I Tried Tatcha’s Breathtakingly Expensive Rice Polish – and Annoyingly, I Loved it
Main image – Courtesy of writer
If you’re a beauty buff, you’ll know that Japanese skincare brand Tatcha has become one of the most famous luxury skincare brands in the world.
And with celebrity fans like Nicola Coughlan, Meghan Markle, as well as getting the seal of approval from countless beauty editors, are we surprised?
@tatcha Comment the Tatcha products @nicolacoughlan uses in her @Vogue Beauty Secrets video? #tatcha #nicolacoughlan
The Rice Polish (£65 from Space NK UK /$69 from Sephora US) in particular has developed something of a cult following since the brand launched and has even been described as a holy grail exfoliator thanks to its gentle nature.
And with many dermatologists now warning against overly harsh scrubs that can damage the skin barrier, it’s no wonder The Rice Polish – which promises smoother, brighter skin without irritation – is capturing people’s attention.
As someone with oily skin that can be a little sensitive under the eyes, I couldn’t wait to give this a go. I love buffing my skin once or twice a week but what if I could find something that was gentle enough to do every day – maybe even twice?
Keep scrolling to find out how I got on.
AT A GLANCE
- Best for: Anyone who wants regular exfoliation without that stripped, scrubbed feeling.
- What we loved: Exceptionally gentle, noticeably smooths and brightens skin, and leaves it comfortable enough for frequent use.
- What we didn’t: It’s seriously expensive, the powder can be messy and it’s surprisingly easy to dispense too much. We also got through the product very quickly.
- Worth it? If your budget allows, yes. It delivered better results than cheaper exfoliators we’ve tried – just use it sparingly.
- Best alternative: Dermalogica’s Daily Microfoliant
The product details
The formula is an enzyme powder at first which then gets activated by water and transforms into a foaming cleanser. It contains Japanese rice bran for notoriously gentle exfoliation, papaya enzymes to dissolve dead skin cells, and Tatcha’s signature Hadasei-3 complex. What it doesn’t contain are mineral oil, sulphates, detergents, parabens and phthalates.
Traditional facial scrubs exfoliate using rough particles which can feel abrasive and harsh on the skin, but this primarily uses enzymes which is known to be much gentler. The brand claims that the product leaves skin smoother, softer and more radiant without stripping moisture.
Interestingly, despite enzyme powders being a longstanding staple in many Asian beauty routines, a powder cleanser format is quite unusual in the Western skincare market so there’s not a lot to compare it to (although Dermalogica’s classic Daily Microfoliant springs to mind).
The product comes in two sizes – full size (£65/$69) and travel size (£21/$22) and there are also several versions – Classic, Gentle, Deep and Calming. Mine is classic which is intended for normal to combination skin.
How I tested Tatcha’s The Rice Polish
At first, I used this product once a day, in the evening. I used it on damp hands and applied it after doing a sweep of micellar water first. I then upped my usage to twice a day (morning and evening) and applied a hydrating serum and moisturiser straight afterwards.
First impressions
The packaging is undeniably luxurious. Once you take the lid off the pot, you can see an obvious ‘press here’ button which, when you do press it, flips the other side open, revealing a small hole for the powder to come out of. Clever.
However, it is unclear how much you should sprinkle onto your hand and on my first go, I poured way too much out at once. Lesson learnt (although it would be amazing to have a way of measuring it out accurately – maybe something similar to how they measure out shots in bars. I’m here for all your beauty invention needs.)
Image – Courtesy of writer
I had poured it onto my dry hand, so I wet my other one and rubbed both hands together so that the powder became more of a crumbly paste. The powder loosened up a little and I applied it to my dry skin. However, it still needed to be a little wetter as it didn’t move around my skin very freely, so I wet my hand again and this time the paste quickly moved around my face.
It feels quite messy to use if you don’t have enough water but, equally, you don’t want to add too much water if you want it to feel like an exfoliator. I’ve discovered there is a very particular balance which can only be learnt with continued use but if you love the feeling of an exfoliator, hold back on the water. If you want it to feel like a cleanser, add more.
There is no scent whatsoever – perfect for those who aren’t fans of heavily fragranced products. And as you move it around your face it looks and feels like a very thick white paste but there is zero scratchiness and it is very comfortable to use – really creamy and luxurious. But again, it all depends on how much water you add.
