While in Seoul, South Korea, earlier this year, I met Ban Jae Yong, a 50-year-old board-certified dermatologist at Banobagi Dermatology with the ultra-smooth complexion of decades younger. He lovingly referred to it as his “mochi skin.”

Like glass skin, mochi skin is a skin ideal sought after not only in Korea, but also Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and other countries across Asia based on the Japanese rice cake of the same name. For those unfamiliar, mochi is a deliciously chewy snack that is typically round and often filled with red bean paste or ice cream. 

In human form, mochi skin is soft, plump, and free of lines or dryness — “just like baby skin,” says Marie Jhin, a board-certified dermatologist based in San Carlo, California.