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Many people think the terms “Preventative” and “Anti-aging” mean the same thing; in fact, they are two very different concepts as far as skincare goes. Many women of a certain age—myself included—spent our teens, twenties, and thirties sleeping in our makeup, fluffing off sunscreen, staying up too late, and eating too many processed foods and too few healthy ones.   Then the day comes when we find ourselves in a brightly-lit room with a mirror and are horrified to see the beginnings of tiny lines. Immediately we head to the department store, loading up with every skincare product that has...

The way skincare products are applied could definitely spark an argument however, Japanese beauty has some pretty definite thoughts regarding this subject. Unfortunately, many of us rub our skin while going through our morning or evening skincare routines. Patting is much preferred to rubbing by most Japanese skincare experts—in fact, Japanese women are generally very careful not to rub their skin, even avoiding facial wipes and foregoing rubbing with a towel to dry their face after washing or a shower. Instead of roughly rubbing their skin, Japanese women gently pat their faces dry.   Always Pat or Press When Drying...

In 2019, U.S. skincare sales rose about 15 percent, led by Japanese and Korean-inspired products. The Wall Street Journal reported that in 2019, Japanese beauty sales grew by 19 percent in the U.S. market, with established companies Shiseido and Tatcha ranking first and second in sales. Shiseido’s American business makes up roughly 12 percent of its total sales, representing the fastest-growing region outside of Asia. Among American companies, Estee Lauder has been launching and upgrading products under its Clinique line in an effort to corner more of the American market than Japanese companies.   Two Japanese Beauty Companies Continue to Rank Highest in Sales...

The standards of beauty can differ significantly from one culture to the next, and some of those standards can be pretty extreme—at least to those of us in the United States! As an example, tattoos on the chins and lips of New Zealand Maori women are considered beautiful, as is a heart-shaped face in South Korea (with plastic surgery even being used to make the face appear more heart-shaped), and ear-str­­etching in South America and Africa. Some women in Thailand, Japan, and China have taken to avoiding the sun completely, even using skin whitening products to achieve the pale skin...