Japanese skincare has long relied on ingredients that do more than just treat the surface. Rice, matcha, and shiso have been used for generations not because they’re trendy, but because they’re deeply compatible with the skin, supporting hydration, strengthening the barrier, and protecting against long term stressors.
Few brands are exploring this as thoughtfully as DAMDAM. Founded by Giselle Go and Philippe Terrien, the brand works with regeneratively farmed Japanese ingredients and pairs them with modern formulation techniques to support long term skin health. We asked the founders to break down what makes these ingredients so powerful, and why this approach to skincare continues to stand the test of time.
In Conversation with Giselle Go and Philippe Terrien, founders of DAMDAM
Japanese skincare is often described as more preventative than corrective. From your perspective, what defines that approach, and why has it been so effective over time?
Japanese skincare is based on the belief that prevention is more powerful than correction. We focus on strengthening the barrier, supporting hydration, and protecting the skin from long-term stressors like oxidation and glycation.
At its core, Japanese skincare is about consistency, allowing results to build progressively so that we can have skin that’s healthier and more resilient over time.
Ingredients like rice, green tea, and shiso have been used in Japanese beauty for centuries. What makes these kinds of ingredients so enduring?
The approach is rooted in how ingredients are cultivated, processed, and ultimately delivered to the skin. Our matcha is completely shade-grown in Uji, a method that increases chlorophyll and antioxidant content, enhancing its protective benefits. We also prioritize whole-plant extraction, which allows us to capture a broad spectrum of active compounds to benefit the skin.
With rice, we use every part of the grain, from nutrient-dense rice bran (the outer shell) to rice-derived AHA phytic acid and bio-ferments. Through fermentation, these components are broken down into smaller, more bioavailable molecules including amino acids and vitamins.
Shiso is rich in omega 3, 6, and 9 fatty acids. These lipids play a critical role in supporting the skin’s barrier, improving moisture retention, and maintaining elasticity.
All of these ingredients have endured because they’re biologically compatible with our skin and work across multiple pathways, which make them highly efficacious and adaptable across skin types. SHOP THE MATCHA BOOST HYDRATING EYE SERYM HERE.
Your ingredients are regeneratively farmed in Japan. How does sourcing at that level impact both the quality of the ingredient and the final product?
When we work at the level of regenerative farming, we’re influencing the ingredient at its source. Healthier soil ecosystems produce plants that are more nutrient-dense and more compositionally balanced, which impacts its content of bioactive compounds. This means we’re formulating with an ingredient that has greater integrity and translates into better performance on the skin.
You’re helping restore abandoned farmland in Japan through your sourcing. Can you talk about why that’s such an important part of your mission?
Japan is facing a growing issue with increasingly abandoned rural regions. For us, sourcing isn’t just about ingredients, it’s about preserving ecosystems and local communities.
By working directly with farmers and creating demand for these ingredients, we’re making its cultivation viable again. It allows these lands to be restored and maintained, while also ensuring regenerative cultivation practices can continue for future generations.
For those discovering DAMDAM for the first time, how do you describe the brand and what you set out to create?
DAMDAM is built at the intersection of traditional Japanese ingredients and modern formulation science, with a focus on supporting core skin functions like hydration, barrier integrity, and long-term resilience. We work with carefully sourced ingredients and advanced processes like fermentation to create formulas that deliver long-term, cumulative benefits rather than short-term corrective results.
At the same time, DAMDAM is about bringing a sense of intention back to skincare. We set out to create products that feel considered, from how ingredients are grown and sourced to how they’re formulated and experienced on the skin.
There’s a lot of noise around “clean” and “sustainable” beauty. What does doing it properly actually look like to you?
For us, it’s about making intentional choices across the full lifecycle of a product, from how ingredients are grown and sourced, to how they’re processed, formulated, and perform on the skin. We want to balance environmental responsibility with scientific rigor, and do it well.
Rice is such a foundational ingredient in Japanese beauty. You’re using the entire grain and fermenting it for over 1,000 hours. What does that process unlock that we wouldn’t get otherwise?
Fermentation transforms rice at a molecular level, breaking down larger complex compounds into smaller, more bioavailable nutrients, including amino acids, antioxidants, and vitamins, that the skin can easily absorb and utilize.
