight, it’s likely dry. If you see shine on your nose and forehead, it’s likely combination. If your cheeks are shiny too, it’s likely oily. The blotting paper method This one is quicker and only requires blotting paper. At midday, gently pat a sheet on different areas of your face, then hold it up to the light. If the sheet picked up little to no oil, your skin is likely dry. If it shows oil from your forehead and nose, your skin is likely combination. If the sheet is saturated, your skin is likely oily. These two tests cover dry, oily, and combination skin, but there are two other types you’ll probably recognize if you have them. Sensitive skin reacts more often than other skin types to triggers like weather or irritating products, usually with redness or irritation. Mature skin shows visible signs of aging, from wrinkles to hyperpigmentation.  Which Tatcha products are best for my skin type? Once you know your skin type, building a routine gets easier: You keep the same basic steps and tailor each one to what your skin needs. Here are our top picks for each skin type. For normal and combination skin The term “normal” is a bit of a misnomer here—skin that happens to be oily is just as normal an occurrence as skin that isn’t. But for the sake of the term, normal faces aren’t prone to an excess nor a dearth of face oil, but they also don’t often tend towards dryness. This skin type isn’t exempt from these conditions, but they occur less often. Normal skin needs what every skin type needs: A cleanser, a moisturizer, and of course, a sunscreen. Overexposure to ultraviolet radiation not only can damage the skin and cause premature aging, but it’s also the number one risk factor for skin cancer. The Silk Sunscreen SPF 50 is suited for all skin types: A zinc oxide filter reflects the sun’s rays, while niacinamide and hyaluronic acid work in tandem to hydrate skin. It’s not just clutch for normal skin types, but for all skin types. For oily skin When we talk about “oil” in the context of skin, we’re usually talking about sebum, the waxy substance our skin naturally produces. Sebum is secreted by glands tucked within hair follicles, according to the Cleveland Clinic, and it helps fortify the skin barrier. When the skin produces too much, it can cause acne. Oily skin produces excess sebum across the face, while combination skin produces it mainly in the forehead, nose, and chin, with drier cheeks. Both share the same goal: Keep oil in check without stripping skin. Start with a clarifying cleanser like The Matcha Foam Cleanse, a gel that whisks into a fine foam to decongest pores and reduce excess oil without stripping skin. Then choose a moisturizer that hydrates without adding shine. Tatcha’s The Water Cream is an oil-free gel-cream with Japanese coix seed to smooth texture and refine pores, plus wild rose and heartleaf to visibly tighten pores. For combination skin, its lightweight texture hydrates the drier cheeks without weighing down the oilier zones. One plastic surgeon recommended The Water Cream to Allure magazine specifically for oily skin: “I love the transformation when you apply this hydrating, oil-free water cream.” For dry skin Dry skin produces less sebum than other skin types and loses water from its outer layer, so it has a harder time holding on to moisture. More than normal or oily skin, it can feel uncomfortable at times, even painful. Symptoms of dry skin can include tightness, roughness, itchiness, flaking, and cracking. Causes range from age and genetics to dry climates, indoor heating, harsh soaps, and over-washing. The goal for dry skin is to replenish moisture and support the skin barrier that holds it in. Between cleansing and moisturizing, a face mist can add a layer of hydration. Luminous Dewy Skin Mist is a fine mist with hyaluronic acid, red algae, and squalane that you can use before makeup or spritz over it during the day. Lighter products like serums or The Essence can also be patted onto skin for an extra layer of hydration. A rich cream will benefit dry skin most of all. The Dewy Skin Cream is ideal for dry skin and anyone who wants a moisture boost: Hyaluronic acid and red algae hydrate and visibly plump fine lines, while biomimetic squalane seals in moisture to keep skin hydrated longer. For sensitive skin Sensitive skin is a trickier skin type. Despite its prevalence (some studies suggest that around half of adults report sensitive skin), it is more complicated than oily or dry skin. Sensitive skin is characterized by “epidermal dysfunction,” or a higher rate of skin reactions