Japanese Skincare Glossary

This article was originally posted on Reddit on May 23, 2021, with some additions made before reposting here. Last edited on February 23, 2026.

Here’s something I’ve been working on bit by bit when I was bored: a list of Japanese skincare terms, with a focus on skincare products, including how they’re written in Japanese and how they’re pronounced. I figured this might be useful for anyone looking for information on Japanese products no matter where they are.

As with any language, there can be more than one way to say something. And in the case of Japanese, there are three alphabets that can be used to write the same thing too. I’m trying to give what I feel are the most common terms here. I have no official qualifications beyond being a fully bilingual skincare enthusiast.

I’ll probably continue to add any terms that seem necessary and make other edits for clarity and/or better organization. I won’t be making any notes about the edits unless I was completely mistaken about something and made a full-on correction.

General terms

• Skincare = スキンケア (sukin-kea)
• Skin = 肌 (hada, hence “Hada Labo” etc.)
• Skincare products = 基礎化粧品 (kiso keshōhin) or just スキンケア (sukin-kea)
• Ingredients = 成分 (seibun)
• 全成分 (zen-seibun) = Literally “all ingredients,” usually referring to the full ingredient list
• Active ingredients = 有効成分 (yūkō seibun)
  • Not necessarily “active ingredients” in the Western sense, but in the context of Japanese drugs and quasi-drugs
• Inactive ingredients = その他の成分 (sono-ta-no-seibun), or “other ingredients”
• Fragrance-free = 無香料 (mukōryō)
• Colorant-free = 無着色 (muchakushoku)
• Moisturizing = 保湿 (hoshitsu)
• Hydration/hydrating = うるおい (uruoi)/うるおう (uruou), although I think “moisturizing” and “hydrating” are mostly used interchangeably
• 弱酸性 (jaku-sansei) = Mildly acidic, the implication being that the product’s pH level is close to your skin’s

Terms related to Japanese regulations

• 医薬品 (iyakuhin) = Pharmaceutical drugs (includes OTC products), intended for treatment; make sure to read instructions, often not for extended use
  • There are further classifications within this category (要指導医薬品, 第1類医薬品, 指定第2類医薬品, 第2類医薬品, 第3類医薬品, maybe others). I may edit this to explain some day, but for now, here’s an article I found, if you can read Japanese
• 医薬部外品 (iyaku bugaihin) = Quasi-drugs, intended for prevention and/or personal hygiene; products that have active ingredients but are not iyakuhin
  • Note that quasi-drugs (and drugs) have completely different rules for ingredient lists, as well as differently named (and differently defined) ingredient names, whereas the rules etc. for cosmetics are much more similar to the Western INCI system
• 化粧品 (keshōhin) = cosmetics; products with no active ingredients

Skin types and concerns

Disclaimer: This goes for everything in this post, but especially here—again, I have no official qualifications beyond being a fully bilingual skincare enthusiast. I don’t have any medical training and the terms below are to the best of my knowledge as an average consumer.

• Dry skin = 乾燥肌 (kansō-hada)
• Sensitive skin = 敏感肌 (binkan-hada)
• Oily skin = 脂性肌 (shisei-hada; not the same shisei in Shiseido)
• Combination skin = 混合肌 (kongō-hada)
• Normal skin = 普通肌 (futsū-hada)
• Dehydrated skin = I think the closest thing is インナードライ (innā-dorai), or literally “inner dry,” which basically refers to oily/dehydrated skin, i.e., when you have excess sebum on the surface but lack moisture beneath that. At the time that I’m writing this (October 2022), I’m not sure there’s a specific term for dry/dehydrated skin, which I think is just summed up under “dry skin.”
• Skin irritation = 肌荒れ (hada-are)
• Acne = ニキビ (nikibi)
• Adult-onset acne = 大人ニキビ (otona-nikibi)
• Acne scars/PIE/PIH = ニキビ跡 (nikibi-ato)
• Sebum = 皮脂 (hishi)
• Eczema = アトピー (atopī)
• Rosacea = 酒さ (shusa)
• Redness = 赤み (akami)
• Psoriasis = 乾癬 (kansen)
• Under-eye circles = クマ (kuma)
• Hyperpigmentation = 色素沈着 (shikisochinchaku)
• シミ (shimi) = Particular types of hyperpigmentation
  • Will update when I figure out how best to translate it. It’s associated with aging and sun exposure, so basically sun spots, but I think it includes other types of hyperpigmentation, too.
• Melasma = 肝斑 (kanpan)
• Moles = ほくろ (hokuro)
• Freckles = そばかす (sobakasu)
• Dullness = くすみ (kusumi)
• Wrinkles = シワ (shiwa)
• Sebum plugs = 角栓 (kakusen); might also include keratin plugs, I’m not 100% clear on this point

