Author:Aura RuggeriPublished: May 24, 2023 (Updated: October 12, 2023)
This article was fact checked and it's 100% helpful.
Are you looking for a product to benefit your skin in several ways? Maybe you have heard that sake can benefit your skin and want to know more? Or are you hearing conflicting answers and want a clear verdict?
Whatever the reason is that brought you here today, we have the answers for you!
Finding out how sake benefits your skin can be tricky, especially if you have never used it before. You head online for some guidance but are met with page after page of conflicting and confusing advice, you are left overwhelmed and disappointed.
How are you supposed to know who to trust or where to turn now?
Well, you can turn to us! Today, we are here with the answers you need! Keep reading to find out the amazing ways sake can benefit your skin! We also cover everything else that you need to know about sake to help you become an expert today.
What Is Sake?
Before we dive into today’s article, let’s have a brief recap for those that need it. Sake is a Japanese rice wine made from four ingredients: yeast, water, rice, and a mold called koji. In Japan, sake is a term used generally for alcoholic beverages and is its own category.
There are over 10,000 variations of sake that are brewed, giving you plenty of choices! It has been brewed for over 2,000 years since rice farming first entered Japan. There are over 1,400 breweries brewing sake, and its popularity has grown globally too!
Now, you might be wondering how this has any relation to your skin or skincare? Well, sake has been added to skin care products or used on its own on the skin. It is frequently added to skin care products designed to treat acne, as it has an exfoliating effect.
We will talk about this in greater detail later on, but it’s worth knowing that sake has other uses despite being a tasty drink!
7 Ways Sake Benefits Your Skin
Now that we have established what sake is, let’s dive into what brought you here today! There are several ways that sake can benefit your skin, including helping with acne and exfoliating your skin!
We have broken down each benefit for you to take a look at now and learn more about the wonderful benefits of sake.
1. It Helps With Acne
First up, sake can help to prevent breakouts and lighten acne scars! Sake will help to tighten your skin, controlling sebum production. The less sebum that can be produced, the less chance of bacteria entering your pores, causing spots to appear.
Sake can also help to soothe the inflammation around your spots and any eczema. It does this without removing any of the natural moisture in your skin too, preventing you from drying out.
Some acne products can be quite drying, as they are designed to dry out the excess oils that can cause acne. But this can leave you with dry patches on your skin, something nobody wants!
But with sake in the mix, you don’t need to worry about your skin drying out while you target problem areas.
2. It Can Exfoliate Your Skin
Sake can also be used as a gentle exfoliator for your skin. Sake is rich in enzymes that can exfoliate the top layer of your skin. This is great to help remove any excess skin, scarring, or dry patches. But Sake will do this, without stripping away any moisture too!
This is due to the high concentration of amino acids in sake. They will help to smooth out uneven texture, replenish your skin with antioxidants, and maintain its elasticity! Sake also contains AHAs, otherwise known as alpha hydroxy acids, which are well-known in skincare.
These fruit acids are commonly used in exfoliating products and chemical peels.
What do they do? Well, they can unclog pores, reduce the appearance of large pores, and minimize fine lines. They can also help to shed dead skin cells but are best used by those with normal to dry skin.
This is because sake will add moisture to your skin and help to stimulate the production of collagen.
3. It Can Hydrate Your Skin
We have touched on this earlier, but sake can help to hydrate your skin. Sake is added to lots of beauty products in Japan as it has a high content of glycerol and amino acid. As it is alcohol, many people think it will dry out their skin, but they would be wrong!
Amino acids like glutamic acid are present, helping you to retain moisture and prevent it from evaporating from your skin. This is why sake was often used in baths to help hydrate the whole body!
You will find sake in Japanese skincare products designed to boost hydration like masks and moisturizers.
4. It Brightens The Skin
Perhaps one of the most well-known benefits of sake is its brightening abilities. Sake contains kojic acid, an antioxidant that can brighten the skin. How? It inhibits melanin production. It can penetrate through the dermis to get to work too!
Kojic acid will help correct discoloration, sun damage, acne scars, age spots, hyperpigmentation, and skin texture over time. It is a natural alternative to hydroquinone. The brightening properties of sake can also lighten your skin color over time.
5. It’s Anti Aging
Sake also has anti-aging properties. The amino acids in sake can help to prevent the signs of fine lines and minimize existing lines, but they aren’t the only anti-aging properties present in sake!
There is also ferulic acid. This is an antioxidant that acts as a UV light absorber. It helps to shield the skin from sun damage, which can cause sun spots, discoloration, and in extreme cases skin cancer.
It’s worth noting that sake skincare should not be used as a replacement to an SPF, but rather in conjunction to offer protection from the sun.
Ferulic acid will neutralize free radical damage, helping to reduce wrinkles, fine lines, and spots. You can find sake present in anti-aging skincare products ranging from dark spot correctors to cleansers.
6. It’s Firming
Sake can also help to firm your skin too. During the fermentation of sake, a by-product is formed, known as alpha-methyl a-D-glucoside. Also known as a-EG, it is a natural compound that can improve the skin’s natural elasticity and glow.
a-EG helps boost your skin’s natural collagen production. Collagen is a protein that helps to give your skin its youthful and plump look. Over time, collagen production in your body slows and stops, while the current collagen starts to break down.
This loosens your skin and causes wrinkles and fine lines to form.
By improving the amount of collagen your body produces, you can help to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and return your skin to its plump state! a-EG also plants a role in preventing water loss from the skin too.
This helps to keep your skin’s moisture intact, preventing it from becoming irritated, rough, or dry.
7. It Has An Ideal pH Balance
Finally, sake has an ideal PH balance your skin will love! Acid can be found in all alcohol at different levels, but for sake, the acidity level is usually between 1 and 2. The average level tends to be 1.3, meaning sake contains ⅕ of the acidity found in most wines.
This means it is one of the most PH-balanced alcohols.
But what does this mean for your skin? Well, it means that it will help to maintain a balanced PH across your skin. This promotes soft and healthy skin without any excess oils, making it ideal for anyone with oily or combination skin.
As there is no disruptive level of acidity in sake, it means that it can be used daily too, without needing to worry about the implications it could have on your skin!
How To Use Sake On Your Skin?
There are a few ways that you can use sake on your skin. You can choose to use sake directly from the bottle, by soaking a cotton ball in sake and applying it to your face like you would a toner.
This will help to exfoliate your skin and can easily be incorporated into your daily skincare routine.
If you have sensitive skin, we recommend that you dilute the sake in some water first to avoid any irritation.
Another option is to use skincare products that are made with sake. These formulas will be specifically designed for use on your skin, and will usually come designed for certain skin types or complaints.
You might find moisturizers targeting dry skin, or an acne mask suitable for combination.
These days there are lots of sake skincare options to choose from, so you can find one that best fits your needs.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it, seven amazing ways sake benefits your skin! Whether you want to target some acne, reduce the signs of aging, or add a glow to your skin, sake is here to help!
Be sure to check out our guidance on how to use sake and you can see the difference it will make to your skincare routine.
Hi, I’m Aura Ruggeri and I want to make sure that no one makes the same mistake that I did.
So, if you’re planning a trip to Japan anytime soon, do exactly that - plan! Read up on all of the amazing things to do here to make the most of your time. I can bet that you’ll still return home feeling like you could’ve explored much more.