compared to other skin types. These reactions range from dryness to redness to rashes, and they’re often triggered by weather, pollution, sun exposure, or skincare products. Adding new products is riskier for sensitive skin than for other skin types, so it helps to think less about products and more about ingredients. Plenty of ingredients have been shown to calm reactive skin, and some, like Japanese indigo, are medicinal botanicals with long histories of use. (During the Edo period in Japan, samurai wore a layer of indigo-dyed cotton beneath their armor to help heal injuries.) Indigo contains tryptanthrin, which helps flush away toxins and irritants, and indirubin, which supports the skin’s natural barrier function. Tatcha uses Japanese indigo in its fragrance-free sensitive skin formulas, including the buttery-soft Indigo Cleansing Balm, which removes makeup without stripping moisture, and The Indigo Calming Cream, which pairs indigo with colloidal oatmeal, an FDA-designated skin protectant, to relieve redness and itchiness. The cream is endorsed by the National Eczema Association. For mature skin Unlike any other skin type, mature skin happens to every one of us eventually, and it can be oily, dry, combination, or sensitive at the same time. In your late 30s and early 40s, the signs of aging begin to appear: Skin loses volume and elasticity, and wrinkles and age spots emerge. In Japan, aging is viewed as a gift rather than something to dread, and the goal is healthy-looking skin at any age. Everyday habits matter as much as products: Not smoking, limiting stress, and eating a nourishing diet. Daily sunscreen matters more as you age, since your risk of skin cancer increases. Choose a cleanser that doesn’t tug on your skin or dry it out. Tatcha’s two-in-one The Camellia Cleansing Oil melts away makeup and sunscreen while moisturizing with antioxidant-rich Japanese camellia oil. Since skin holds on to moisture less easily as it ages, a rich cream helps: The Ageless Enriching Renewal Cream includes peony to diminish the look of fine lines and wrinkles and gardenia fruit extract to address the loss of elasticity. The eye area and neck often show aging first and are easy to overlook. The Ageless Revitalizing Eye Cream pairs peony and honeysuckle extracts to improve the look of elasticity, lines, and wrinkles, and the Ageless Revitalizing Neck Cream visibly firms skin over time and smooths the look of lines and crepiness on the neck and décolletage. The skincare market is huge, with plenty of options for every single skin benefit you could think of. By identifying your skin type, you can narrow them down to the ones that work for you.

For holidays, birthdays, special days and ordinary ones—consider gifting a skincare set to someone in your life (and use this guide to choose the one they might like best). At first blush, the beauty lover seems like an easy person to check off your gifting list: The possibilities are nearly endless. But while there may be many options to choose from, not all of them make for perfect presents.Makeup can be tricky, unless you know exactly what the receiver wants. A hair product would be an unexpected gift, and for good reason—shampoo simply doesn’t make for an exciting unboxing. By contrast, masks or moisturizers are always in demand, but how do you choose the right moisturizer, for example? Where do you start?Allow us to suggest the skincare set. There is no better beauty gift than a Japanese skincare set, There is no better beauty gift than a skincare set, which can offer them them a chance to explore and discover what they like before committing. Sets allow for the giftee to try multiple products in one package, seamlessly swapping them in and out of their current regimen as needed. (Many items in a set also come perfectly sized for travel.)It also offers a rare opportunity to try a few items from one skincare range. Most companies formulate their different products to work in tandem with others in their collections, providing higher dosages of a particularly key ingredient, or ordering steps so that each application enhances the next one. Tatcha offers a range of sets suited to specific skin types, or that sample some of the brand’s bestsellers, or that simply showcase powerful Japanese botanicals.On the other hand if you give a full routine, you’re giving more than just a handful of lotions: You’re giving a ritual. That short but significant part of one’s day can become more than just about self-presentation; it can become about self-care. Here are a few suggestions, based