Skin Care Bible

I started writing down my beauty ideas when I was in my sixties. I wrote it because I wanted to share with all women the tips and techniques I have developed over my 45 years as a beauty expert. My message is simple: Anyone who wants to be beautiful can be beautiful, and the power to achieve it is in your own hands.

A core principle of the Saeki method is to understand your skin and care for it based on its condition. To do this, you need to make the most of your hands. Our hands are the best tools - they can help us "check" the condition of our skin like a skin scanner or help us smooth out wrinkles like an iron. Hands can also warm and soothe the skin, making it easier for the skin to absorb nutrients better.

The effectiveness of any skin care product depends greatly on how it is used. The important thing is that you know how to use cosmetics correctly, not exactly what you use. You might only get $25 out of a $50 or $100 product, or maybe more, it all depends on you.

After receiving a professional degree from a beauty school, I worked for a while at a salon in the Ginza district, Tokyo before working as a human resources supervisor at the French company Guerlain. Guerlain approaches skincare analytically, focusing on the physiology of the skin. The company offers eight different products for cleansing alone, and offers consultation services to determine which one is best suited to a customer's skin condition or goals.

My husband's work took us to San Francisco, where I regularly briefed the Japanese side on the American beauty market. Americans are very good at marketing and I am very impressed with the sales strategy that targets buyer psychology. There is this brand that designed all of their shelves in white to remind them of a clinic. I discovered that different countries have different skin care concepts.

American-style skin care mainly involves “awakening” the skin, such as patting or massaging the face in an upward motion. On the contrary, the French like to soothe their skin, remove make up and dirt and take care of their skin – from a medical perspective.

Throughout my career, I have gathered enough knowledge to compare different methods and choose what is suitable for each skin type.

At age 45, I worked as international training manager for Parfums Christian Dior and was responsible for training more than 600 cosmetic specialists. Dior is one of the most luxury brands in the world. But it would be useless to sell only based on the company name. So I have trained professionals who can provide first-class consulting services – helping clients look in the mirror and think, “Yes, I can be beautiful!” And so, I created a sales manual from scratch. Furthermore, when Dior opened its first salon at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, I had the pleasure of working with clients myself as a skin care specialist. My technique has earned the trust of many customers, and the salon has become so popular that there are always more than 100 people on the waiting list.

As mentioned, my skin care method is based on knowledge of beauty products around the world and direct experience caring for my customers' skin.

Having seen the skin of so many women over the years has helped me discover a lot about anyone's skin with just one look. Sometimes I even surprise people by telling them exactly what products and brands they use. It may sound like a fortune teller, but each product actually has something that stands out on the user's skin. For example, in Japan, a country with lots of clean water, Japanese people like to wash their faces. It's not uncommon for Japanese women to like to use makeup remover oils with strong detergents, and she will continue to wash her face with soap to remove excess oil left on her skin. She will continue to harm her skin, which is already weakened by over-cleansing, by applying expensive cream to reduce dryness.

The more someone cares about skin care, the more likely they are to follow trends, thereby making their skin worse. Whether it's an expensive cleanser or cream, cosmetics are created to beautify the skin. But if used incorrectly, they will bring consequences. It's only you and you who can take care of and protect your skin. I want to give the Skin Care Bible to everyone with the knowledge and techniques to do this.

I have loved beautiful things since I was a child, and I am a huge fan of Hollywood movies. To be honest, my love of cosmetics stems from my love for actress Audrey Hepburn and my wish to be like her. The beautiful, glamorous world of the silver screen, transformed to perfection by makeup artists like Max Factor and Helena Rubenstein, made me daydream.

Only when you use cosmetics properly can you take full advantage of its functions and achieve beautiful skin. How wonderful it would be if women everywhere could achieve this with my technique! This is my way to repay the world for giving me dreams since I was a child.