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40 Reasons Why Japanese Women Look Forever Young

34. They wear skin-friendly clothes Ever wondered why some clothes could be so dirt cheap? Most times, they are made from a blend of cotton and… Simi - September 15, 2018

Anyone who has ever visited Japan can attest to how beautiful the country is, the fantastic food and, at least to foreigners, the ‘odd’ culture. Japanese culture revolves a lot around etiquette and beauty. Japanese women somehow always manage to look young regardless of how old they may be. A lot of it revolves around some aspects that are strengthened by their culture, but a good portion is also thanks to modern beauty products. This isn’t very groundbreaking since the Japanese have long been deemed some of the healthiest people on earth. They have the lowest obesity rates in the developed world.

These beauty products aren’t just modern ones. Ever since the early ages of the Japanese civilization, botanists and doctors alike discovered a multitude of different remedies for the aging malady. With different sorts of foods, physical activity, herbs, and algae, Japanese women are seemingly immortal and don’t have a wrinkle on their bodies until very late in their lives. This all stems from a stoic culture of self-preservation, but these remedies help a lot. By adding some of them to your beauty routine, you can improve your appearance, health and everything else that’s even remotely related to aging. The secret is out.

Here are some of the impressive ways they manage to do it:

1. Azuki and Wakame kelp

Amongst the myriad of natural remedies Japanese women use to treat their skin is Azuki. It’s a special kind of beans that contain a multitude of minerals and vitamins that have a beneficial effect on the skin. Those effects have multiplied a thousand fold if a person uses them ever since an early age. And Japanese women add Azuki to their beauty-retention regime ever since an early age. No wonder they’re so youthful.

In addition to Azuki, there is also the Wakame kelp factor. Unlike Azuki, Wakame kelp is a famous kind of algae that can be found all around the Japanese coastline. It’s harvested and sold in its natural form, and Japanese women use it as a part of their daily beauty treatments. Scrubbing sessions every morning turns the skin smooth, healthy and dramatically improves flexibility and blood circulation.

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2. Drinking Green Tea

Green tea originated from East Asian countries during the 16th century and has been popular with the rest of the continent ever since. It’s considered one of the healthiest beverages in the world – thanks to its high nutritional content and ability to speed up the body’s metabolism. This helps to keep the skin tightened, clear and naturally beautiful.

This property also holds staves off obesity and unnecessary weight gain but works a lot better with reduced intake of sugar and fat-packed products. In addition to which, it contains several compounds to help the body fight against diseases like cancer and all kinds of infection. All these together help a young, fit-looking body.

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3. Oral hygiene

In Japan, everyone, including women, has an early instilled culture of oral hygiene. While most of us in the western world focuses on brushing our teeth, Japanese women take these to a whole different level. Ever since an early age, they drink all kinds of tea which works wonders for their teeth and oral cavity. Due to this frequent consumption of liquids, they never have food leftovers between their teeth. This alone decreases the number of cavities and inflammations they experience.

Additionally, the Japanese have a healthy, but somewhat frugal diet. Fish, rice and other simple dishes comprise the majority of Japanese diets. Because these foods contain little to no sugar, they don’t cause dental problems that many western women experience on a daily basis. Japanese women are taught to preserve their oral health from an early age and candy isn’t popular in their country. These factors all add up to make their teeth spotless.

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4. Investing in camellia oil

If you haven’t got the memo just yet – Japanese women pay a lot of attention to their looks. And they don’t do it from a superficial perspective. Instead, they invest in comfortable old age. The best way to achieve these, according to them, is to treat your body with natural remedies and reap the benefits of everything you administer. One of the most popular remedies for hair treatment is camellia oil, and Japanese women use a lot of it.

Camellia oil is an all-natural treatment for hair. It doesn’t only moisturize your strands, but it also increases the volume and adds a substantial amount of shine to it. Camellia oil can also repair split ends and reduce sun or salt-water damage. Japanese women use camellia oil ever since a young age and continue to use it on both their hair and skin for an extended amount of time. It pays off.