on skin type. A skincare gift for dry skinThose who deal with dry skin on the regular tend to crave creamy, hydrating skincare products. The Plump & Dewy Skin Trio packs hydration into a three-step skincare routine that begins with a gentle cream cleanse and ends with a rich moisturizer with a serum that plumps in between steps. These three products are Tatcha dry skin bestsellers, comprising a variety of classic ingredients like squalane and hyaluronic acid paired with the brand’s signature active complex. A good starter skincare routine—or gift for anyone in need of dew. A skincare gift for oily or combination skinFor friends on the other side of the skin spectrum, the Clarified & Balanced Trio assembles a simple starter pack for oily or combination skin. Whereas dry skin describes a lack of sebum production, oily faces have too much of it, and often benefit from products designed to tweak skin’s natural water and sebum reserves into balance. This oil-friendly routine swaps out a serum for The Texture Tonic, which earns its name from a suite of fruit-extracted alpha hydroxy acids that even out and smooth skin. A skincare gift for mature skinSome have oily skin, combination skin, or dry skin, but everybody develops mature skin, and it’s important to follow a skincare routine designed for aging skin. Due to our natural biology, our skin loses its ability to retain water, nourishment, and structure as life bears on. Collagen, elastin, and other proteins that maintain our skin’s integrity aren’t as readily replaced as they once were. Supercharged skincare designed with mature skin in mind helps fill in the gap. The Ritual for Firm Skin contains four steps starting with a luxe oil cleanser, followed by Tatcha’s Hadasei-3 proprietary concentrate of Japanese superfoods with essential amino acids, a wrinkle-smoothing serum, and a rich-yet-weightless gel cream to seal it all in. A skincare gift for skincare loversEverybody has them in their friend group, if they look hard enough—the skincare obsessive. They won’t be impressed by a run-of-the-mill moisturizer. Instead, show them something truly impressive: A range of multi-tasking treatment serums. Enter the Serum Discovery Trio, a sampling of some of Tatcha’s most potent skincare technology: A botanically powered antioxidant serum that gently resurfaces the skin, a brightening powerhouse serum, and their latest addition The Silk Serum, which uses silk extract, plus upcycled cranberry extract and sea fennel forretinol-liker skin-smoothing. A skincare gift for a groupMeet the Hydration Obento. The latter word is a cheeky reference to Japanese box lunches, but this particular obento isn’t edible. Rather than karaage or katsu, this box contains Tatcha’s bestselling moisturizers crafted with timeless Asian botanicals. There’s one for each major skin care concern, from oiliness and dryness to firmness and redness. If you’re stuck on a gift for more than one friend, consider splitting up this obento of luxurious skincare into four little gifts. A skincare gift for a mom Chances are your mother, or a mother you know, already uses a moisturizer. But there’s a good chance they only use one moisturizer. A gift like the Day & Night Moisture Duo not only provides them with two of the brand’s most popular formulas, but it offers the benefits of using separate creams for day and night as it’s a good idea to use two daily moisturizers. A skincare gift for a makeup loverThere are skincare gifts for the makeup enthusiasts in your life, too, especially at Tatcha, where so many of the brand’s offerings are designed to prime and prep the skin for optimum makeup wear. There’s no need to decide between Tatcha’s popular face mist, cult favorite Liquid Silk Canvas primer, or lip mask, because the Prime & Glow Trio contains all three. Whether the giftee is a concealer fanatic or lip look afficionado, they will certainly appreciate a set that helps them achieve their very best application, every time. A skincare gift for the one who has it allRemember those Japanese obento lunch boxes? Imagine opening yours to find a seven-step skincare ritual, and you’ve just imagined the Luxury Obento. This platinum-standard gift for the ultimate skin whiz not only includes the brand’s most iconic skincare staples, from The Camellia Cleansing Oil to the The Rice Polish: Classic, but it also tosses in a few high-tech newcomers—including a retinol alternative and an eye cream that melts into skin for radiant eyes. In a way, this is a hard gift to give because it’s so tempting to keep it for yourself.

