Kikumasamune Japanese Sake Moisturizing Brightening Skin Care Lotion 500ml

Product Information

Identification of sake extract as a new anti-melanogenic ingredient by in vitro and clinical trials Water, glycerin, butylene glycol, rice ferment filtrate (sake), glutamate, arginine, leucine, ceramide 3, ceramide 6 II, placenta extract, arbutin, Glycyrrhizic acid, soy protein, maltitol, methyl gluceth-10, peg-60 hydrogenated castor oil, hydroxyethyl cellulose, alkyl styrene/acrylic acid copolymer, citric acid, sodium citrate, phenoxyethanol, methylparaben, fragrance Ingredient highlights I absolutely enjoy this product and it has easily become a staple in my dry/dehydrated skincare routine. Even if I run out of my holy grail products, having this massive bottle in my routine will be more than enough.

One thing to note: it’s absolutely enormous (half a liter!), so you can easily use this on your body in addition to or instead of your face. For size comparison, here it is next to a normal 12 ounce beer bottle: Sake is a fermented product made from rice, water, koji, and yeast. Ferments have been all the rage recently, with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (living yeast) extract and Saccharomyces ferment being the two I see the most. While I could not find any clinical dermatology studies done on sake as a ferment in skin, we may be able to glean some understanding into the benefits of sake by examining both ferments and koji (kojic acid) itself. This lotion is easily the most popular Sake inspired product in the Japanese market. They paved the way for other brands that are now confidently formulating Sake into their products.

I saw on reddit that a lot of people really like the kikumasamune products, so I decided to do some research and I saw your blog post right away and I absolutely love you, because I am into diy and have read your posts and formulas and I always learn something new! So I had to see what you thought. I am thinking about skipping these products because I recently bought Mizon snail repair cleanser, toner, essence and cream and I started noticing white heads in areas that don’t usually breakout, plus I have been on tret for awhile and I don’t think it was purging because of the location and it wasn’t typical for my skins purging. Licorice root extract is similarly a tyrosinase inhibitor as well as an anti-irritant - with some studies signalling that it may be able to absorb UVA and UVB rays. It is more effective than kojic acid and some studies put it at 75x more effective than ascorbic acid ( though Dr Dray raises some interesting points regarding the efficacy of L-AA). "The chief constituent of licorice root is glycyrrhizin, present in concentrations that range from 5 to 24 percent depending on the variety of licorice used."² The other half of sake worth discussing, koji (kojic acid) is a skin-lightening agent and antioxidant. It is a tyrosinase (an enzyme that controls the production of melanin) inhibitor, but not as effective as other tyrosinase inhibitors like licorice extract. "In combination with allantoin and other proper ingredients in sunscreen preparations, the mixture can inhibit UV-caused erythema and accelerate wound healing."² Unfortunately, it can also be sensitizing to some skin and create irritation.

Kikumasamune High Moist Lotion contains Japanese sake, ceramide and placenta extract to highly moisturize, soothe and tone your skin. In addition, arbutin is also added to the formula for brightening the skin. More notes: First study comes from Doosan Group R&D, which seems primarily interested in vehicles, construction, electrical, etc., while the second study was paid for by AMOREPACIFIC R&D. Another fungi ferment, saccharomyces ferment, has similar benefits. It is obtained through the fermentation of saccharomyces - a genus of fungi that is known as the baker's yeast - in the presence of metal ions. The yeast is credited with promoting good skin condition and is frequently found in products that reduce redness. So, if you’re curious about using Sake in your skincare routine or about Japanese skincare in general, I suggest you try out this product. Your skin will thank you and you will not be disappointed.From this break down, we can assume that sake contains some sort of very mild exfoliating, humectant, and whitening properties, though it is important to keep in mind that there are no studies that I could find into the benefits of sake when applied topically, so this is all assumptions based on the chemical makeup.

In two weeks, my skin looked brighter and felt smoother, though none of my dark spots had faded. Unfortunately, like most products with ferments, it began to break me out after this time. The good news though is that it doesn't appear to break me out immediately, unlike every other ferment, and the smoothness lasted for a few days after I discontinued use, which means I may try to use it sparingly once my skin heals. Another study show**ed that sake extract inhibited tyrosinase, both in vivo (in a living organism) and in vitro, though it is unclear how many subjects were involved based on the abstract alone.⁶

How to Use:

Full Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol , Rice Ferment Filtrate (Sake) , Glutamic Acid, Arginine, Leucine, Ceramide 3, Ceramide 6, Placental Protein, Arbutin**,** ***Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate (Licorice Root Extrac****t)* , Glycine Soja (Soybean) Protein, Maltitol, Methyl Gluceth-10, Peg-6 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Sodium Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Fragrance.

As I mentioned earlier, I use this product as a toner either by dispensing through the pump or decanting into a spray bottle. Depending on how my skin feels, I use this either in my AM OR PM routine. It just works with any product with no conflicts. Plus it layers really well. These days, I layer it with my IUNIK Beta-Glucan Power Moisture Serum for my Autumn AM Routine. How It Worked Edit! - u/BerdLaw linked me t**hree studies on sake -- one specifically about sake extract. I've linked them all in the sources below. Evaluation of dermatological effects of cosmetic formulations containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae extract and vitaminsFinal report on the safety assessment of human placental protein, hydrolyzed human placental protein, human placental enzymes, human placental lipids, human umbilical extract, placental protein, hydrolyzed placental protein, placental enzymes, placental lipids, and umbilical extract. Kiku-Masamune High Moist Lotion is a Japanese sake-based hydrating toner that I’ve heard only good things about. It took me a while to remember the name without looking it up, but now that I have, I can’t stop saying it in my head. Kiku-Masamune. It’s like poetry.