It seems like just yesterday we were wiping our carefully curated beauty stash clean and replacing it with K-beauty products. What can we say, the lure of “glass skin” was just too enticing. But now there’s a new skin-care king in town: J-beauty. As you might have guessed, it refers to Japanese beauty practices that have been passed down from generation to generation. But what exactly is it and do we need it? We caught up with Vicky Tsai, the founder of Japanese beauty brand Tatcha, for some intel.
What’s the main difference between J-beauty and K-beauty?
“I’ve often found that a culture’s approach to skincare and beauty mirrors its food. Japanese skin care is like sushi—very few ingredients, crafted by expert hands in a simple arrangement. The ingredients they use also rarely change. Korean food is bold and flavorful and fun, just like K-beauty.”
How do you begin a J-beauty routine?
“With a proper cleanser. In the U.S., cleansing is often a throwaway step and often the first one to go at the end of a long and exhausting day. In Japan, they recognize that purifying and polishing the skin each and every day is at the heart of any skincare ritual. You can pile on expensive moisturizers or treatments, but they won’t do their best work without pure, fresh skin.”