In no other country on earth are cosmetics and personal hygiene taken for granted as in Japan. Eight-year-old girls learn at school how to care for themselves and are taught a wide variety of cleaning and bathing rituals. Skin care is an inseparable part of culture and is held in high esteem. While scientists in the western hemisphere have to prove again and again with elaborate studies that indulgent indulgence in creamy creams and fragrant oils causes, among other things, an increase in the body’s defenses, the Japanese and Koreans trust this quite intuitively: beauty is health and vice versa. An irrefutable truth that in Asia is as natural as breathing. With mindfulness and conscious concentrationto the everyday rituals – one of the basic Far Eastern attitudes that originate from Buddhism – every care step becomes a small ceremony.
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TAKE TIME
Despite time pressure, deadline pressure, extreme demands at school, university and work, or precisely because of this – Koreans, Japanese and increasingly Chinese women are countering the constant sensory overload and the resulting stress with conscious breaks. You press the stop button, you take your time. Daily. For herself, her skin, her body, her hair.
face massage
Apply a cream “just like that”? Asian women would never think of that! You combine this with a small massage to activate the energy points on the face. If you would also like to expand your skin care routine: use your index and middle fingers to make small circles and apply gentle pressure from the center of your forehead to your temples; then from the tip of the nose to the root, press lightly there, from the nostrils along the cheekbones to the temples, around the mouth towards the cheekbones. Press lightly in a pulsating motion along the arches of the eyebrows from the inside to the outside. Finish by stroking from the chin to the ears with the outside of the hands.
Scientists from the cosmetics company Shiseido have proven how clever and important this is with concrete numbers: Under stress, our brain sends such negative signals that the skin ‘s barrier function decreases by 20 percent. A few minutes a day are enough to escape the hamster wheel. You don’t have to care for your eyelashes with 100 strokes of the brush like the Japanese do.
RITUAL OF CLARITY
Asian women treat themselves to an intensive cleansing ritual every day – they have an average of four more products in their bathroom than we do for this alone. You know that cleaning is a prerequisite for the effectiveness of any subsequent care. They see the double strategy of pre-cleaning and deep cleaning as a matter of course in order to remove both fat- and water-soluble dirtremove. But also to regulate skin fats, sebum and scales and to maintain the pH value of the skin. To do this, balm or milk is first gently applied with the fingertips, massaged in in circular movements and gently removed with a sponge or cloth soaked in lukewarm water. This is followed by the same game with foam or gel. The Koreans are particularly careful: never tug and pull the sensitive complexion. They swear by “splashing” to rinse off! Means: scooping a lot of lukewarm water with the palms of your hands in your face. Depending on the skin’s needs, facial tonic is then dabbed on to soothe, clarify or balance.
Incidentally, neither Seoul nor Tokyo believe in excessive peeling, which is mainly practiced by American women. Asian women firmly believe that the barrier function of sensitive skin suffers and the skin loses too much moisture. In Shanghai, Beijing and Xi’an, however, a traditional peeling made from the finest granules of mussel shells is used weekly. Mixed with sesame oil, this pearl powder has been used for smoothing and firming since imperial times.
Stay flexible
SKIN TRAINING
Applying the care becomes a workout at the same time. First, the skin is moistened with a lotion: This softener is patted in intensively and acts like a lock for the subsequent care. According to the Kanebo study, around 95 percent of Japanese women use a softener. Serum, emulsion and/or cream then cover it like a delicate protective layer and lock in the moisture in the skin. All products are basically worked into the skin with different massage techniques – sometimes stroking, sometimes kneading. Always vertically up, along the muscles.
Lifting-Akupunktur
In the classic texts of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) it is written that it is possible to mobilize the resources from within in such a way that the aging process can be postponed. For a facial acupuncture, a few needles are first placed on the body to allow the Qi to flow freely again. Up to 60 extremely fine needles (0.12 mm) are used for the actual facelift. The regulation of energetic blockages creates the push for the metabolism and the hormonal balance. Significant changes are already apparent after 6 sessions. After 12 sessions, the effects are considered permanent.
