Ingredient profile
- Japanese name
- こんにゃく (Konnyaku)
- Botanical / INCI
- Amorphophallus konjac root
- Sustainability verification
Essential takeaways
- Konnyaku is konjac, a plant whose root yields konjac glucomannan, a high-molecular-weight polysaccharide.
- Konjac glucomannan has documented water-binding and film-forming properties (Sun 2023), which is its role in a formula rather than a treatment claim.
- DAMDAM uses konjac in a rinse-off cleanser, which limits any leave-on skincare claim.
- Konnyaku has been a Japanese dietary staple for over 1,500 years, historically centred on Gunma Prefecture.
Konnyaku (Konjac): What It Does for Your Skin
Konnyaku (こんにゃく) is konjac, a plant most Japanese kitchens know as a food long before it is a skincare ingredient. On the skin, konjac earns its place through a soft, water-loving fibre rather than a strong active.
What is konjac in skincare?
DAMDAM uses konjac (Amorphophallus konjac root) in its Nomad's Cream Purifying Cleanser, a rinse-off product. The useful part is konjac glucomannan, a high-molecular-weight polysaccharide with documented water-binding and film-forming properties (Sun 2023). That is a formulation and texture property, and because the cleanser is rinse-off, konjac reads as a gentle cleansing fibre rather than a leave-on treatment.
How is konnyaku used in Japan?
Konnyaku has been a Japanese dietary staple for over 1,500 years, historically centred on Gunma Prefecture, where konjac cultivation is long established. Konjac sponges are also a familiar Japanese cleansing tool, which is the everyday context DAMDAM draws on.
The DAMDAM product
The Nomad's Cream Purifying Cleanser uses konjac for a gentle daily cleanse suitable for all skin types, including sensitive. It featured in an Allure editor's nighttime skincare routine.
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.