Two of our most beloved formulas, the Indigo Calming Cream and the Indigo Overnight Repair, are often compared, but they differ in a few notable ways. The Indigo Calming Cream is a velvety cream with colloidal oatmeal that soothes dry, irritated skin, while the Indigo Overnight Repair is a serum-in-moisturizer with ceramides that strengthens the skin barrier. The two also work best together. In Japan, skin is considered a conduit to the world: It perceives temperature, touch, light, and even time. It then sends those messages to the brain to distinguish how we feel and think. Our brain and skin work in tandem, but this relationship can lead to trouble when stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol come into play. Pair that with external stressors like pollution, sun radiation, and poor nutrition, and you might have a damaged skin barrier. The skin barrier’s primary job is to keep moisture in and harmful substances out (including allergens, irritants, and pathogens). When it’s damaged, skin is out of sync, showing signs of dryness, redness, sensitivity, itchiness, flakiness, dullness, hyperpigmentation, and fine lines. This is where Tatcha comes in. The Tatcha Institute, founded in Tokyo in 2010, has long studied skin barrier repair. Keep reading to see the two products that calm and visibly relieve damaged skin. Stressed Skin Solutions Irritated and stressed skin can occur frustratingly easily. Thankfully there are a handful of Tatcha products that are designed to strengthen skin just as quickly. Two of our most beloved products for this very task are the Indigo Calming Cream and the Indigo Overnight Repair, but which is right for you? Read on as we uncover Tatcha Indigo Cream vs. Overnight Repair. The Indigo Calming Cream Transform stressed skin to strengthened skin with the newly updated Indigo Calming Cream. Our beloved fragrance-free cream has been proven to calm visible irritation and relieve itchy skin, thanks to Japanese indigo and colloidal oatmeal (an FDA-designated skin protectant). What sets this innovative cream apart from others (and even the Indigo Overnight Repair) is the addition of colloidal oatmeal, which has helped earn it the coveted National Eczema Association seal of approval for its ability to soothe irritated, eczema-prone skin on the face and beyond. Whether as a face cream or spot treatment, The Indigo Calming Cream offers a luxurious way to heal visibly stressed or eczema-prone skin for a calmer, stronger skin barrier. 100 percent of panelists in a clinical study saw an improvement in softness and suppleness immediately, an improvement in the appearance of the skin barrier after one week, and an improvement in visible redness and evenness of skin tone after four weeks. The emotional benefits of using the new Indigo Calming Cream are worth noting, too. In a clinical study self-assessment questionnaire, 86 percent of panelists noted that the product left them feeling like their skin was healthier after just one week. Benefits  Soothes dry and irritated skin Relieves redness and itchiness  Long-lasting hydration Texture  Velvety rich cream Use  Morning and night Ingredients  Japanese indigo Colloidal oatmeal Hadasei-3 The Indigo Overnight Repair Tatcha’s award-winning Indigo Overnight Repair is a fragrance-free, soothing serum-in-moisturizer treatment. The formula, which includes Japanese indigo, ceramides, and hyaluronic acid, provides an immediate improvement in moisture, smoothness, and radiance. What truly sets the Overnight Repair apart from other treatments is the formula’s ability to balance the microbiome, helping to cultivate good bacteria so skin performs at its optimal, symbiotic level. The cushiony treatment is ideal for evening use, where the luxurious application can be used as an act of mindfulness and sensorial skincare moment, helping to bring comfort and peace of mind while unwinding at the end of the day. In clinical studies, 100 percent of users saw an improvement in their skin barrier strength within four weeks. Benefits  Visibly calms irritation and redness Strengthens skin barrier Balances skin’s microbiome Texture  A cushiony cream Use Night only Ingredients  Japanese indigo Ceramides  Hyaluronic acid Mondo grass root A Skin-Soothing Ritual While it’s tempting to pit Tatcha Indigo Cream vs. Overnight Repair—the two products truly work best together. Here’s our suggested daily ritual that’s proven to soothe, calm, and visibly repair skin. Morning Ritual Purify with The Indigo Cleansing Balm Polish with The Rice Polish Plump with The Essence Nourish with The Indigo Calming Cream Evening Ritual Purify with The Indigo Cleansing Balm Polish with The Rice Polish Plump with The Essence Nourish with The Indigo Overnight Repair