By using the entire grain, we retain a broader spectrum of nutrients, rather than a single component. The fermentation process amplifies and further enhances efficacy. SHOP RICE HYDRATING SERUM HERE
Shiso is less familiar in Western skincare. What initially drew you to it, and what makes it such a powerful ingredient?
We have Shiso growing abundantly in our own garden. That was our first clue that it’s an easily renewable resource, and doesn’t require intensive cultivation or impact on the earth to thrive. We often eat it with sashimi (raw fish), not just for flavor but because it helps preserve its freshness. This protective quality was what drew us to it. DAMDAM’s Mochi Mochi Luminous Cream centers around Shiso Phyto Bright™ Complex, leveraging the antioxidant-rich Japanese mint to support the skin barrier while delivering that signature plump, hydrated ‘mochi skin’ finish.
From a formulation standpoint, shiso’s lipid profile (rich in omega 3, 6, 9) make it an essential component of the skin’s barrier, helping improve moisture retention, elasticity, and overall resilience.
The Mochi Mochi Luminous Cream has become a standout. What role does shiso play in giving that product its texture and results?
Because Shiso’s omega 3, 6, 9 fatty acids are key components of the skin’s lipid barrier, it plays a role in the texture and performance of Mochi Mochi Luminous Cream because these lipids reinforce the skin’s ability to retain moisture and maintain elasticity. When the lipid barrier is well-supported, it creates that soft, cushiony, mochi-like bounce. TRY THE MOCHO MOCHI LUMINOUS CREAM HERE
Your Three-Phase Emulsification technology allows you to combine ingredients like Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid without traditional surfactants. How does that innovation support the integrity of the ingredients themselves?
Traditional emulsification often relies on surfactants that can compromise the stability or performance of certain actives. With the Three-Phase Emulsification technology used in our Citrus Glow Vitamin C + Hyaluronic Serum, each ingredient not only exists at an optimal level, it also allows us to formulate into a stable formula.This is important for ingredients like Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid, which have very different stability and solubility requirements.
By combining this approach with a multi-phase system, we’re able to deliver efficacy without overloading the skin. Instead of using high concentrations of ascorbic acid which is unstable and sensitizing at 5–10%, we work with Vitamin C derivatives at lower concentrations. These are more stable and better tolerated by the skin.
The actives remain effective because their integrity is preserved with this tech, while the overall formula stays balanced and gentle so it feels comfortable once it’s on the skin. SHOP THE CITRUS GLOW VITAMIN C + HYALURONIC SERUM HERE.
When you decided to build a formula around Uji matcha, what made the eye area the right place to highlight this ingredient?
The eye area is where the first signs of aging and fatigue often appear because the skin is thinner and more delicate. Lack of sleep or UV exposure tend to show up here earlier than the rest of the face. That’s what made it the right place for us to highlight Uji matcha.
Matcha is rich in antioxidants, particularly catechins, which help defend against oxidative stress, a driver of early skin aging. Pairing a highly protective ingredient with one of the most vulnerable areas of the face made sense to support the skin where it needs it most.
Are there any ingredients or practices from Japanese beauty that you feel are still overlooked globally, but shouldn’t be?
The combination of strict safety standards with techniques like fermentation to enhance efficacy without relying on high concentrations. Japanese skincare values a long-term approach that prioritizes barrier health, longevity, and skin compatibility, rather than buzzy, viral trends that may give immediate results but disrupt skin health over time.
For someone new to your line, which product best captures the philosophy of DAMDAM and why?
Mochi Mochi Luminous Cream. It’s built around supporting core functions of hydration, barrier integrity, and surface refinement. It also reflects how we approach formulation: thoughtfully sourced ingredients like shiso, combined with a dual humectant system and rice-derived phytic acid, which provides gentle surface refinement, improving texture and radiance without disrupting the barrier.
The result is that soft, bouncy “mochi” texture! SHOP THE MOCHI MOCHI LUMINOUS CREAM HERE
If someone wanted to adopt a more Japanese approach to beauty, what’s one mindset shift that would make the biggest difference?
Less is more. Choose fewer, but better-made products.
