Top 23 Best Japanese Body Milks in 2021 - Tried and True! (Kose, Muji, and More)

Body milk, body cream, body lotion - have you ever wondered what the difference is? And more importantly, which one is right for you?

The main difference is the amounts of water and oils. Body creams have the most oil, and lotions have the least. Body milk falls somewhere in between the two.

This means it has more moisturizing power than lotion but isn't as greasy as cream. The smooth, silky texture makes it perfect for those who need high moisturizing power but don't like to feel sticky.

We picked out some of the most popular products and tested them for how well they moisturized and how sticky they felt. Then we ranked the top 23 Japanese body milks available online.

Japanese prices for some of the products are given, but they've been converted into US dollars to make it easy for you.

A lot of these left us with a sticky or greasy feeling, some weren't moisturizing enough, and some had the worst of both worlds.

Moist, Diane Body Milk from Nature Labs has a formula with dipotassium glycyrrhizinate and placenta extract for smooth and toned skin. It spreads well and is easy to use daily, but moisturizing and stickiness were both just average.

Moist, Diane Botanical was even more average. Aside from not containing seven ingredients many avoid, such as ethanol, parabens, and petroleum-based surfactants, there's nothing specifically good or bad to say about it.

Matsukiyo Body Milk is weakly acidic to balance your skin's pH. It contains petroleum jelly, shea butter and honey. Moisturizing was okay but not enough for those with dry skin. The texture is nice, too, but it has a somewhat sticky finish.

Natu Savon Select "Softymo" body milk from Kose has murumuru and shea butters. Our mochi test yielded strong results, with very little cracking and a score of 4.5. But all the natural moisturizers also meant it was super sticky; in fact, it was the worst we tried. It's a shame that there couldn't be more of a balance.

Magicnumber For Fam is a fragrance-free body milk that comes in a large bottle. It has ceramides and vegetable oil and the moisturizing is moderate. Kumano Yushi offers Hatomugi Lightening Body Milk. Hatomugi, or Job's Tears, is used for moisturizing, and we found it to be a bit higher than average, but not enough for those with dry skin.

Bioreu Deep Moisturizing Milk from Kao wasn't particularly deeply moisturizing but just average on that front. The stickiness was too much, with nine beads remaining adhered. It spreads easily, though.

Rezare Body Milk from Hakugen Earth has amino acids and hyaluronic acid, supposedly to moisturize. And yet, there were so many cracks in our mochi that its surface was about to come off. It wasn't too sticky, but we can't see a reason to use it in large amounts if it doesn't provide enough hydration.

Nivea Marshmallow Care has jojoba and almond oil, but our mochi came out of the test slightly cracked. It also is really sticky (we scored it 1.0.) If you need something temporary to put on your skin, though, this might tide you over until you can find something more moisturizing.

Rohto's Care Cera AP Face & Body Milk has ceramides, as you might have guessed. It also has just above average moisturizing (not enough for those with dry skin) and an extremely sticky finish. It is fragrance-free, though.

I-ne Botanist Botanical Body Milk leaves you with a very sticky feeling and wasn't very moisturizing at all. Our mochi had many deep cracks, 10 beads stuck, and it ended up as our lowest-ranked product. If you choose this one, it'd be better used for summer emergencies.

We put each product through two tests to check for the following:

1. Moisturizing power
2. Non-stickiness

Then we gave them a score from 0.5 to 5 and ranked them.

The most important thing to us was moisturizing. To test that, we applied each body milk to a mochi rice cake and rubbed it in a bit.

After four hours, we checked the mochi to see if they developed cracks or surface peeling, and touched them to evaluate how moist they felt.

The body milks which performed best in our mochi test tended to contain multiple moisturizing ingredients and emollients, such as glycerin, dipropylene glycol, butylene glycol, mineral oil, and petrolatum. We also found that just because a product had a high price didn't mean that it had a lot of moisturizers.

On the contrary, most of the body milks you can easily find at drug stores received near perfect scores for moisturizing power. Few of the more expensive "luxury" brands could say the same.

The only exceptions were ones from RMK and the non-Japanese brands John Masters and Sabon, so if you must have a luxury brand, pick one of those.

For this test, we rubbed an exact amount of body milk on one of our testers' hands. We left it on for three minutes.

When the time was up, our tester pressed their hand lightly onto some beads and shook gently. Then we counted how many beads remained stuck.

Many products were not that sticky, and they ranged from zero to 12 beads that stayed stuck. Ayura, as well as non-Japanese brands Sabon and Dior, fared the best, with one or no beads.

On the other hand, those with great moisturizing power were often also stickier. You may have to accept some greasiness if you want more skin hydration. Precious Garden Body Milk from Kose was a notable exception to the rule, with perfect scores for both non-stickiness and moisturizing.

We recommend keeping these four points in mind when you're deciding on a Japanese body oil.

You're using body milk to get soft, moisturized skin, so make sure you get what you expect! Check the label or online description to make sure powerful moisturizers are at the top of the ingredient list, meaning they'll be in the highest proportions. Here are some ingredients to look for.

You may run into Japanese products that don't list their ingredients. This means they're medicated products that fall under different labeling laws. In that case, or if you can't read Japanese and can't find a translation, please use our evaluations to choose the most moisturizing products!

If you have sensitive skin or want to use a product on your face or for a baby, make sure you choose one with gentle ingredients. Look for ones that say "for sensitive skin" or "additive-free" on the package.

We've listed ones that are fragrance-free in our table. You may still have a reaction to certain elements of the formula regardless of the labeling, so even better to check all the ingredients if your skin is very sensitive.

Lightening or whitening doesn't refer to changing your skin tone, but to reducing the appearance of melanin spots or blemishes. Lightening ingredients can also suppress the production of melanin due to UV exposure and prevent the formation of so-called age spots or sunspots.

People with sensitive skin should always do a patch test before applying a whitening product all over. Some ingredients to look for are vitamin C or derivatives like ascorbic acid, chamomile, tranexamic acid, placenta extract, and ellagic acid.

How can you judge the scent or texture if you can't try a tester at a store? Check the reviews online. If there are any scents you particularly hate, look for that specifically, or choose fragrance-free body milk.

The finish will vary greatly even among similar body milks. Check our evaluations to decide which one would suit you. If you want to use it for massage or daily self-care, look for one that spreads easily and covers well with only a small amount.

A great time to use body milk is right after bathing or showering. Your skin tends to dry out after taking a bath, so it's important to replace the moisture immediately.

It's also great to use body milk liberally during dry weather, or on areas that are prone to dryness, like arms and knees. Some products can be used on the face and body, saving time!

We also love to use a lotion first to firm up the skin. Follow that with a slow massage using body milk in a cool room. We all deserve a little relaxing self-care like that sometimes!

A lot of us spend time taking care of our faces, but don't neglect the rest of your skin! We have some great suggestions for all kinds of skincare products, for all types of skin.

We tested products of various types, from those with a refreshing light finish to those with the moisturizing power of a body cream. Look for the one that suits you best, and don't miss out on this versatile skincare item!

Author: Yurie Katafuchi/Translation: Susan Lucier-Ogawa/Photos: Koichi Miura, Ayumu Sasaki, Takahiro Matsumura

Ranking date: 12/27/2019

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