It’s important to keep your skin and yourself healthy during these challenging times because your skin is your immune system’s first line of defence. As our body’s biggest organ, its job is to keep us safe and protect us from harm both inside and out. By caring for your skin you are caring for your overall health, they go hand in hand.

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Tatcha’s Essence is a hundred per cent pure double-concentrated Hadasei-3, our proprietary complex composed of the three superfoods at the core of the traditional Japanese diet. The complex is rooted in Akita rice fermented with a specially selected yeast strain to yield much less alcohol, and it’s rich in amino acids and AHAs including lactic acid to support natural surface cell turnover for smooth skin.

As the base of Hadasei-3, the Akita rice ferment helps deliver nutrients by flooding the skin’s aquaporin channels with hydration from the Okinawa algae, increasing skin’s moisture levels by 576 per cent in just seven seconds. This allows any formula applied to the skin after to penetrate more deeply and become more efficacious.

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Our body "talks" to us through our skin, and it’s important to always listen to what it’s saying. My skin in particular is quick to communicate with me when I’m stressed or my body’s run down, and as a result, hives, redness, eczema, and irritation will appear depending on what's going on with my life or with my overall health and well-being.

Before the pandemic began, we had started work on what would eventually become the Indigo Overnight Repair, but as it continued my skin became increasingly more reactive and irritated because of the stress.

I began using the formula to calm my skin and then realized if this was happening to me, it was likely happening to many of our clients—including many who never before had experienced irritation brought on by stress. At Tatcha, our goal is always to be of service to our clients and care for them through their skin, especially during these historic times, so we worked with our scientists to make it even more efficacious, accelerated the development and pulled up the launch date so we could help our clients when their skin began to talk.

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In Japan, indigo has been used for centuries to soothe and calm irritated skin thanks to its naturally effective antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, which is gentle enough for even the most sensitive skin. I was introduced to the ingredient and its rich history during my travels to Japan, and it immediately helped me reclaim my skin by healing dermatitis and eczema I developed in my corporate life.

We originally developed our indigo collection for clients with skin similar to mine, and when developing the Indigo Overnight Repair, our scientists at the Tatcha Institute in Tokyo took it one step further to create a formula that could calm the effects of external stressors on the skin, while also repairing and strengthening its line of defence.

The resulting formula strengthens the skin’s moisture barrier, replenishes lost moisture, and balances the microbiome by activating its natural immune defences, allowing good microbes to flourish while preventing bad from proliferating, which helps skin perform at an optimal level and protect itself from future harm.

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Don’t be afraid to prioritise your well-being. It’s up to each and every one of us to care for our minds, bodies, and our health. As our skin is our natural armour, the first and foremost way to keep yourself and your skin healthy is starting from the outside in. Gently cleansing every day is essential as we are all exposed to so many external stressors right now and our skin is working overtime, so keeping it clean will ensure your skin stays healthy and strong.

Also, as stressed skin also tends to become dry and dehydrated, our skin barrier function and immune system can become compromised. Using an essence followed by a nourishing moisturiser to replenish your skin’s natural moisture levels will strengthen skin barrier function, keep the skin calm, and boost our natural immune defences that keep us safe and healthy.

Finally, sleep is incredibly important for the entire body, especially the skin. It’s a time of restoration and healing both inside and out. From the inside out, consider practices that keep you in touch with your body-mind. For some, that could mean meditation, others it means going out in nature, but ultimately it’s up to you to decide what type of practice will help promote a sense of calm.

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This article was originally published on July 16, 2021 and was updated on August 13, 2021.