My results
Straight after drying my skin, I noticed a huge improvement in its softness. It looked a little brighter too and felt impressively clean. My skin didn’t feel uncomfortable in any way – other products that leave my skin so squeaky clean can also leave it feeling tight, but it felt very comfortable and this has been the running theme with every use.
Compared to other exfoliators, it feels much gentler but does an equal – if not better – job. It’s so gentle and inoffensive that I feel like those with sensitive skin would get on with it beautifully. There has been zero dryness or signs of over-exfoliation. In fact, I have upped my usage to twice a day – morning and evening. I even noticed during a breakout recently that it faded quicker than it normally would which must be down to this cleanser.
Image – Courtesy of writer
I feel like my skin is in safe hands with this product and it feels good to know I am exfoliating much more regularly than I usually would because of how gentle and effective it is.
My make up glides on in the morning after using it and if I spritz a bit of fake tan on in the evening, I’ve noticed it goes on much more accurately and evenly than usual. I am completely and utterly sold on this product. Which is great for my skin, but not so great for my bank balance…
What other users are saying
There is so much love for this product, especially on Reddit, with many saying how much they love how gentle and effective it is, which I completely agree with. “Huge fan of the deep rice polish. I have no other scrub type exfoliants to compare it to but it makes my skin feel very smooth and fresh like nothing else,” writes appaulling.
Anon-an-emanon is clearly using it far more sparingly than me, “one of these lasts forever,” they say. “The granules are gentle and as you cleanse it becomes a lovely, silky foam. It’s a delicate & effective exfoliant, wonderful for sensitivity.”
Others agree with me that the price is extortionate. “Tatcha needs to wake up with these prices because what in the world,” writes salonpasss. ‘Anon’ prefers a cheaper enzyme powder, “I’ve used all of the Tatcha rice powders and they’re nice enough, but I definitely prefer Amorepacific enzyme powder.”
And lots of people agree that the amount of ‘scrub’ you feel can be tailored by the amount of water you use. “…you can adjust the powder to water ratio to make it as thick as you want,” writes ActuallySure. “The less water you add the more scrubby it’ll be. It’s a very fine polish and not like a traditional exfoliant where you can feel the beads, but that’s a good thing since it won’t cause any surface damage.”
Overall value for money
Despite this being £65/$69, I would definitely purchase it again as a treat – not regularly – and I would be a bit more careful with how much I use next time.
I’m not quite sure how I would do this because of how quickly it pours out, but I feel like my pot would have lasted a lot longer had I used less. Mine’s almost finished and I have been using it for around 4-5 weeks, but with more cautious pouring (or perhaps just one use per day), I think I could stretch the next one to 6-8.
Image – Courtesy of writer
I do think £65/$69 is extortionate for a cleanser, don’t get me wrong. Extortionate. But if I was feeling flush it would be my first port of call because of how it makes my skin feel and behave, not to mention the way my make-up and fake tan perform after using it. I think it is genuinely better than other exfoliators I’ve used because of how gentle and comfortable it is, but it’s all relative. A £5.99 bottle of exfoliating cleanser would suffice as long as I used it properly, i.e not so regularly.
As I mentioned, another favourite powder exfoliator of mine is the Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant (which is exactly the same). They both do a similar job – although I must say, I prefer the results and general feel of the Tatcha product. But (and there is a big but), the Dermalogica product lasts way longer.
I also love using the Simple Gentle Cleansing Scrub, which is obviously budget friendly, but it doesn’t smooth my skin like the Tatcha Rice Polish and it leaves it quite tight and uncomfortable if I don’t hydrate straight away.
The takeaway
Is this product worth the hype? In my opinion, yes. Even though it is similar to the Dermalogica product, I think Tatcha’s version works harder and gives more visible results. My skin is smoother, brighter and not irritated, as promised. I am bereft at the thought of it running out and I absolutely love what it does for my skin.
Let’s not beat around the bush, it is a very expensive product and I am not in the business of spending that on anything that lasts only 5 weeks. So, perhaps I need to re-think how much I am using and only use it once a day. Or perhaps I need to lower my standards and plump for a cheaper option. The problem is, once you’ve tried something so amazing on your skin, it’s very hard to go back.
My plan? Add it to birthday and Christmas lists, treat myself every so often and hold back on the pouring. And consequently have amazing skin.
Get Glowing!