At Tatcha, we are truly honored to care for your skin. We aim to put the ‘care’ back into ‘skincare’ with each and every Tatcha product—and our collection of nutrient-rich, highly-effective face creams are some of our proudest innovations. One question we often receive, regarding two of our best-selling products, is: Tatcha Water Cream vs Dewy Skin Cream—which is best? There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to the Tatcha Dewy vs Water Cream debate—the only correct answer is selecting the ideal moisturizer for you and uncovering the unique cream that can deliver the optimal level of hydration for your specific skin type. And that’s a question we can answer. Read below to uncover the differences between The Water Cream and The Dewy Skin Cream—and discover which option is right for you to unlock your healthiest-looking complexion yet. Why We Love The Water Cream Launched in 2017, The Water Cream took the world by storm, offering a refreshing burst of hydrating nutrients and pore-refining botanicals for balanced, healthy-looking skin. The Water Cream features wild rose and leopard lily to balance the skin, decongest pores, and minimize excess oil production. Plus the water-burst cream formula also includes our Hadasei-3 Complex, which includes Uji green tea to detoxify and prevent premature aging, Okinawa red algae to seal in moisture, and Akita rice to nourish and hydrate. Appearance-wise, the cream imparts a subtle, shine-free glow. Those with combination and oily skin will adore The Water Cream for its pore-reducing, balancing, and lightweight qualities. The unique formula delivers deep hydration, without leaving skin sticky or greasy, too. Oily skin types tend to shy away from face moisturizers because they can feel greasy or have used a hydrator in the past that led to clogged pores. But finding a lightweight moisturizer, like The Water Cream, balances oil and can make skin not only feel better, but also look healthier. In consumer studies, 95 percent of users found their skin looked brighter, more hydrated, and had a healthy-looking glow after four weeks of usage.  Why We Love The Dewy Skin Cream Making its debut in 2019, the emollient-rich Dewy Skin Cream was specifically launched to give skin a natural glow and pair beautifully under makeup. The rich, moisturizing cream plumps skin for a dewy, healthy-looking appearance–thanks to antioxidant-packed Japanese purple rice, hyaluronic acid, and our superpowered Hadasei-3 Complex (to restore healthy radiance). The rich texture increases hydration, radiance, plumpness, and overall texture and firmness. When applied, the cream gives the skin a dewy and radiant glow. The Dewy Skin moisturizer is wonderful for a variety of skin types, but those with dry skin will treasure this cream. Dry skin needs extra emollients, ceramides, and peptides (all are present in this cream), which soften the skin’s surface and drench it with hydration. In consumer studies, 100 percent of users noticed an increase in hydration and an improvement in radiance and plumpness in two weeks of consistent use. How They're Similar  Both moisturizers are complexly hydrating and contain a handful of similar ingredients, including hyaluronic acid and our treasured Hadasei-3 Complex. They both also have a whisper of 23-karat-gold for a subtle, lit-from-within sheen. How They're Different There is a noticeable and intentional difference between the two moisturizers. The Water Cream is specifically designed for combination and oily skin, helping to target oil production and balance the skin. While The Dewy Skin Cream is ideal for drier skin types looking for more intense nourishment and hydration. Your preference between the two might also depend on your locale or time of year. If you live in an area of extreme humidity and heat or a cold, dry climate, your choice of moisturizer might alter depending on the skin’s needs at that time. For example, those with oily skin might need the extra hydration and support from The Dewy Skin Cream during extremely chilly, dry weather. Of course, both work beautifully under makeup, but they do have different finishes. The Water Cream has a pore-refining, light texture and imparts a more matte-like finish. While The Dewy Skin, as you might expect from its name, provides a dewy, radiant glow. No matter which moisturizer you select, we encourage you to take a few moments of mindfulness while applying your cream during your daily regimen. Having a moment of mindful meditation paired with your skincare routine can elevate the routine into the extraordinary.