Marketing terms

• Hypoallergenic = アレルギーテスト済み (arerugī tesuto zumi), or “tested for allergies”
• Noncomedogenic = ニキビができにくい (nikibi ga dekinikui), or literally ”hard to form acne”
• So-called anti-aging (products) = エイジングケア (eijingu kea), ハリケア (hari kea), etc.; varies across brands as everyone gingerly attempts to find appropriate expressions
• 薬用 (yakuyō) = Medicated; usually in names of 医薬部外品 products (see above)
• 美白 (bihaku) = Brightening; the characters literally mean “beauty” and “white,” and is thus usually translated as “whitening,” but for most products “brightening” is more accurate (though “whitening” can be the correct translation in some cases)
  • Starting around maybe 2021–24 or so, large companies like Kao and Shiseido seem to have finally started phasing this expression out (very gradually, or maybe just for the more globally available brands) in favor of ブライトニング, which is literally just the katakana for “brightening”
• 無添加 (mutenka) = Additive-free; can include being preservative-free (watch out for the expiration date)
• (Suffix) 〜フリー (-furī) = -free, e.g., パラベンフリー (paraben-furī) = paraben-free
• (Prefix) ノン〜 (non-) = Non-/-free, e.g., ノンシリコン (non-shirikon) = silicone-free
• ナチュラル (nachuraru) or 天然 (tennnen) = Natural
• オーガニック (ōganikku) = Organic
• リニューアル (rinyūal) = Literally “renewal” but usually refers to reformulations, unless it’s just the packaging that has changed
• 新 (shin) = The short way to write “new,” often found on packaging of new or reformulated products

Reviewing terms

• Review = レビュー (rebyū) or クチコミ (kuchikomi)
• デパコス (depa-kosu) = Contraction of “department store cosmetics,” referring to higher-end products
• プチプラ (puchi-pura) = Contraction of “petit price,” referring to cheaper products
• コスパ (kosupa) or コストパフォーマンス (kosuto pafōmansu) = literally “cost performance,” referring to how much bang you get for your buck; must be specified whether it’s good or bad
• リピ (ripi) = Contraction of リピート (ripīto) or “repeat,” used in the context of whether the reviewer would repurchase the product or not
• モニター (monitā) = Literally “monitor,” meaning that the reviewer has received the product for free on the condition that they write a review
• プレゼント (purezento) = Literally “present” (as in “gift”), i.e., the reviewer has received the product for free (or they could literally mean a gift from someone they actually know)
• キャンペーン (kyampēn) = Campaign, which can refer to a variety of brand campaigns obviously, but in the context of beauty products, it usually refers to giving out the product in exchange for reviews
• #PR = The hashtag usually used to indicate sponsored content (equivalent of #ad)

Terminology I picked up while looking into undisclosed ads

• ステマ (sutema) = Contraction of “stealth marketing,” also used in reference to undisclosed ads, including incentivized reviews that aren’t disclosed as such
• 案件 (anken) = Offers in general. I first heard this in the context of beauty products in reference to sponsored content by influencers, but it’s also used to refer to offers available for “monitors”
• 購入案件 (kōnyū anken) = Type of “monitor” offer where the reviewer purchases the product and is later reimbursed. 購入 (kōnyū) = Purchase(d)
• RT案件 (ritsuīto anken) = Type of offer I’ve seen on “monitor” websites (or mainly a specific website that shall go unnamed) where users are to repost and like a specified tweet. The users are usually entered into sweepstakes for a chance to win a certain amount of cosmetics (specified by monetary value)
• 成果報酬案件 (seika houshū anken) = Type of offer that’s basically on commission, where the influencer or other social media account holder is paid according to how many orders are placed through their affiliate link
• アフィリエイト (afirieito) or アフィ (afi) = Literally “affiliate”
  • The affiliate links I see most often are for Amazon (usually amzn.to URLs; affiliate codes for Amazon.co.jp end in -22), Rakuten Affiliate (usually a.r10.to URLs), Rakuten Room (usually room.rakuten.co.jp URLs), and Qoo10 (usually m.qoo10.jp URLs), although to be fair, Qoo10 basically forces you to create an affiliate link when you try to share anything from their mobile app.

