Tsai - Pure Skin: Discover the Japanese Ritual of Glowing

In the hustle of everyday life, do you ever look around and wish you could have a fresh start? I have.

My parents are from Taiwan, but I grew up in the United States and followed a Western skin care routine, like you may have. I always had good skin as a child and a teen, but when I did have an issue, I treated it aggressively. This was my approach for years, until one day it stopped working.

Seemingly overnight, I developed acute dermatitis. My entire face was covered with red, blistering, cracked, and scaling skinnot even my lips or eyelids were spared. I have always loved meeting new people, but during that time I withdrew from the world around me. I kept my head down and rarely smiled. I just wanted to hide. Desperate to reverse my skin condition, I tried everything: luxury creams, DIY serums, prescription oral and topical antibiotics and steroidsto no avail. It was disheartening to imagine that this skin was simply my new normal.

After graduate school, my work brought me to China twice a month, always with a short layover in Japan. On one of these trips, a friend in Tokyo introduced me to traditional blotting papers that absorbed my facial oil without irritating my inflamed skin. It was the first beauty product I could use without worry. In fact, the gentle sheets seemed to calm my complexion. Fascinated, I went to visit the artisans in Japan who made these beautiful gold-flecked, petal-like papers. I wanted to bring them to women in the United States, and asked how the artisans knew that the papers could be used to absorb oil. They told me that the geisha had been using them for centuries, and even offered to arrange a meeting so I could learn more for myself.

This was the start of an incredible journey that would forever change my approach to skin care, beauty, and life. During the summer of 2008, while pregnant with my daughter, I met my first geisha. I didnt know what to expectin truth, I didnt even realize at the time that geisha still existed.

Suzuka, whose named translates to cool fragrance, floated into the teahouse dressed in a kimonothe light purple exactly the color of wisteriaand wearing the iconic white makeup. She was so outwardly exquisite, so innately joyful, that I nearly cried. Her sublime beauty seemed to light up the room. It was a particularly warm afternoon, and Suzuka and I talked for hours. She told me all about her devotion to Japanese artistry, but mostly I recall that she didnt once perspire even though she wore a kimono. Only her graceful porcelain neck was exposed. Meanwhile, I knelt on my damp, slippery calves, sipped my green tea, and secretly prayed for a gentle breeze. My suspicion that geisha possessed special wisdom was confirmed when she smiled and said, We dont sweat. It would not be elegant.

Suzuka taught me about the Japanese beauty ritual that geisha have loyally practiced for centuries. I learned that the classical Japanese approach to skin care is fundamentally different from what I had grown up with: instead of seeking to look perpetually twenty years old, geisha focus on having the best skin of their lives at any age.

After that visit, I asked my Japanese friend Yuko to help me research why these centuries-old gentle treatments and natural ingredients were still favored by geisha and modern women throughout Japan. She brought me to a traditional apothecary in Kyoto and taught me how to cleanse with camellia oil and mix rice powder with water to make an exfoliating treatment. I returned home with a bevy of mysterious products to try. You can imagine my surprise when, after three years with dermatitis, my face started to heal in just four weeks; after two months passed, my skin was fully restored.

Not only did this new approach to skin care give me my face back, but it also taught me a new way to consider beauty, and my own life. Each week, as my skin improved, I felt more order and balance. For me, adopting this Japanese skin care ritual allowed me to take back control and transcend the pace of the everyday. The experience of touching my face as I cleansed was a reminder to love and celebrate my skin, bringing a sense of calm to my soul. Now caring for my skin is a special moment and meditation, not a chore.

Inspired by my discovery of those delicate blotting papers, I launched my skin care brand, Tatcha, in 2009. The name was inspired by nature, specifically tachibana, the oldest, most formal practice of the Japanese art of flower designing. The name of this minimalist practice translates to standing flower and features only a few meticulously selected stems positioned in the center of a vessel. I chose this reference because it honors the Japanese appreciation for the beauty found in simplicity. As a Western woman and therefore an outsider to this world, I have been fortunate to learn so much about this unique and profound culture thanks to a team of geisha, researchers, and skin care scientists in Japanall of whom have become my extended family. I feel like I have been granted permission to share a secret with the world.

I hope this book helps bring you to an awakening like the one I had. Within these pages, I will introduce you to geisha and the classical Japanese beauty rituals they embody. You will learn why their timeless four-step skin care ritual still comprises the core of every modern Japanese womans beauty regimen. You will discover your own skin type, and Ill help you create a beauty ritual with ingredients tailored to your specific needs.