[By Janice Walsh]

Although K-Beauty trends are unlikely to vanish from shelves anytime soon, South Korea is no longer the only major Asian forerunner as Japanese beauty is tipped to be the next big thing in the industry.One of the most important things to note about Japanese skincare is that you won’t need a ton of products to achieve great skin, stressing more on quality ingredients than quantity. If Koreans are all about the ulzzang glow, the Japanese prefer supple, mochi-like babyskin which they lovingly call “mochihada” or “rice cake skin.” To help you achieve baby soft skin to rival the ladies from the Land of the Rising Sun, let us count the ways.

Double happiness

The geishas of Gion swear by this step and we should, too. Whether you wear makeup every day or not, double cleansing is an effective way to completely rid your face of impurities. You can either use a cleansing oil or balm and then follow it up with a gentle foaming cleanser.While oil cleansing may be a relatively new concept in the West, it’s been around in Japan for more than 50 years since Shu Uemera introduced it in 1967. There is often a misconception that oil cleansers will add more oil to the skin, but actually they can be the most effective and gentle way to remove makeup and surface impurities.

CHAI LEMON QUARTZ Ultra Soft Facial Cleansing Oil is a 2-in-1 makeup remover and cleanser with camellia oil that gently melts away all impurities including waterproof makeup without stripping skin’s natural moisture, leaving it pure and silky soft, balanced and well-nourished. Follow up with SW1 SAKE RITUAL Sake-Infused Whitening Cleanser, an all-in-one natural dual phase cleanser formulated with rice bran, an age old beauty staple of Japanese tradition. A non-forming, all natural cleanser that starts off as a gel to extract embedded debris, it transforms into a gentle cleansing milk to lift surface oil, before rinsing off flawlessly with water Skin looks and feels purified, fresh, revived, and toned without tightness or dryness, and is suitable for use even on the delicate areas around the eyes.

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Skin conditioning with ‘kesho-sui ‘

Japanese women swear by ‘kesho-sui’ (化粧水)or Japanese facial lotions to improve skin texture to a baby soft suppleness. The consistency of Japanese facial lotion is usually just like water, and usually takes the place of toner in a Western skincare routine. However, they are not astrigent like most common toners and therefore do not sting nor dry out the skin. While toner is usually swiped on your skin with facial cotton, Japanese facial lotion can be applied with hands or cotton, and one is supposed to just gently pat it on to your skin until it’s fully absorbed. Japanese facial lotion locks in moisture to futher enhance the hydrating effects of a milky or creamy moisturizer, which is called nyueki(乳液) in Japanese, to be layered on for optimal skin hydration, a key element that the enviable mochi skincan’t do without.

Kose Sekkisei Lotion（コーセー  雪肌精) is a star product from Japanese cosmetics powerhouse Kose which has gained a legion of trusty fans since its introduction in 1985. A refreshing lotion targeted to enhance skin translucency, Kose Sekkisei Lotion contains skin brightening angelica root and licorice extracts which lighten pigmentation and freckles and refine pore troubles, enhancing skin’s metabolism to prevent dullness and brightens lackluster complexions instantly.

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Supplement from within

A healthy diet and good skincare regimen can take you pretty far when it comes to keeping your skin beautiful, but we could all use a little help here and oral supplements are an easy way to support your already healthy habits. Be it a pill, sachet of powder or a pre-prepared drink, Japanese are huge on supplementing from within for healthy living, medicine for the fair skin tone of mochi skin included.

What’s trending now in both natural health and medical circles is Glutathione, a powerhouse molecule often nicknamed as “The Mother of all Anti-oxidants”. In fact, Glutathione is so pivotal to our health that the level of it in our cells is becoming a predictor of how long we will live! Amongst a long list of health benefits include anti-aging effects on the skin, with visible overall dermal whitening when taken regularly, to impart on tired-looking skin that unbeatable healthy glow of translucent clarity. In addition, newer studies have also demonstrated the superiority of a sublingual (under the tongue) route of consumption over swallowing. If you’re intrigued and wish to find out more, book an appointment and chat with the beauty experts from the SW1 clinic for further details.

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Hydrating with skinboosters

It’s imperative to keep your skin adequately moisturized if you’re gunning for youthful looking mochi skin. In recent years, hyaluronic acid is the hot dermal hydrator that has taken the skincare scene by storm.Hyaluronic acid is able to hold up to a thousand times its own weight in water, thus producing amazing benefits for dehydrated and aging skin, pulling moisture into your skin to give it that plumped up suppleness everyone desire.

Baby Drop Fillers is the latest darling of A-listers looking for a skinbooster that will leave them looking natural yet ‘untouched’ by the hands of time, with smooth enviable contours and baby soft suppleness. A special ‘designer’ needle and baby drops of a skin-boosting, tiny particle size, natural hyaluronic acid filler such as Restylane Vital® and Juvederm Refine® are placed judiciously in selected area(s) requiring treatment, enhancing your skin in a natural manner by maximizing your skin’s inherent potential with the dreaded tell-tale signs of puffiness and unnatural smoothening.

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Medical lasers with an edge

If creams, lotions and potions alone aren’t making the cut to garner you with the kind of results you desire, perhaps it’s time to explore viable options that are based on medical knowledge and backed up by board approved technologies. The highlight of the complexion reviving Baby Skin Program conceptualized by the team of medical beauty experts from the SW1 Clinic is the BB AquaTouch Laser, utilizing a novel 1927nm Thulium wavelength of the patented non-ablative Fraxel technology for faster clearance of pigmented lesions; improving skin elasticity and reducing enlarged pores and wrinkles all at one go. The ultimate skin transformation is completed with LED Red photo-biomodulation therapy, stimulating skin renewal with complimenting Pearl Éclat’s extra whitening boost to revive the glow from within. A comprehensive treatment regime taking that extra mile in the long run, leaving your skin a little less flawed and smoother to the touch, raising the bar of your beauty standard a notch closer to the coveted “mochihada” favored from since the Edo period to Tokyo 2020 and beyond.

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