The 3 Most Famous Japanese Bath Salts Brands

Since, to get rid of everyday fatigue and stress, we Japanese soak in a warm bath almost every day, a wide variety of bath salts can be seen at supermarkets and drugstores in Japan.

As you may know, nowadays those Japanese bath salt are also available on online marketplaces outside of Japan, and if you run a search for Japanese bath salts on Amazon.com, many results will appear.

Japan’s Most Famous Bath Salts Brands

When it comes to bath salts manufacturers, there are 3 leading Japanese companies with a large market share in Japan, which are “Bathclin (バスクリン)”, “Kao (花王)”, and “Earth Chemical (アース製薬)”.

As with other makers, each of these Japanese companies has a representative bath salts brand whose sales amount is high.

Those flagship bath salts brands of Bathclin, Kao, and Earth Chemical have been widely used by Japanese people for decades and are admittedly Japan’s top 3 most famous bath salts brands.

Bathclin (バスクリン) from Bathclin

Bathclin Premium Pure Skin Bath Salts, 23.2 Ounce
Amazon.com

As its name indicates, Bathclin is the flagship bath salts brand of Bathclin. This brand has a long history and is so famous in Japan that there are few Japanese who don’t know it.

First introduced in 1930, the bath salts are especially characterized by a good scent coming from the use of beads that contain natural aroma components inside.

In fact, the product above, “Bathclin Premium Pure Skin” contains collagen, elastin, and jojoba oil, which are all moisturizing components and give the skin plenty of moisture.

How to Use

Put about 30 grams of bath salts in a bathtub of warm water (about 200 liters) and dissolve well.

Bab (バブ) from Kao

Bab Bath Salts Mori no Omotenashi, 12 tablets
Amazon.com

Bab (Bub) is Kao’s flagship bath salts brand with great popularity. Since it went on the market in 1983, the bath salts in the series have long been loved by many Japanese people.

While most Japanese bath additive products consist of bath salts or liquid-type bath salts, the bath additive of Bab is tablet-type.

Bab is especially characterized by the carbon dioxide gas generated when the tablet is put in water, which improves blood circulation and is effective for stiff shoulder and muscle fatigue.

Consisting of 4 scents of tablets (なでしこ: fringed pink, 青竹: young bamboo, ひのき: Japanese cypress, くすのき: camphor tree), the item shown above “Mori no Omotenashi (森のおもてなし)” also has such health benefits.

How to Use

Put a tablet in a bathtub of warm water (about 150 to 200 liters). Even after all the bubbles disappear, the water with active components can provide health benefits.

Bath Roman (バスロマン) from Earth Chemical 

Yakusen Bath Roman Muddy White Color, 650g
Amazon.com

First released in 1964, Bath Roman is the flagship bath salts brand of Earth Chemical, and the product shown above is from the “Yakusen (薬泉: medicinal spring)” line in the series.

As the meaning of Yakusen indicates, in addition to being packed with mineral components that natural hot spring water actually contains, the bath salts use “Cnidium rhizome extract” known as a plant crude drug.

In terms of the health benefits, the warm water containing the bath salts improves fatigue, poor circulation due to cold, and symptoms of rheumatism.

How to Use

Put about 15 to 30 grams of bath salts in a tub of warm water (about 200 liters) and dissolve well.