Sake in Skincare: 6 Brands to Look For

Note: This article contains hyperlinks to products on Amazon and Amazon Japan. As part of the Amazon Associate program, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Sake-based skincare products have been around for a while. Back as far as the Edo era (the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries), it was widely noted that sake brewers, despite working long hours in tough conditions, had rather soft and smooth hands. During that same time, sake baths became popular for maintaining healthy skin. Many say that geisha would go as far as rubbing kasu — the leftover solids from sake fermentation — right onto their faces, although we couldn’t find any evidence documenting this.

If you’re wondering why sake is so good for your skin, it’s because it’s full of amino and kojic acids, the former being a moisture retainer and the second helping with hyperpigmentation. From what we’ve read, the fermentation that takes place during brewing boosts the bioavailability of nutrients, which helps the skin absorb them more effectively; perhaps you can think of this like eating artisanal sourdough bread — the fermentation involved in making the dough helps to partially digest the starches and proteins, making them easier for your system to break down and take in.

Kikumasamune – 菊正宗

This is the popular tried and true brand of the sake skincare world. They have a wide range of products, but their flagship lotion is 日本酒の化粧水 (nihonshu no keshosui), literally “sake toner,” and one of us here at Sake Gate uses this stuff every day! It keeps hands moisturized well during the drier months without being oily or thick like the majority of hand creams would be, and it’s incredibly affordable as well! Here in Tokyo, you can find a 500ml bottle at most drug stores for under 1000 yen: an incredible deal, even considering the relatively lower wages in Japan. It’s even sold in two-packs at Costco. Oh! And it smells like sake and sour bananas, which some don’t like but we think is great.

Hakutsuru – 白鶴

Hakutsuru is one of Japan’s most recognizable breweries outside of the country, and, unbeknownst to many, they have their own line of skincare products! Their equivalent to Kikumasamune’s flagship would be Hakutsuru’s 美肌水 (bihada-sui), or “beautiful skin water,” which also contains hyaluronic acid and various plant extracts. What’s more is that they have a sheet mask in their product lineup as well.

SHIRO

SHIRO is probably better known for it’s rather light and minimalistic line of fragrances, but they also have a large variety of skincare and beauty products, including their sake kasu line, which also includes rice bran. They have a sake kasu lotion, essence, oil essence (the oil being from rice bran), and a sheet mask. At an average price of around 5000 yen (or around 33 dollars) per bottle, it’s not cheap, but it’s not particularly expensive in the world of skincare either.

Fukumitsuya – 福光屋

Another sake brewery, Fukumitsuya has been around since 1625, and their main line of skincare products is called “Amino Rice.” They have hand soap, cleanser, toner, essence, emulsion, and cream.

Kuramotohatsu Nada – 蔵元発 灘

Produced by Ozeki (大関), perhaps the most well-distributed sake producer in Japan and the first Japanese brewery to produce sake in the United States. Their biggest claim to fame is perhaps their “One Cup” sake, which can be found in almost any convenience store (and perhaps all of them). One Cup wouldn’t be our first recommendation if you’re looking to explore the world of sake, but the company’s sheer production volume means they have a lot of kasu to use, and what a better use than in their line of skincare products, which includes a light toner, a milky lotion, a cream, and a facial mask.

Nihonsakari – 日本酒のうるおい化粧水

Our final entry is another sake brewer with rather widespread distribution in Japan: Nihonsakari (日本盛), whose Nama Genshu cans are often seen in convenience stores around the country. Their skincare range includes a large, affordable, 500ml bottle of their sake toner (similar to Kikumasamune) and several lines of creams and serums ranging from relatively cheap toner to luxury-priced night cream.

There are plenty of options out there, and many are quite affordable, so we hope you leave here a little more curious about the world of sake skinare products.