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5. Consuming Fermented Foods

Fermented foods used to be popular in the 70s before falling off the map with a lot of people in the Western world. However, the popularity of foods like yogurt and kimchi remains incredibly high in Japan and much of East Asia, eg. Indonesia.

Kimchi, for instance, has been extensively studied and found to vastly improve colon health and lower cholesterol levels in the blood. Since they also promote the growth of healthy bacteria, they also improve gut functioning, which corresponds with healthy skin. The same research found it to have anti-aging and anti-oxidative properties which no doubt contribute to Japanese women’s flawless skin.

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6. They love eating seafood

Despite better known for the controversy they cause, as a result, no other country in the world is known for its love of seafood better than Japan. And with good reason, too! Seafood, often neatly packaged in attractive pieces like sushi, has a myriad of benefits. It’s a slimming food, meaning despite making you full, more energy is spent breaking it down than the amount absorbed by the body.

It’s also very low in cholesterol and high in protein – helping to build healthy muscle while getting rid of unhealthy fat at the same time, since it’s low in fat, too. This helps in promoting healthy heart functioning and keeping the skin smooth.

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7. Eating Smaller Portions

One thing most Americans don’t realize is that, as compared to the rest of the world, they have they use the biggest plates. This may sound silly to a layman, but a 2010 study carried out by Stanford found a very strong correlation between plate sizes and the amount of food eaten.

You may already have guessed it, but most East Asians don’t use the same kinds of utensils we use in the West, to begin with. They use small bowls which promote them eating much smaller portions, helping to keep off the obesity epidemic that’s affecting much of America today.

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8. Eating while on the go is discouraged

One thing about Japanese culture is that it’s incredibly strict about what you can and cannot do at that time. Going against any one of these rules calls for severe punishment and a lot of rebuke from your peers and family. One such rule is multitasking while eating.

Eating is almost sacred in Japan and is rarely done in combination with anything else. Eating while watching TV, eating while working, eating while walking or eating while doing anything that’s not breathing is heavily looked down upon. It’s an unhealthy habit that many people have, and they don’t even realize it.

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9. They eat their food slowly

Gluttony is another vice that’s indeed admonished by the Japanese culture. Like all things Japanese, there’s a tight lid on how much one should eat. Eating a lot of food isn’t necessarily a problem lots of people take asking for seconds as a compliment. Instead, eating too fast.

Eating fast has been linked to many problems plaguing people in the Western world. Bloating, which can result in a lot of stretch marks over time, is one of these. As a result of which, weight gain likes to creep in because you won’t feel satisfied as fast, and invariably ask for more food.

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10. They walk, a lot

Visiting Japan, you’ll be stricken by how much of their days are spent walking rather than in private cars. To be fair, the country has a very convenient and developed public transit system, which encourages a significant number of people to walk to use the trains and buses rather than drive themselves there.

From a young age, the children are also urged to walk themselves to schools which could be kilometers away rather than be driven there. Unlike America, where going to get groceries from the Walmart next door requires revving the engine, walking there isn’t a problem for a Japanese woman.

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11. They also bike around a lot

The popularity of bikes in the country is also another very striking factor, as well. Once again, this is keeping in mind the fact that a lot of the nation’s roadways are developed to support a large number of bike commuters.

They don’t just ride around their bikes as a form of exercise – getting to work, going to visit a friend, visiting the grocery store; a lot of it is a combination of biking and walking around really, As you might have guessed, this kind of culture encourages a pretty healthy individual, on average. When combined with other factors like healthy eating, the result is astonishing.

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12. Healthy Cooking Methods

Healthy food is great and all, but it’s only as good as how you cook it. What’s the point in eating lettuces and cucumbers all day if you’re going to deep fry them in a skillet in saturated fats anyway?

