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Have you ever read a book that changed the course of your life? I have. 

Years ago, I was welcomed into the inner world of the geisha and learned of their rituals. I also heard whispers of a book, written centuries ago, to detail the beauty secrets of Japan’s Edo Period. Handwritten in delicate calligraphy, the book detailed the style, grooming, and rituals of the time. It is considered the oldest beauty book written in Japan, possibly the oldest in existence.

The journey to find this book took months—some thought no surviving copies existed, while others had never even heard of it. I searched in museums, auction houses, and antique bookstores in Kyoto.

After months, I uncovered an original version of the precious text hidden in the dusty back room of a bookstore. When I held it in my hands, I could barely breathe from excitement and awe. The whisper-thin pages recorded centuries of secrets stunningly relevant in today’s beauty world.

Within the three delicate, thread-bound volumes, seven chapters instructed on beauty and elegance in both appearance and spirit. The first chapter lists many ingredients native to Japan, but three appeared throughout the book: green tea, rice bran, and red algae. These ingredients are also the foundation of the Japanese diet—as the geisha explained to me, skin is simply the body’s largest organ.

Working with scientists, I learned that each ingredient is prized by modern technology for its skin benefits. Light plant oils, including camellia and rice bran oil, are beloved oils in Japan for their skin-loving benefits; red algae and rice bran extract help with moisturization; and green tea extract is an antioxidant that helps fight free radical attack.

I was amazed to hear that these humble ingredients, beloved for centuries in Japan, have become so prized by the scientific community. Using unique extraction techniques, we blended green tea, Japanese rice bran, and Okinawa red algae into our signature blend, called the HADASEI-3 Bioactive Complex. The name, hadasei, refers to the quality of skin renewed and reborn.

The HADASEI-3 Bioactive Complex lies at the heart of every TATCHA formula, a reminder that science can only illuminate what nature showed us long ago.

—Vicky Tsai