In this Ingredient Spotlight, we will be highlighting the Adzuki Bean for you!
You may be wondering, is this a cooking ingredient? Yes, it is a cooking ingredient! But it also is a coveted skincare ingredient used in many Asian cultures. Let’s take a dive into what Adzuki beans can do for your skin together.
Adzuki bean, also known as the red bean or red mung bean is an annual vine that’s widely cultivated throughout East Asia, the first variety of the Adzuki bean was discovered around 50,000 years ago!
This bean is mainly grown in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, but also grown in other countries such as the US, South America, India, New Zealand, Kongo and Angola. In Japan, this bean is rated the second most important bean to be grown next to the soybean so you can imagine how many uses the Adzuki bean has in the culture!
This coveted red bean is usually used in the culinary world, from sweet desserts to soups and stews. Adzuki beans are also commonly eaten sprouted or boiled in a hot tea-like drink. Traditionally in Japan, rice with Adzuki beans is cooked for special occasions, and used in desserts by boiling it with sugar to make (anko) a red bean paste and used in pastries, mochi, cakes, and more.
The Japanese started using this bean in skincare as well and have been using it for centuries. After harvesting the pods of the bean, women would use stone to ground them into a powder, place the beans in a small silk bag and use it with a bit of water to create a creamy exfoliating scrub for their face and body. The beans not only help get rid of dry and dead skin cells, it also is packed with antioxidants that help with neutralizing harmful free radical particles in the skin.
Adzuki beans contain saponin which gives a natural foaming action to help remove dead skin cells and help draw out any pore clogging particles such as dirt and bacteria that causes acne. Saponins also help tighten the skin and soften the skin as the bean promotes circulation in the skin, providing a gorgeous healthy glow.
To incorporate this ingredient in our soaps, we grind it very fine and strain it through a fine mesh to produce a powder like texture.
We then add it to our goat milk soap base at trace and mix it in all by hand. We stir until just incorporated and we pour it into our molds. After hand cutting them and curing for 8 weeks, these bars are ready to be used!
This bean used in our goat milk soaps provide the most amazing exfoliation you’ve ever felt! It’s finely ground and very smooth, yet does an incredible job at lifting those dead skin cells away from any part of your body. We’ve tested these extensively on our own skin and have really enjoyed the experience in the shower, and leaves our skin feeling so smooth after. We’ve also kept it unscented so it’s a great fit for just about anyone!
This bean is a very unique ingredient that everyone should know about! We would love for you to share this post with your friends and family and show them how this very Adzuki Bean can help their skin conditions as well. We can’t wait for you to try our newest favorite exfoliating soap and can’t wait to hear all your reviews and feedback! Be sure to check out our Adzuki bean goat milk soap here!