First cleanser

• Cleanser = クレンジング (kurenjingu)
• Makeup remover = メイク落とし (meiku-otoshi)
• Oil cleanser = クレンジングオイル (kurenjingu oiru) or オイルクレンジング (oiru kurenjingu); many of the “cleansing x” below can be reversed as well
• Cleansing balm = クレンジングバーム (kurenjingu bāmu)
• Cleansing cream = クレンジングクリーム (kurenjingu kurīmu)
• Milk cleanser = クレンジングミルク (kurenjingu miruku)
• Gel cleanser = クレンジングジェル (kurenjingu jeru)
• Liquid cleanser = クレンジングリキッド (kurenjingu rikiddo)
• Micellar water = ミセラーウォーター (miserā wōtā)
• Eye makeup remover = アイメイクリムーバー (ai meiku rimūbā) or ポイントメイクリムーバー (pointo meiku rimūbā)
• W洗顔不要 or ダブル洗顔不要 (both: daburu sengan fuyō) = Second cleanser not required, i.e., the product covers both functions (or at least claims to do so)

Second cleanser

• Face wash = 洗顔料 (senganryō) or フェイスウォッシュ (feisu wosshu)
• Foaming face wash, usually in the form of a thick cream in a tube but also including pre-foamed cleansers dispensed from pumps = 洗顔フォーム (sengan fōmu)
• Face wash in powder form = 洗顔パウダー (sengan paudā)
• Face wash in gel form = 洗顔ジェル (sengan jeru)
• Face wash as a soap bar = 洗顔石鹸 or 洗顔石けん (both: sengan sekken)
• 石鹸 or 石けん (both: sekken) = soap
• Enzyme cleanser = 酵素洗顔 (kōso sengan)
• 泡で出てくる (awa de dete kuru) or similar = The product is dispensed as foam (pre-foamed cleanser); also used for other types of products, e.g., hand soap
• 泡洗顔 (awa-sengan) = I think this expression is usually used when referring to pre-foamed face wash
• 泡ハンドソープ (awa-handosōpu) = Pre-foamed hand soap
• メイクも落とせる (meiku mo otoseru) or similar = Can also remove makeup, i.e., first cleanser not required (or at least claims as much)

Exfoliant

• Exfoliation = 角質除去 (kakushitsu jokyo)
• Scrub = スクラブ (sukurabu) or ゴマージュ (gomāju)
• Peeling gel = ピーリングジェル (pīlingu jeru)
• Konjac sponge = こんにゃくスポンジ or 蒟蒻スポンジ (both: konnyaku suponji)
• Facial cleansing brush = 洗顔ブラシ (sengan burashi)
• フルーツ酸 (furūtsu-san) = AHAs (“fruit acids”)
• Salicylic acid = サリチル酸 (sarichiru-san)

Toner and emulsion

• Hydrating toner = 化粧水 (keshōsui) or ローション (lōshon, “lotion”); a liquid that can sometimes be viscous in texture, but definitely liquid; some can also be described as essences
• Toner more in the sense of western toners = ふき取り化粧水 (fukitori keshōsui), basically “wipe-off toner,” meant to be swiped on your face usually with a cotton pad; alternately 導入化粧水 (dōnyū keshōsui) or 導入美容液 (dōnyū biyōeki), which may or may not require a cotton pad, the latter being likely to be more serum-like in texture (the name implies that the product will make what you use afterward absorb better, but personally I’m skeptical). I think dōnyū products tend to be translated as “boosters.”
• Face mist = ミスト化粧水 (misuto keshōsui) or just ミスト(misuto)
• 乳液 (nyūeki) = Emulsion or literally “milk liquid,” usually thought of as the step after hydrating toners; I would probably describe it as a lotion in the US, except it’s usually more liquid in texture
• しっとり (shittori) = The more heavily hydrating/moisturizing version, may have a more serum-like thicker texture (usually more appropriate for dry skin); usually translated as “rich” or “moist”
• さっぱり (sappari) = The lighter version with a watery texture (usually more appropriate for oily skin); usually translated as “light”
• とてもしっとり (totemo shittori) or とてもさっぱり (totemo sappari) = Very shittori or very sappari