How the Japanese cook their foods is an essential component to their anti-aging superiority. For one, they don’t use large amounts of fat – they are relatively conservative. Second, they would rather eat raw food and preserve its nutritional content. Poaching and roasting foods is also a lot more common than frying. Braising, which involves browning whatever ingredient you use first then slowly cooking it while partially covered with either water or broth is also very common in recipes.

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13.Practicing Martial Arts

We won’t get into the stereotypes too much. Not as many Japanese people know martial arts as the movies lead people to believe. However, being able to protect yourself is one of the cornerstones of Japanese culture.

Unlike lots of traditions that encourage women to be submissive, the Japanese are conducive towards allowing women to become warriors or otherwise develop physical strength. The key to being fit is, after all, fitness. The more you practice for flexibility, and exercise various parts of your body, the better you promote your cardiovascular and overall health. An extra benefit is weight loss, which is almost always welcome.

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14. They love hot spring baths

In Japan, soaking yourself in a hot spring has been a treasured pastime for thousands of years. It’s another one of those things that are deeply rooted in their tradition, its health benefits backed by an oral history of benefits. More recently, however, research has uncovered a lot more benefits than they could have guessed.

Hot springs, spa therapy, mineral baths, and onsens are currently known to be incredibly beneficial to health. Therapeutic benefits accrued from using them include relaxing the skin and promoting the respiratory system. The waters have also help to alleviate symptoms of various chronic diseases like diabetes and gout. It’s excellent for the heart.

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15. They eat healthy desserts

A Japanese dessert is different from what most people’s idea of a dessert stands as in the West. Cakes are just as popular among the among the youth as they are in America, but they aren’t eaten in nearly the same proportions or at the same times

Dessert isn’t a normalized term. They prefer to eat fruit at the end of the meal rather than pile on more unhealthy stuff to fill their bellies. When affordable sugar hit the coast of Japan in the 1860s, the country went into a crazy frenzy and what resulted were interesting spin-offs of Western foods. Mochi, daifuku, and dango are interesting examples. Portioning is another significant difference here, too.

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16. Their skin cleansers are much gentler

Japanese women actively avoid strong chemicals and products that contain them. Products that are lower in alcohol levels and lean further towards natural ingredients like cocoa butter are much preferred over their artificial alternatives.

Cleansing the skin is an essential part of keeping it healthy. It acts to both stay away from bacteria from getting into your pores (which could potentially cause nasty breakouts) and gives it that subtle glimmer that we all love to have. They most often do it just before they go to bed to get rid of the dirt that accumulates on the skin all day. The gentler, the better – this will naturally minimize the appearances of wrinkles on your skin.

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17. Ditch the toner for a skin softener

We’ve all tried skin softeners at some point. They work wonderfully to keep your skin extra moisturized and give it a supple glow. Japanese women tend to prefer skin softeners because they are enriched with nutrients which are responsible for hydrating the skin.

One of the advantages of using skin softeners over toners is that they seal in the moisture thereby giving the skin a smoother glow and that lovely skin we all want to achieve. On the contrary, toners are known for drying out the skin and giving it a somewhat dehydrated look that also encourages the development of wrinkles. When it comes down to it, most Japanese women will tell you that skin toner are the go-to product for moisturized and nimble skin.

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18. They love to use collagen-rich products

Japanese women are known for their favor of collagen-rich products. Collagen-rich products are readily available as they are found in almost every store in Japan. Some restaurants offer collagen foods and drinks which are incredibly delectable. Besides, you can also get the facial masks, gloves, and supplementation.

However, the use of collagen may be a craze. No research shows that including collagen in your meals is an effective method of keeping your skin healthy. Regardless, Japanese women trust collagen products. Since they are primarily known for taking special care of their skin, endorsing the use of collagen products should be a must have for any woman seeking vibrant skin.

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19. They use anti-aging cream, in moderation

As you may have noticed, one of the foundations of Japanese skin care is keeping the skin moisturized. Those that to understand better than most that keeping the skin highly moisturized is by far the most efficient way of keeping it looking healthy. And nothing excels in hydrating the skin better than anti-aging cream.