Ever noticed how good you feel after spending time in nature? Our founder, Vicky Tsai, learned that being connected to nature not only lifts your mood, but has a proven impact on your overall well-being. On her visits to Japan, she fell in love with the Japanese ritual of shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, which is scientifically proven to decrease stress, lift mood, and improve concentration simply by engaging the five senses in nature. Through extensive research, forest science experts like Tatcha partner Dr. Qing Li of the Nippon Medical School in Tokyo, have found that seeing greenery, hearing birdsong, tasting wild vegetables, touching tree trunks, and smelling the forest’s natural aroma can set off a myriad of health benefits. After studying shinrin-yoku and feeling its effects first-hand, our founder Vicky Tsai and team set out to discover whether these benefits could translate to skincare. How Forest Air Affects the Body While each sense plays an important role, research shows that 50% of the benefits of forest bathing come from “smelling,” or breathing the forest air, which is rich in phytoncides: airborne compounds emitted by trees’ essential oils to ward off mold, bacteria, and insects. When these compounds are released into the forest air and inhaled into the body through the lungs, they’re proven to boost immune function, decrease stress, lower blood pressure and provide a relaxing effect. “This scent stimulates the brain through the olfactory nerve, and has a relaxing and calming effect on the brain, and also has a positive effect on memory,” Dr. Li told us. But, exactly how do phytoncides accomplish all this? Studies have shown that forest bathing for three days and two nights increases what are known as natural killer cells: immune cells that defend against bacteria, viruses, and tumors, as well as anti-cancer proteins. “If you take a forest bath once a month, your body will always remain at a high level of immune function. This is very important preventative medicine,” says Dr. Li. Forest Bathing Benefits at Home But you needn’t visit the forest to obtain these benefits. Through his research, Dr. Li has found evidence that inhaling essential oils or applying them to the skin can reduce stress levels and increase natural killer cell activity and anti-cancer proteins in the cells. “I used a humidifier to diffuse [hinoki] essential oil evenly into the air in a hotel room, and had the subjects stay in the room for three nights,” says Dr. Li. “The results showed that inhalation of phytoncides increased immune function, decreased stress hormones, and improved sleep.” Informed by Dr. Li’s research, we created the Forest Awakening body care collection. Rooted in the proven power of trees, all three formulas contain our essential oil blend of hinoki, hiba, and cedar, to deliver the benefits of forest bathing to your home. Our Hinoki Body Wash, Milk, and Oil are each steeped in the citrusy wood scent of hinoki to awaken your senses and calm your mind while cleansing, smoothing, and moisturizing your skin from head to toe for holistic care.

Off the southernmost tip of Japan’s mainland lies Okinawa, an archipelago of wondrously clear water, white-sand beaches, and lush, verdant vegetation. Aside from its natural beauty, Okinawa is home to some of the most abundant coral reefs, incredible wildlife, vibrant blossoms—and some of the healthiest people in the world. Recognized as a Blue Zone, Okinawa is famed for the health, vitality, and happiness of its inhabitants, who happen to enjoy some of the longest average lifespans in the world. How the Ocean Shapes Okinawan Health and Beauty The astounding longevity of its citizens can be attributed to their activity—Okinawa is the birthplace of karate—as well as their plant-based, nutrient-rich diet. Surrounded by water, Okinawans have much respect for the ocean and its bounties, and make use of its many offerings in their daily life, from omega-rich fish in meals to red algae in their religious ceremonies. Known as a “treasure from the god of the sea,” this same red algae is a key ingredient in many of our skincare formulas, like The Dewy Skin Cream. With the belief that what is good for the body is good for the skin, Okinawans have included many other local oceanic finds in their beauty rituals as well. What Is Kucha Clay? One such beauty secret includes kucha, a clay found only in the central and southern seas of these islands. This soil was blessed by marine life, enriching it with minerals and nutrients five million years old. For centuries, Okinawan women have cherished this clay for its superb oil-absorbing properties, using it as a hair powder or face mask. We chose this beloved kucha clay to act as the base of The Clarifying Clay Mask, our sensorial face mask that will help return harmony to your skin. How Tatcha Uses Kucha Clay We paired the clarifying and oil-absorbing properties of Okinawa kucha clay with gently exfoliating Japanese konjac (a starchy root vegetable) and warming Japanese volcanic ash to create this innovative clay mask. The Clarifying Clay Mask works in three minutes to help your skin let go of excess oil and sebum, leaving behind only essential moisture. Ideal for oily and combination skin, this mask helps reveal a complexion as clear and beautiful as Okinawa itself, with smoother texture, visibly tighter pores, and a soft, hydrated feel. We hope this timeless offering helps transport you to this wondrous island, if only for a few moments.

