Mekabu, the lower part of the swaying Wakame seaweed, is our hero ingredient -- it is a unique ocean botanical filled with an abundance of slimy goodness that’s super-rich in algae, vitamins and minerals that provide massive amounts of hydration, shine and softness to the hair fiber. We get our Mekabu from the northeastern pacific coast of Japan from Taiheikonbu, a family-owned seaweed manufacturer who has been in business for 80 years. They specialize in several kinds of Japanese seaweed which are sold across Japan to specific food supermarkets and restaurants. Mekabu, being super concentrated with slimy goodness, is consumed by over 35% of the Japanese population.
We went and visited the seaweed company back in 2019 to get a better understanding of their philosophy and their process for harvesting Mekabu. It was an incredible learning experience that we want to share with you.
Mekabu is planted in the bays of NE Japan only once a year, in October of each fall season, and harvested by the fisherman between April and June of the following Spring. The yield of the crop depends on ocean temperature and weather conditions as well as the growing environment, just like soil-based farming. Local farmers harvest the Mekabu from the bays in boats and wash it on the shores before shipping to our local family-owned seaweed supplier to be cleansed, dried, dehumidified and ground down into a fine powder that is infused in each of MASAMI’s formulas.
From there, it is cleaned,
Finally, the Mekabu is powdered down in several cycles to our specification. We use powder vs. extract so that we can put the maximum amount of active ingredients into our formulations. This allows us to keep our formulations lightweight yet super high performing.
The last step -- the Mekabu powder is sent to us fresh where it is infused in our formulations to give your hair massive hydration.
You can see the specs of Mekabu powder in our conditioner and styling cream.
We are so appreciative of our partner in Japan and their sustainable practices and look forward to working together for many years!