Your skin starts to look aged when the cells can no longer reproduce as much as they used to (among other factors!) This happens thanks to oxidation. The cells wear themselves out and can no longer work as efficiently. Proper anti-aging cream prevents this from happening, so long as it’s not overused.

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20. They like to get regular face massages

After a tough week of work and running errands, taking a nap on the weekend seems like the best way to spend it. Japanese women, on the contrary, take this time to treat themselves to facial massages. Massages revive circulation. Consider going to a masseuse to have a refreshing feel afterward. Apart from improving flow, massages also slow down the development of wrinkles and fine lines.

When done regularly, massages tend to tighten and tone. You have the option of using a face massager if going to the masseuse is inconvenient for you. A good massager has rollers that are specially made for everybody curve, including arms, stomach, and legs. Consider giving the massages a get you feeling revitalized and fresh.

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21. Genetics helps them out, too

It would be dishonest if we were to say they manage to keep looking young and healthy thanks to their life choices along. Whereas these do play a significant factor in any case, their genetics also play a role.

Asians are generally small-statured naturally. It’s one of the great contributors towards being able to maintain a youthful-looking body without as much effort as someone from the Americas would. Aside from which, it’s also harder for them to gain weight not only thanks to their diets but also thanks to nature’s gift. Coming across a Japanese woman, it would be straightforward to mistake her for a child.

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22. They have a unique diet

Apart from their skin, the Japanese also get a lot of attention for their youthful looks. Their diets are debatably the most contributing factors to maintaining such. According to a survey conducted by the Melbourne’s University, it was found that most Asians incorporated more vegetables in their diets than the average Caucasian. Thus, they had a healthier lifestyle and almost always opted for non-saturated fats and very little sugar.

Ingredients such as eggplant, choy, and tofu are prevalent in Asian meals. Western countries, on the other hand, opt for starchier foods and dairy. All in all, the Asian diet works marvelously in keeping off wrinkles in comparison to Western diets.

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23. They eat a lot of veggies

Japan is one of the largest consumers of seafood and red meat in the world. Even fried poultry is a favorite delicacy of lots of the locals. However, veggies are an essential part of a lot of, if not every, meals taken in Japan.

More often than not, veggies aren’t the main dish, instead, eaten on the side. Aside from foods like tofu and eggplant, preserved prunes, and dates are popular alternatives. Fruits like mangoes and fuji are also so loved there are countless shops solely dedicated to selling them. These are famous for promoting excellent skin health; thus, the correlation is quite strong.

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24. They don’t take dairy

The fact that Japanese people love fermented products so much comes along with an interesting statistic. As much as 80% of South East Asians are lactose intolerant. Their stomachs don’t hold milk very well, which explains the popularity of alternatives.

Naturally enough, a people who avoid eating foods like cheese that are heavy in butter and milk will have some of the healthiest skins in the world. Since most milk comes from pregnant cows, they come with a high dose of hormones like insulin, which promote breakouts, inflammation and speed up aging. A low-dairy diet is an excellent way to reduce chances wrinkles are going to appear all over your face.

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25. They use whitening beauty products

Another thing Japanese women are famous for is their love for cosmetics. Of all the developed nations, Japan ranks among the ten most famous destinations for cosmetic procedures and is one of the largest producers of cosmetics in the world.

It shouldn’t be shocking since the country’s beauty industry is plagued with pale skin. Any product that makes the skin paler has a large market among young Asian women. However, since they have more sensitive skin than most, they prefer to go for products that make their skin fairer but doesn’t cause any lasting damage. They do work for a lot of the women.

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26. They drink plenty of water

Drinking water is right for your health – there’s hardly any debate about that. Despite the size of the country, Japan was recorded to be one of the largest in terms of volume of water consumed in 2017. The thing about water is that even being slightly below the optimal water levels can affect you drastically. Dehydration and anemia are more extreme, but they do happen.

