You needn’t travel to a ryokan in Japan to experience of the most decadent and healthful new beauty practices of the celebrities. Not anymore. Spas that offer the infinite benefits of Sake Spa Baths are popping up everywhere. Hillary Duff recently treated herself to a sake bath spa weekend, and New York Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire is bathing in merlots and cabernets, a similar concept with good results.
These restorative sake bath soaks are popping up in ultra-luxe spas everywhere in the world, and there are even recipes online to DIY your own, but you really MUST experience this in a spa. Exquisite ambiance, complete relaxation, connection with the earth, water, the tranquilo… this is all experienced in your body, but it is your mind that finally quiets for that rapturous moment in time and reaps all the benefits of calm and peace.
In places of the world where whitened and lightened skin have been prized for centuries, as in Japan (meaning only that you don’t do outdoor labor), Sake and Koji are coveted for their many substances that inhibit melanin (the darkening agent in your skin). Sake contains antioxidants called Ferulic acids, possibly having an anti-ageing effect. Ferulic acids in Sake are a powerful UV light absorber, which is the arch nemesis of sun spots, age spots and freckles! It’s common knowledge that in Japan, Sake brewery workers have lovely, smooth, white hands.
Sake, as compared to other adult beverages, has much more moisturizing elements like glycerol, gricerine, (a different glycerol), and those all-important amino acids, that the Merlot baths are being overtaken by the premium sake. It’s going to moisturize your skin like you’ve never experienced. These important ingredients powerfully prevent moisture from evaporating from your skin. A study has found that skin is more moist and retains moisture longer when people have had a Sake Spa Bath than when they have had a normal bath for 5 minutes.
If you somehow aren’t yet convinced, consider that for centuries, geisha ritual would include the use of sake on their skin prior to applying their makeup. And now Sephora even sells a product called “Sake Bath.”
