What is Keshousui, Explaining Japanese Facial Toner.

How to Use

Japanese women are renowned for their meticulous skincare routines, which are designed
to keep their skin youthful and beautiful.

One of the standout skincare products in Japan is Facial Toner（or Facial skin lotion）, known as Keshousui or Keshoueki. Keshousui are applied immediately after makeup removal or face washing. This step helps to deeply moisturize and soften the skin, effectively preparing it for the subsequent steps in your skincare routine.

Facial toner is a crucial step in Japanese skincare, widely used for its focus on delivering deep moisture to the skin. In this article, we will explore the proper usage, various types, and how to choose the right Japanese facial toner.

1. How to use Facial Toner (Keshousui)

Facial Toner (Keshousui) is one of the basics of Japanese skin care. Because you use it every day, read this article to learn how to use it correctly and enjoy the maximum effect.

How to Use

1-1. When to use Japanese Facial Toner

Facial Toner is applied immediately after using a makeup remover or face wash. It serves as a preparatory step before applying makeup in the morning and as an essential evening skincare product.

1-2. How to use Japanese Facial Toner

There are generally two ways to use Facial Toner: one method is to apply it to a cotton pad and gently swipe it across your face, and the other is to pour it into the palm of your hand and pat it directly onto your skin.


Using a cotton pad to apply Facial Toner has the advantage of evenly distributing the product across your skin, preventing it from dripping. This method is particularly effective since Facial Toner is watery and can otherwise leak onto the floor. However, the downside is that a significant amount of Facial Toner is absorbed by the cotton pad, and the friction during application can potentially irritate the skin.


Applying Facial Toner with the palm of your hand has several advantages: it requires less product, reduces friction, and the warmth of your hand can enhance absorption. Be especially careful around the eyes, mouth, and nose to avoid unevenness. And you can check the condition of your facial skin daily with the palm of your hand.

2. Types of Japanese Facial Toner and how to choose

Facial Toner plays many roles in addition to softening and moisturizing the skin.


・Soothes and Improves Skin Texture
・Moisturizes and Prevents Dryness
・Softens your skin while providing a firming effect
・Enhances elasticity and luster
・Maintains skin health and prevents roughness


2-1. Types of Japanese Facial Toner

With its variety of roles, Facial Toner can be categorized into three main types to suit different skincare needs.

Softening Facial Toner

Facial Toner is primarily used to rehydrate the skin. While the term Facial Toner generally refers to this type of facial skin lotion, it also encompasses astringent lotions and wiping lotions, which serve different purposes. When selecting a Facial Toner, it's important to understand these distinctions to choose the one that best suits your skincare needs.

Astringent toner

This Facial Toner tightens the skin and reduces sebum secretion, making it perfect for those worried about open pores and blackheads. It also leaves your skin feeling silky smooth after use. Simply soak a cotton pad with the lotion and gently pat it onto your skin after applying moisturizer.

Wiping toner

This Facial Toner is ideal for those with open pores caused by sebum and clogged pores from keratin plugs. It effectively removes dirt and dead skin cells from the surface of the skin. Facial Toner often contains high levels of surfactants and alcohol. Since its main purpose is not to hydrate, you can combine it with a softening lotion if additional moisture is needed.

2-2. How to choose Japanese Facial Toner

First, here’s how to choose Facial Toner for different skin types.

For Normal Skin

Skin types are classified as dry or oily depending on the balance between moisture and sebum. Normal skin has a good balance between moisture and sebum, so it is important to maintain the current state of the skin. However, even for normal skin, it is important to keep the skin moisturized.

For Dry Skin

People with dry skin should use Facial Toner that is rich in moisturizing ingredients. Look for products containing hyaluronic acid, ceramide, and collagen, as these are commonly used for their high-moisturizing properties.

For Oily and Acne-Prone Skin

People with acne-prone skin should choose Facial Toner that contains anti-inflammatory ingredients to combat acne. Since dryness can also contribute to acne, it's recommended to use products with hyaluronic acid for its high moisturizing effectiveness.

For Sensitive Skin

People with sensitive skin may experience slight irritation when applying lotion. It is important to choose a Facial Toner that does not contain surfactants or UV absorbers, as these can easily irritate sensitive skin.

In addition to choosing Facial Toner based on your skin type, there are many other varieties, such as those with anti-aging care and those with additional beneficial ingredients. Select the Facial Toner that best suits your specific skin problems and skin type!

Introducing FANCL's Facial Toner (Keshoueki)

At FANCL, both terms mean the same, but we use the name "Keshoueki" instead of "Keshousui."