Water keeps you hydrated and replaces loss water. Shutterstock.

Japanese women follow what’s routinely referred to as ‘Japanese water therapy’ by the outside world. As soon as they wake up, the first thing to be ingested is water, at times mixed with some lemon, then followed by light exercise and a short bath. Being dehydrated can have a horrible effect on your skin – it will get dull, flaky and saggy.

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27. They don’t spend so much time in the sun

Exposure to the sun is necessary for healthy growth and maintaining proper sleep patterns. When in the sun, it encourages production of vitamin D, which is beneficial towards skin health. However, too much exposure can lead to a variety of conditions – from mild sunburn, which can have long-lasting effects to more extreme cases like cancer.

The two ways Japanese women go about it is to either not be exposed to the sun for extended periods of time or always walk around with a tube of sunscreen. Zinc or titanium dioxide sunscreen is effective preventive measures for preventing premature skin aging.

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28. They don’t smoke a lot

Japanese men smoke a lot. A 2010 survey found that about 44% of men in the country use smoking (specifically, tobacco smoking) as a way of relieving stress between work hours. However, among women, the number is one of the lowest in the whole of Asia – 14%.

We all know the kinds of effects smoking has on our overall health – yellowing teeth and fingernails, increasing the risk of cancer, etc. One of the most extreme of these is worsening skin health, which leads to an increased presence of wrinkles and an overall appearance of old age. This happens because of lower blood level circulation towards significant body organs, including the skin.

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29. They live in most humid environments

Your environment plays a significant role in how your skin will turn out. One of the primary facts regarding this is that a dry climate will lead to dry skin. The solution? Keep your rooms as humid as possible, especially in summer.

During the hot season, humidifiers sell like hot cakes. Aside from which, there are plenty of other innovative ways they manage to keep their rooms moisturized. The most effective of these would be to have a bowl of water on registers in their homes. It’s as simple as placing a metallic or ceramic bowl full of water on a radiator or heat register to distribute humidity in rooms.

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30. They love healthy fats

In the 90s, something happened in the scientific community and fats were demonized for being the cause of the obesity crisis. People turned to sugar as a better alternative, but things only got worse – the world got even fatter and sicker.

As it turns out, saturated fat isn’t the demon people make it out to be, and Japan is a true testament to that. Foods like the avocado have been touted to be superfoods and are now associated with a ton of health benefits. Among which, you might have guessed is promoting healthy skin thanks to a monounsaturated fat called oleic acid.

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31. Fruits and vitamin C

The benefits of vitamin C transcend civilizations, like most thing Japanese. Its use and benefits were known and used by the Greek and Japanese in the healing of wounds after the war. Today, diets with high vitamin C content have been found to lead to fewer wrinkles and healthier skin.

The mineral’s anti-aging benefits are thanks to the fact that it aids in promoting the body’s production of collagen, an essential compound for healing and skin health. Aside from which, creams rich in vitamin C are also widely used because they have rejuvenating properties – keeping effects of free radicals in check and maintaining youthful skin.

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32. Lots of models have plants in their rooms

Having a plant in your room and keeping it alive is a huge responsibility. If you’ve ever wondered why small plants are so popular in Japan, it’s because they are an excellent way to both humidify the air during the dry season and keep the air clean.

It’s mostly the same thing as having an air filter that periodically lets out clean air in your home or at your desk. The bonsai is the most famous example of a plant that doesn’t need too much taking care of. Various species of Japanese maple like ‘Sango-kaku’ are also popular for their low maintenance.

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33. Only non-toxic cleaning products are used

A lot of things count as being part of your environment. One of these is the kind of cleaning products you use. Those with high levels of toxic chemicals are going to be absorbed by your skin. It’s imperative to limit how much you’re exposed to them.