Essence/serum/ampoule-type products and face masks

• Essence/serum/ampoule = 美容液 (biyō-eki), sometimes also エッセンス (essensu), セラム (seramu), アンプル (ampuru), etc.; some hydrating toners or 化粧水 (keshōsui) could also be described as essences
• Face mask = パック (pakku) or フェイスマスク (feisu masuku)
• Sheet mask = シートマスク (shīto masuku)
• Clay mask = 泥パック (doro pakku), クレイマスク (kurei masuku), etc.
• Wash-off = 洗い流す (arainagasu)

Moisturizer

• Gel = ジェル (jeru) or ゲル (geru); technically the two are different—apparently jeru is more water-based and geru is more oil-based—but they seem to be used interchangeably in practice, with no regulations on where to draw the line (the words themselves are basically just the word “gel” based on the pronunciations in English or in German)
• Cream = クリーム (kurīmu)
• Balm = バーム (bāmu)
• Lotion = ローション (lōshon)
• Oil = オイル (oiru)
• Eye cream = アイクリーム (ai kurīmu)
• Night cream = ナイトクリーム (naito kurīmu)
• オールインワン (ōru in wan) = Literally “all-in-one,” claiming to fulfill the role of multiple product categories usually including toners and essences
• 濃厚 (nōkō) = very thick

Sunscreen

• Sunscreen = 日焼け止め (hiyake-dome) or UV; I hate it when they call it ”UV” but it happens a lot
• SPF = SPF; the highest rating in Japan is SPF 50+
• PPD = The PA system is used in Japan, which is defined by UVAPF (aka UVA-PF), not PPD
  • PA+ = UVAPF 2 or greater and less than 4
  • PA++ = UVAPF 4 or greater and less than 8
  • PA+++ = UVAPF 8 or greater and less than 16
  • PA++++ = UVAPF 16 and above
• UV耐水性 (UV taisui-sei) = Water resistance of UV protection; one star basically means “water resistant” (passed a 40 min. water resistance test) and two stars basically means “very water resistant” (passed an 80 min. water resistance test). See this post for more details
• UV rays = 紫外線 (shigaisen)
• Physical/mineral (non-organic) filters = 紫外線散乱剤 (shigaisen sanran-zai); basically “UV ray blockers,” although apparently non-organic filters actually absorb UV rays, too
• Chemical (organic) filters = 紫外線吸収剤 (shigaisen kyūshū-zai); basically “UV ray absorbers,” but (see above)
• UV filters in general = 紫外線防止剤 (shigaisen boushi-zai), although I usually see one of the two above (or both written together)
• ノンケミカル (non-kemikaru) or ノンケミ (non-kemi) = Literally “non-chemical,” meaning that the product has no chemical (organic) UV filters
• 不使用 (fushiyō) = Not used, as in 紫外線吸収剤不使用 (shigaisen kyūshū-zai fushiyō), or chemical (organic) filter-free
• ウォータープルーフ (wōtā-purūfu) = Literally “waterproof” but should be understood as “water resistant” in the case of sunscreen; when specified, usually means the product has passed a 40 min. water resistance test, but not always (also used to just refer to any degree of water resistance); might eventually be phased out
• スーパーウォータープルーフ (sūpā wōtā-purūfu) = Literally “super waterproof”; when specified, usually means the product has passed an 80 min. water resistance test, but not always; will probably eventually be phased out
  • As of February 2026, “waterproof” and “super waterproof” have not yet been completely abandoned, but rather frequently used in tandem with the newer rating system.
• クリーム (kurīmu) = Cream, thickest in texture of what’s listed here (but may vary depending on the product)
• ジェル (jeru) = Literally “gel,” but usually more like a thick gel cream in the context of sunscreen (but may vary depending on the product… but it’s probably more like a thick gel cream)
• エッセンス (essensu) = Literally “essence,” usually pretty similar to jeru but supposedly more hydrating (but may vary depending on the product)
• ミルク (miruku) = Literally ”milk,” an emulsion that would be the most liquid in texture of what’s listed here; I would think of this as a lotion in the US. Make sure to shake well before use (but may vary depending on the product)
  • As an example of products varying, I currently have a sunscreen that’s a “milk” according to the product name, but it’s in a tube, no shaking required, and has a texture very much in the same category as the “essence” sunscreens I’ve used.
• スプレー (supurē) = Spray
• ミスト (misuto) = Mist
• パウダー (paudā) = Powder
• 顔用 (kao-yō) = For the face
• からだ用 (karada-yō) = For the body
• 顔・からだ用 (kao/karada-yō) = For both face and body
• 子ども用 (kodomo-yō) = For children; can also include キッズ (kizzu) = kids in the product name
• 赤ちゃん用 (akachan-yō) = For babies; can also include ベビー (bebī) = baby in the product name