The massage improves blood circulation in the skin, nutrients are transported better, faster and more numerously into the skin and muscle cells. Korean women also like to use small jade stones that they gently move over the skin. The traditional healing stone, theused in medicine to relieve the liver, kidneys, spleen and stomach, radiates balancing energy, gives inner balance, serenity and is said to have a decongestant effect. During a Japanese facial massage, certain energy points, the “tsubos”, are activated. It is mainly carried out after the evening cleansing, preferably with the night cream. It is a matter of course for Asian cosmetics companies to always supply massage instructions with their care products, which allows the Qi or Ch’i (Chinese), Ki (Japanese) and Gi (Korean), i.e. the energy, to flow again.
STAY FLEXIBLE
The basic concept of Asian culture, which can be discovered everywhere – whether in architecture, design or fashion – also applies to cosmetics. While we Europeans, especially in Germany, like to approach things practically, pragmatically and ingeniously, Asians rely on change, transparency and flexibility. Basically the model oak versus bamboo. For the beauty rules, the principle is called “layering”. For care alone, South Korean women use at least six to seven products, often including two serums – one for pigment spots, one for moisture – that are applied one after the other. Indispensable as the last step: light protection – it is a must for your light, fine-pored skin. No Japanese woman leaves the house without one. Korean women are now overdoing it: they wear UV protection indoors too.
SOUTH KOREA
Beauty insiders rely primarily on South Korean cosmetics: “Hallyu”, the Korean wave, which originally only meant K-Pop music and brought us the Gangnam style , is also constantly flooding in cosmetics
the shores of the western world. Products from the Sulwhasoo label , known for their packaging design reminiscent of traditional ceramics, contain plant extracts and medicinal herbs such as ginseng and white peony root, which is native to Korea. Sulwha-soo already has a very successful boutique at Bergdorf Goodman in New York. Cosmetics experts put it this way: South Korea is the new France and is around twelve years ahead of the USA when it comes to cosmetics technology.Perhaps you are carrying the results of this boom with you: the BB or CC Creams. 1967 by the German dermatologist Dr. Christine Schrammek developed it as a healing ointment after operations, Koreans grabbed the idea and refined it into what is probably the world’s most successful beauty product at the moment.
Protect the skin properly
ALWAYS EXTRA LIGHT PROTECTION
Why are hardly any care creams used in Asia that already contain a sun protection factor? Cosmetic care rituals are designed to relax, nourish and pamper the skin with targeted ingredients and the most luxurious texture. UV filters have no place in this. Because physical light protection filters rarely change the consistency of a cream for the better, synthetic ones unnecessarily burden your skin. Therefore, an extra product is always used, usually a light, transparent fluid that only contains the high protection factor. On top of that, a light (often transparent) powder that is enriched with hyaluronic acid or silk and also protects against UV rays with pigments. It also mattifies the skin and conceals imperfections. Very young Asian women in particular have recently been struggling with this.
At the end of the day, after intensive cleansing, attention is also paid to the body: For example, if it rained on the way home from work (pollutants!), Korean women in particular immediately take a shower and let clear water run over their skin. The stress rolls off them symbolically. Afterwards they swear by the massage with a dry linen cloth, which is a ritual handed down from the palaces of the Joseon Dynasty. Today, the cloths are usually moistened with essential oils or tea preparations, which are chosen depending on the mood. Three times a week, or at least on weekends, people dive under “Sheet Masks” in China, Japan and Korea. These fleece masks made of silk, linen or special paper are richly soaked with soothing essences and care substances, e.g. from rice,
PRESERVE INSTEAD OF CORRECTING
Restoring the balance, maintaining the positive instead of later corrections are the pillars on which proven Asian rituals are based. A millennia-old healing method from traditional Chinese medicine stands for this like no other – acupuncture. Today it is also used specifically against wrinkles and is becoming increasingly popular with us: stimulants instead of facelifts or holistic rejuvenation instead of botox. Health is beauty. Maybe also a reason why Asian women up to about 50 hardly have any wrinkles. You don’t even know upper lip wrinkles! However, the traditionally high value placed on beauty care brings other advantages to the Far East: nowhere else is research so innovative andCombination of proven natural and high-tech active ingredients so highly developed. Above all, we still know the Japanese luxury houses such as Shiseido, Kanebo and Kosé. But China is also catching up. Years ago, L’Oréal brought the best-known Chinese beauty label, Yue Sai, into its home. Wei Brian, an expert in Eastern herbal medicine, is conquering the teleshopping world with her labels Wei East and Wei Beauty – she comes to us with ginkgo and green tea via HSE 24.