From washing your clothes to the kind of detergent you use to clean your toilet, their effect is subtle, but they do have consequences. Strong soaps can irritate your skin after washing clothes, leading to a range of allergies and diseases. Since walking around in filthy clothes isn’t much of an option, natural detergents are usually preferred.

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34. They wear skin-friendly clothes

Ever wondered why some clothes could be so dirt cheap? Most times, they are made from a blend of cotton and polyester, which are cheap to come by so people give them a pass without thinking twice about it. However, a Swedish study found that such clothes are made from tons of different chemicals which are pretty terrible for the skin.

There’s a pretty tight lid on the Japanese clothes market, barring the entry of cheap Chinese alternatives. To keep their skin clear and healthy, most Chinese women avoid clothes with strong dyes and prefer silk over artificial cotton. The result is soft hands and young skin.

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35. Japanese women prefer natural alternatives

Being one of the largest consumers of cosmetics in the world, removing makeup in the evening is an important ritual every single day to maintain a clear complexion. For Japanese women over the age of 30, especially, it’s a vital part of keeping their youthful appearance since foundation left overnight will clog skin pores.

There are a lot of cosmetics that serve this purpose, but natural alternatives like peppermint, sage and witch hazel are also trendy among middle-aged women. Sage prevents the skin from getting clogged while peppermint creates a cooling effect. Witch hazel forms a protective layer on the skin.

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36. Keeping ingrown hairs at bay

Those who have experienced ingrown hairs know how annoying, painful and itching they can be. Scratching your skin all the time is no good, and it’s a condition so dangerous, even the NHS advice preventing them at all costs. If left untreated, they can lead to red spots on your skin and even whiteheads.

Knowing this, Japanese women use loofahs to keep them under control. Loofahs are also great since they get rid of dead cells, too, without hurting the skin. As an added measure, some people like to use products with alpha-hydroxy on the loofah before scrubbing. It leads to even smoother, softer, skin.

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37. They prefer not to shave

Nobody likes to be a hairy, unmanageable mess of sweat and dirt. That’s precisely what happens if you don’t shave often. On the other hand, shaving is known to be one of the biggest culprits of ingrown hairs. Believe it or not, the easiest way to prevent ingrown hairs is to let them grow freely without interfering with them.

This isn’t always an option, however, since having hair is both comfortable for a lot of people. Japanese women prefer to use hair removal cream rather than shave altogether. Since blades can easily damage the skin. Sensitive hair removal alternatives are the best option, instead.

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38. Different moisturizers for different seasons

Most people don’t yet understand their skin very well. The skin needs a lot of attention if it’s going to remain healthy and youthful for extended periods of time. One of the ways this is achieved in a lot of East Asian countries is by using different moisturizers depending on the season.

Summer is a lot less humid than winter and vice versa. For which reason, in the winter season, heavier moisturizers are used as compared to during the summer. And in summer, lighter ones are used. At the same time, anything scented is out of bounds. When exposed to the sun, they dry up, get blotchy and make the skin itch.

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39. They don’t rub their eyes

This one may come off as strange, but maintaining sensitive eyes is a lot harder than most people would imagine. Rubbing your eyes places undue pressure and friction on one of the most sensitive parts of your body – the eyelids. Not to mention the fact that it messes with well-done eyelashes.

Instead of rubbing, light compressions are applied instead. If you have to rub your eyes, be as gentle as possible. It would be preferable to avoid touching your face altogether and don’t let anyone touch it. The number of germs people carry on their hands can be horrifying.

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40. They exfoliate often

Exfoliating the skin has a myriad of benefits. In this case, the most notable interest would be preventing the build-up of dead skin cells on the surface of your skin. Clogged pores are one of the last things anyone conscious about their skin wants.

The real trick, however, is exfoliating just enough. Doing it once a week should be enough for most people. Adverse long-term effects include weakening the skin so that it wrinkles more efficiently, rather than merely clearing out the pores. It can also lead to a lot of irritation since you’re constantly getting rid of the skin’s top layer before it can fully heal.

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