After a decade of working for large corporations, Victoria Tsai yearned for simplicity and authenticity in her life. Suffering from acute dermatitis and developing a keen awareness of the importance of ingredients on the skin, she began traveling East in search of a more evolved, holistic approach to beauty. On a trip to Kyoto, she discovered a world of pure beauty, craftsmanship and heritage. An encounter with a modern-day geisha changed her life.

Victoria learned classical Japanese beauty secrets passed down by generations that took a different approach to skincare - that less is more. This skin care philosophy and time-tested ingredients were captured in an ancient text widely considered to be the oldest beauty book written in Japan, and perhaps the first such work of its kind. Within its three delicate, thread-bound volumes are seven chapters devoted to beauty and elegance in both appearance and spirit. This special guide informs and inspires the Tatcha collection.

Today, Tatcha works with scientists in Japan and the U.S., to create each formula from scratch, advancing time-honored beauty practices for fast-paced, modern life. The foundation is Hadasei-3™, a trinity of anti-aging superfoods born from the Japanese diet, and the basis for the original geisha beauty rituals: green tea, rice and algae. Every ingredient is carefully selected and minimally manipulated to be gentle and safe with maximum effectiveness.

Victoria splits her time between Japan and San Francisco, rooting Tatcha in a marriage of Kyoto craftsmanship and wellness philosophies with California natural ease. Believing that beauty begins in the heart and the mind, Tatcha's philanthropic model funds girls' education in partnership with Room to Read with every skincare purchase, helping to nurture the beautiful minds of incredible girls in Asia and Africa. In 2017, Tatcha celebrated the funding of one million days of school, which goes far beyond textbooks and classrooms—each day includes life skills coaching, mentorship, and the tools needed to enable a brighter future.

Founder Victoria Tsai has been a lifelong seeker of beauty. Her passion for skincare began at an early age when Victoria’s mother shared traditional Asian herbal skincare treatments, which they sold in her family’s beauty boutique. Victoria’s love of discovery has since led her to become a sought-after expert in the field, developing products and brand strategies for the world’s largest beauty companies.

Searching for a new approach to beauty, Victoria began traveling to Asia where a chance encounter in Kyoto with a modern-day geisha changed her course. For over 300 years, Japan’s geisha have been held in awe for their enduring wisdom and breathtakingly beautiful, porcelain skin. Perfected through centuries of timeless rituals, it is widely believed their beauty secrets have been passed down from one generation to the next by word of mouth alone. As she began to immerse herself in Japan’s culture, Victoria unearthed a 200-year-old beauty manuscript. On its ancient pages, she rediscovered the geisha’s coveted daily regimen. Moved and inspired, Victoria founded TATCHA as a way to share these timeless secrets with the modern world.

Traveling back to the City of 2000 Temples (Kyoto), TATCHA works closely with teams of scientists, scholars and geisha themselves to decipher the rituals and ingredients from the sacred beauty text. TATCHA’s formulas pay homage to the icon of Eastern beauty and the brand’s own storied heritage. Now the secrets of the geisha live on through a proprietary process involving the most precious Green Teas, Okinawa Red Algae, Rice Bran and other time-tested ingredients.

Our Mission

Enduring beauty is a culmination of the wisdom of centuries. Having heard that many of the world’s greatest beauty secrets originated with geisha, we explored scientific journals, unearthed historical archives and studied the ageless beauty rituals of the iconic geisha to shed light on a highly evolved approach to beauty.

Our mission is to share with a new generation the inspired approach to a beautiful life that we discover on our journeys East.

We believe the body is brilliant at healing itself. The geisha recognized that to maintain baby-soft skin, one must replenish and enhance the skin’s natural protection against environmental stresses. This allows skin to heal itself and return to its native balance and optimal beauty.

Our Science

TATCHA recreates the geisha’s minimalist beauty regime with fresh preparations of concentrated bioactive materials, accessing their active ingredients through a proprietary extraction process of Green Tea, Okinawa Red Algae and Rice Bran.

HADASEI-3 Bioactive Complex

a proprietary anti-aging complex of:

• Green Tea Complete DNA Extract

  extremely rich in EGCG, 14 times more potent than traditional green tea extracts and 5 times more potent than Vitamin C in protecting against UV-induced oxidative damage, which is a leading contributor to premature skin aging.

• Okinawa Red Algae Extract

  a vital source of Beterhelin, a natural polysaccharide proven to enhance the skin’s barrier function for long lasting moisture retention and texture improvement.

• Japanese Rice Bran Extract

  prized for centuries as a rich source of inositol, a multitasking active which is at once a powerful anti-oxidant and nourishing moisturizer.

Together, these time-tested ingredients enhance the skin’s natural beauty, promote nourishing moisturization and help reduce the signs of premature aging for truly pure, polished, radiant and supple looking skin.

Clinical Results—Science Confirms What Geisha Learned Long Ago

An 8-week independent clinical study showed more youthful-looking skin with daily use of TATCHA's 4-step ritual:

• 70% decrease in pore size
• 60% decrease in depth of wrinkles
• 50% reduction in age spots and redness
• 155% increase in moisturization