What words would you use to describe your ideal skin? Some common responses might include “soft,” “smooth,” or “plump”—the same words you would use to describe a baby’s skin, and that’s not a coincidence! When you were born, your skin contained the highest levels of all of the skin-improving substances you commonly see on a skincare label: hyaluronic acid, collagen, elastin, and more. As you age, your body’s production of these substances slows down and the evidence can show up as fine lines, dryness and loss of firmness. What Is the Skin Barrier? The best way to delay the visible signs of aging, like wrinkles, lines, and dark spots, is to focus on enhancing your skin barrier function. Tagawa-san, our Chief Scientist at the Tatcha Institute, explains what your skin barrier is in a way that’s easy to visualize: “Skin consists of regular stratum corneum and intercellular lipids: imagine a brick structure and cement that exists in between, and this structure is strong enough to resist even physical stimulation.” This outermost layer of skin acts as your first line of defense between your body and the environment, like sun and pollution. While the natural process of aging can weaken your skin barrier function, environmental factors can accelerate this damage. “When the skin’s barrier function is impaired by external or internal stress, water is evaporated, and skin becomes sensitive.” Your skin naturally renews this layer every 28 days, bringing healthy, new cells up to the surface. Our proprietary complex found in every formula, Hadasei-3™, helps enhance the skin barrier function with lactic acid, amino acids, and other various components naturally produced in the complex’s fermentation process. When used every day, Hadasei-3™ can improve the epidermal skin barrier function to help reveal healthy-looking skin. How Hyaluronic Acid & Squalane Support the Skin Barrier Your skin barrier is also responsible for retaining and regulating moisture levels in the skin, and performs best when it is properly hydrated. According to Tagawa-san, “your skin barrier function is not something special; it’s a natural function that your body has to maintain your skin in ideal condition.” In infancy, your body fed your skin barrier nourishing materials like hyaluronic acid and squalane. A moisture-binding molecule that helps skin retain moisture, hyaluronic acid gives skin a hydrated, plump appearance. To maintain the hydration levels in the skin barrier for proper function, squalane, a saturated and stable hydrocarbon, works as an emollient and seals in moisture. How The Dewy Serum Replenishes Your Skin Though your skin produces less of these materials as you get older, you can replenish the skin barrier by incorporating these native-to-skin ingredients into your daily skincare ritual. Inspired by the Japanese concept of shinsei, which translates to ’new birth,’ Tagawa-san created The Dewy Serum, to restore and replenish the key components of healthy skin, lost over time, to help it perform at its optimal level. This serum uses 73% Hadasei-3™ to gently sweep away dull, dead skin cells, then replenishes your skin with hydrating and plumping hyaluronic acid, and emollient squalane derived from sugarcane for healthy, renewed cells in your skin barrier. Together, these three ingredients return to your skin the supple, bouncy radiance lost over time. Our whole collection of Dewy formulas, including The Rice Wash, The Dewy Skin Cream, and Luminous Dewy Skin Mist, harness the hydrating benefits of these native-to-skin ingredients to help renew your skin’s barrier function.

Over the decade that I’ve been visiting Kyoto and interviewing geisha, there has been one consistent answer to my question, “what’s the most important part of your skincare ritual?” The answer is invariably, bintsuke, a soft wax that she melts in the palms of her hands and massages onto her skin as the last step of her skincare ritual. In addition to creating a smooth poreless canvas to help her makeup last all day, it protects her skin from makeup and pollution while holding moisture in the skin, all at once. I loved the idea of a protective barrier between skin and makeup but having tried the bintsuke wax myself, dreamt of recreating the benefits with a natural material that felt featherlight on the skin instead of waxy. Our scientists at the Tatcha Institute in Tokyo were intrigued by the challenge and so we began researching weightless ingredients that would act as a second skin. We found our dream ingredient in silk. If you have ever worn silk and wondered why it feels as if you’re wearing nothing at all, it is because silk proteins are biosimilar to our own skin’s proteins, down to the amino acid composition. The key to turning silk extracts into a second skin would be marrying three silk extracts together to capture all of the benefits of this wondrous natural material - from holding in essential moisture, to protecting the skin from impurities. After years of refining the formula, The Silk Canvas was born. The first thing I noticed when I began using it was how effortlessly makeup applied, how dramatically it improved color payoff and how my makeup lasted all day whenever I used it - even becoming water resistant. After one week, I was even more delighted to see the texture of my congestion-prone skin changing from not being directly exposed to the oils and pigments in my makeup. For the first time in my adult life, I feel like I have truly foundation-optional skin. It’s our honor to bring you this treasure, evolved from the geisha’s beloved rituals. Spun from the best of both worlds, The Silk Canvas is skin-protecting and makeup-perfecting for healthy, lustrous, filter-finish skin. I hope you love it as much as we do and can’t wait to hear about your results too! Always, Vicky The Silk Canvas, $52