Over 40 years ago, FANCL discovered that preservatives and other additives can negatively affect the skin. Since then, FANCL has been dedicated to creating additive-free cosmetics, excluding the five major additives: preservatives, synthetic fragrances, synthetic dyes, petroleum surfactants, and UV absorbers. FANCL continues to provide skincare products that enhance the natural beauty and health of your skin.

Enrich+ Lotion: Facial Toner with Anti-Wrinkle Ingredients

Enrich+ Lotion is recommended for those concerned about wrinkles, as well as a lack of firmness and plumpness. This skincare solution targets these issues, helping to maintain youthful, firm, and plump skin.

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Basic daily care improves wrinkles while nurturing high-quality collagen. As we age, not only does the amount of collagen decrease, but its quality also declines, causing a lack of elasticity. Our triple approach “rapidly producing new collagen,” “strongly nurturing” existing collagen, and “promoting repair” by detecting damaged collagen—fills the skin with high-quality collagen. This additive-free product helps to improve wrinkles on the skin’s surface, strengthens the skin to withstand stress, and promotes plump, supple skin that appears to push back from the inside out.

FANCL Enrich+ Lotion 2 product image picture. How to open (step3)

Enrich+ Lotion

Enrich+ Lotion comes in two types: Enrich+ I, a refreshing type recommended for oily or combination skin, and Enrich+ II, a moist type recommended for dry or normal skin that needs extra moisture. Choose the one that best suits your skin type for optimal hydration and care.

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Moist Refine

Moist Refine is the perfect solution. This moisturizing line also caters to oily skin, addressing inner dryness to keep your skin hydrated and healthy.

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Inner dryness is a condition where the skin surface appears sticky with sebum, but the stratum corneum (outer layer) is dry due to insufficient moisture. Although the skin may seem oily at first glance, it is actually dry beneath the surface because the inner layer lacks adequate hydration.


“Moist Charge Collagen”, a proprietary ingredient by FANCL, features large molecules that remain on the skin's surface to lock in moisture. This advanced “Moisture Charge Collagen” works in tandem with “Active Ceramide” to protect and retain moisture from the inside out, ensuring your skin stays hydrated and healthy.


Collagen loss around pores, often caused by UV rays and other factors, is a major reason for pore opening. FANCL’s VP extract helps plump the skin around pores, making it smooth and refined.

FANCL Moist Refine Lotion 1 product image picture.

Moist Refine Lotion

Moist Refine Lotion is available in two types to suit your skin condition. Moist Refine Lotion II is a moist type, perfect for those concerned about dry skin. Moist Refine Lotion I is a light type, ideal for those worried about sticky skin due to excess sebum. If you have combination skin that is both dry and oily, we recommend using Moist Refine Lotion II to prioritize moisture. Both lotions contain the same key ingredients, but their formulations differ in other ingredients and amounts to address specific skin needs.

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FANCL BC Lotion product image picture.

BC Lotion

Aging Care Lotion that treats signs of aging.

This aging care facial toner *2 is recommended for all skin types with complex skin problems such as dryness, wrinkles, sagging, and dullness.

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Aging care

(In this article, Meaning age-appropriate skin care.)

An aging care facial toner with a thick texture that quickly penetrates the epidermis. The high-penetration W-Capsule absorbs deeply into the skin, providing fast and long-lasting hydration. With continued use, it results in plump, resilient, flawless, and radiant skin.

To maintain firm, luminous, and beautiful skin, it is important to enhance the “power to dispose of waste products accumulated in the skin” and the “power to produce new skin." FANCL has discovered that these abilities are enhanced when female hormones (estrogen) bind to the “estrogen receptors” in the skin.


“Rose Rich Placenta,” a proprietary ingredient extracted from the placenta and petals of damask roses, enhances the skin's ability to absorb estrogen.It also increases the skin's “ability to release and produce” estrogen, which is crucial for anti-aging care. This results in skin that is plump, elastic, and radiant.


It also activates “estrogen receptors,” which are diminished by skin stress, with greater efficacy because there are no added ingredients that cause skin stress, loosen collagen, promote melanin production, or accelerate aging.

Conclusion

In Japan, Facial Toner is referred to as either "Keshousui" or "Keshoueki" and is a vital part of skincare routines. To achieve the best results, use it daily after your Makeup Remover and Face Wash, and before applying your moisturizer. Choose a facial toner that suits your skin type and apply it correctly to enhance your skincare regimen.

Integrate facial toner (Keshousui) into your daily skincare regimen to boost hydration, soften your skin, and amplify the effects of your other skincare products.