Body parts

• Body products = Usually prefixed with ボディ (bodī), e.g., ボディローション (bodī lōshon) = body lotion
• Lip products = Usually prefixed with リップ (lippu), e.g., リップバーム (lippu bāmu) or リップクリーム (lippu kurīmu) = lip balm
• Hand products = Usually prefixed with ハンド (hando), e.g., ハンドクリーム (hando kurīmu)

Ingredients

Just the ones that I feel like people are often looking for, whether it’s because they want it or don’t. Again, remember that I’m not an expert. (Added in March 2023)

• Alcohol = エタノール (etanōru), literally “ethanol”; can also be listed as 無水エタノール (musui etanōru or Anhydrous Ethanol) in quasi-drugs
  • I’ve seen people finding エタノール in ingredient lists and saying it contains alcohol when what they’re actually looking at is フェノキシエタノール, or Phenoxyethanol, so make sure it actually says エタノール by itself
  • Alcohol Denat. = 変性アルコール (hensei arukōru); can be listed with different names in quasi-drugs, like 酢酸リナリル変性アルコール (Linalyl Acetate Denatured Alcohol) or 安息香酸デナトニウム変性アルコール (Denatonium Benzoate Denatured Alcohol) but I think they would have 変性アルコール in the ingredient name
• Ascorbic Acid = アスコルビン酸 (asukorubin-san)
  • Other forms can contain the same word (e.g., Bis-Glyceryl Ascorbate = ビスグリセリルアスコルビン酸) but I think it’s usually アスコルビル or literally “Ascorbyl,” e.g., Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate [MAP] = リン酸アスコルビルMg in cosmetics and リン酸L-アスコルビルマグネシウム or others in quasi-drugs
  • All the other ways to list MAP in quasi-drug ingredient lists that I know of: リン酸L-アスコルビン酸エステルマグネシウム, ビタミンCリン酸Mg, ビタミンCリン酸エステルMg, リン酸アスコルビン酸エステルMg, リン酸アスコルビルMg; can also be mentioned as アスコルビルリン酸Mg, APM, or 安定型ビタミンC誘導体 in marketing (and maybe others that I’m missing), just to give you an idea of how confusing this can get
• Essential oils = 精油 (seiyu); something you’ll see in the marketing, not the ingredient lists
• Fragrance = 香料 (kōryō)
• Hyaluronic Acid = ヒアルロン酸 (hiaruron-san)
  • Other forms of Hyaluronic Acid also have the word “ヒアルロン酸” in the ingredient name, e.g., Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate = ヒアルロン酸ヒドロキシプロピルトリモニウム
• Niacinamide = ナイアシンアミド (naiashin-amido); can also be listed as ニコチン酸アミド (nikochin-san amido), literally “nicotinic acid,” in quasi-drugs
• Retinol = レチノール (rechinōru); I think it’s usually described as 純粋レチノール (junsui rechinōru) in marketing
  • Derivatives also contain the word レチノール and can (misleadingly, imo) be described as such in marketing, e.g., Retinyl Palmitate = パルミチン酸レチノール
• Tranexamic Acid = トラネキサム酸 (toranekisamu-san); only allowed in drugs and quasi-drugs
  • Other ingredients related to Tranexamic Acid also have the word “トラネキサム酸” in the ingredient name, e.g., Cetyl Tranexamate HCl = トラネキサム酸セチルHCl or トラネキサム酸セチル塩酸塩
• Vitamin C derivative = ビタミンC誘導体 (bitamin C yūdōtai); same for other vitamins; something you’ll see in the marketing, not the ingredient lists