Amanatsu (Japanese Citrus)

Amanatsu (甘夏) is a Japanese summer citrus, and it is the heritage note in DAMDAM's Citrus Glow serum. It is also a good example of why ingredient provenance is worth stating precisely: the citrus tells the story, but it is not where the vitamin C comes from.

What is amanatsu?

Amanatsu, also called natsudaidai, is a Japanese summer citrus cultivar. In the Citrus Glow serum it is the heritage and story ingredient. On the INCI, DAMDAM's citrus is registered as Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (sweet orange) peel oil.

Where does the vitamin C come from?

This is the important distinction. The serum's vitamin C comes from two stabilised synthetic ascorbate derivatives, ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate and 3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid. These have been studied for topical use, though large-scale human trials on these specific derivatives remain limited (Vasques 2023). The vitamin C is not extracted from the amanatsu citrus; citrus peel oil carries essentially no ascorbic acid. So amanatsu is the Japanese citrus heritage, and the vitamin C is a separate, stabilised active.

What is 3PE?

DAMDAM holds the vitamin C and hyaluronic acid together in its Japan-developed 3PE (triphasic emulsion) technology, which is how it keeps both actives stable in one serum. It is a brand formulation approach; it is described here as DAMDAM's own technology, not a validated mechanism.

The DAMDAM product

The Citrus Glow (Vitamin C + Hyaluronic Serum) pairs stabilised vitamin C with hyaluronic acid to brighten and hydrate in one step, and carries amanatsu peel oil as its citrus botanical. It was named in Refinery29's best beauty products of Fall 2023.

In the US, DAMDAM is available at Sephora, where it carries the Clean + Planet Aware seal, and on damdamtokyo.com; in Japan, you can also find DAMDAM at its Kyoto flagship and stockists including Isetan and Ron Herman.