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Saturday, September 3, 2011

Tabibijin Cha Sekken Tea Facial Cleansing Bar

This is really not a review because I've only used this Tabibijin Cha Sekken Tea Facial Cleansing Bar a few times at the onsens I've been to, with Ayasa Hotel being the most recent. That said, I've consistently seen this brand of Tabibijin skincare at the spas and onsens I visited, the Tea Facial Cleansing Bar inside the bathhouses and the Tea Peeling Gel at the vanity counters, I decided I should get some and try for myself and ended up with this 3-set for my sister and my mum too.

Tabibijin Cha Sekken Tea Facial Cleansing Bar


And what do you know, they're pricy stuff, even more expensive than Cow Brand's Shizen Gokochi line, which also has a Cha Sekken!!! Tabibijin's website shows each bar costs 1,050yen (~$13.50), and the 3-set is 2,100yen (buy 2 get 1 free) but that's still make out each bar to be 700yen (~$9), making these some of the most expensive bar soaps I've bought. Something must have came over me that day... ^.^


Each bar is 100g, just a tad smaller than the Pelican Deitanseki Clay & Charcoal Facial Cleansing Bars.


At least each bar of soap comes with a foaming net, which, believe it or not, costs around 400-700yen a piece, making it just as costly, if not more so than some facial bars! Perhaps I'm trying to ease my guilt of this impulsive splurge, but what is it with these prices?!? Why does a piece of foaming net costs just as much as a nice bar of soaps? It's just a piece of plastic while the soaps require a bunch of ingredients, among which are fine tea powder, charcoal powder, etc.! I don't get you, Japan!!!


But what can I say, these bars smell sooooooo good!


The bar also comes with a simple set of instructions: put the soap in the foaming net, make a thick lather, massage your face in circling motion with the foam. Apparently the foam can get pretty thick and creamy, and I do remember how well the net helps lathering up the bar at the bathhouse.


And supposedly, many Japanese ladies wash their face this way and claims it helps them keep super clear skin.


Content of each of the soap box.
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11 comments:

  1. kuriSeptember 6, 2011 at 2:25 AM

    hee, commerce in Japan is a funny thing.
    Would you say that this soap smells better than the other tea soaps?
    I love the smell of tea - black tea in particular...

    ReplyDelete
  2. D.September 6, 2011 at 4:13 AM

    Hi Kuri,

    Actually, both the Tabibijin as well as Cow Brand's Shizen Gokochi Cha Sekken smell wonderful, but I would say Shizen Gokochi Cha Sekken has a more potent fragrant.

    My sister bought 4 of them, leaving 1 soap box out on my desk next to my laptop for me to see. And for the rest of the night, I could smell the lovely tea scent while using the internet! She also said that her huge bag of luggage in which she had packed the 4 bars was bursting with the fragrance by the time she got home.

    This Tabibijin Cha Sekken's fragrance is not as potent, but smells just as nice!

    Hmm...I wonder if they make a black tea soap out there....

    ReplyDelete
  3. kuriSeptember 6, 2011 at 4:41 AM

    Oh, thanks! I'll try the Shizen Gokochi soap first then.

    Hrm, I should look for black tea soaps; it should be somewhere!

    ReplyDelete
  4. D.September 6, 2011 at 4:49 AM

    And Shizen Gokochi soaps are cheaper too! You can get them on Amazon Japan for around 575yen versus 600-700yen at the drugstores/groceries.

    Let me know if you like them! I'm very tempted to get some myself ^.^

    Cheers,
    D.

    ReplyDelete
  5. kuriSeptember 6, 2011 at 4:58 AM

    Thanks! I will definitely let you know what I think; but it will probably be in a couple months when I use up my other soaps :(

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousNovember 1, 2011 at 11:12 PM

    wow, I used this at an onsen hotel that I stayed at for a month. My skin was so soft and clear afterward. Im glad that you posted this! Can you order the Cha Tabibijin soaps from the USA? I wasnt able to bring any back with me due to limited luggage ^^;;

    ReplyDelete
  7. D.November 2, 2011 at 12:17 AM

    Hi anonymous,

    Thank you for reading!

    Unfortunately, it doesn't look like you can order the Tabibijin Cha soaps from the US. In fact, even in Japan you'd either have to buy it from an onsen facility or from Tabibijin's official online store, which doesn't ship overseas. That said, if you are open to trying a different brand, Cow Brand also makes an excellent Tea Soap (http://alittledabintomakeup.blogspot.com/2011/08/cow-brand-milky-body-soap.html) and this one's available to buy in the US via Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/SHIZEN-GOKOCHI-Facial-Cleansing-Set/dp/B002HMBV0W/ref=sr_1_8?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1320213551&sr=1-8) or TrueRenu (http://www.truerenu.com/tr/shop/shop-by-ingredients/jojoba/shizen-gokochi-facial-cleansing-set-green-tea-bar-soap-with-nylon-foaming-net-bag--80g-5023.asp).

    I hope this helps :)

    D.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousNovember 3, 2011 at 4:13 PM

    Hmm, ok! I will give cow brand a try. If that fails... I will eventually turn to a shopping service. That stuff in combination with the peeling gel and regular use made my skin amazing... I have never found such results! lol. ... trots over to amazon.com ;D thanks again <3

    ReplyDelete
  9. D.November 3, 2011 at 10:38 PM

    Hi anonymous!

    You are very welcome! Thanks for reading and I hope you'll like the Cow Brand tea soap too!

    You can also buy the Tabibijin Tea soap on Amazon JAPAN or Rakuten (the Japanese Amazon ^.^), but again neither will ship overseas. Do you have friends living in Japan? If so, perhaps you can have the soaps ship to their place and have them forward them to you. Just a thought :)

    Cheers,
    D.

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownAugust 9, 2019 at 8:34 AM

    where can i buy this soap? can i buy it online or in drugstore?

    ReplyDelete
  11. D.August 9, 2019 at 9:16 AM

    Hi unknown,

    You can always search Rakuten Global or Amazon Japan in English (try Tabibijin or 旅美人). That said, I just checked their official website and don't see this green tea soap anywhere, only the green tea peeling gel and facial washing foam. Usually that's a pretty good indication the soap bar has been discontinued :(

    Thanks for reading.

    D.

    ReplyDelete