Pelican Soap: Japanese Soap Guide
Pelican Soap (ペリカン石鹸) is a Japanese soap brand that produces both solid and liquid soap. They are focused on using raw materials that are plant derived and producing soaps that are easy to hold and wash with. Their soaps create a delicate and creamy foam and come in both relaxing and refreshing scents. Pelican describe themselves as wanting to bring happiness to people in everyday life during their washing time.
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Where can I purchase Pelican Soap?
The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with their soaps produced in Fukaya City in Saitama. Pelican Soap is used in many incredible hotels in Tokyo and around Japan; including the Grand Hyatt, Keio Plaza, Andaz, Park Hyatt and Intercontinental Hotels. While Pelican Soaps are beloved and easy to find in Japan (try any drugstore!) they can be much harder to unearth abroad. I’ve searched high and low to put together this list with links to find them online.
Pelican Soap Range
1. Pelican Soap Family Honey Soap
Designed for the whole family to use, this soap contains honey and royal jelly extract to moisturize. It foams up into a fluffy consistency and has the sweet scent of honey.
Japanese: ペリカン石鹸 ファミリーはちみつ石鹸
2. Pelican Soap Pure Plant Additive-Free Soap
This additive free soap is made from pure plant ingredients and is produced using a kettle-fired manufacturing method. Suitable for sensitive skin.
Japanese: ペリカン石鹸 純植物 無添加石けん
3. Pelican Soap Hinoki Kurocha Soap
This facial soap is branded Hinoki Kurocha and is manufactured by Pelican Soap. It contains a number of interesting ingredients; green tea, onsen water (from Izumo Yumura onsen), bamboo charcoal and mineral sea mud. It also contains Q10, hyaluronic acid, collagen and ceramide for smooth and moisturized skin. A foaming net is usually included, which helps it lather up into a marshmallow-like foam.
Japanese: ひのき黒茶石けん
4. Pelican Soap Deitanseki (Peat Stone) Soap
Japanese charcoal (also known at binchotan) is revered as an ingredient in Japanese beauty products, and something we’ve written about before. This soap contains charcoal to remove sebum and clay (bentonite) to keep the skin clean and moisturised. It creates a foamy lather, has a relaxing cypress scent and lasts a long time.
In Japanese: ペリカン石鹸 泥炭石
5. Pelican Soap For Back Medicated Body Soap for Acne
This product is specifically designed to target acne on the back, an area any people tend to neglect in skincare. It has a herbal citrus fragrance and contains charcoal, mud, ceramide and collagen.
Japanese: ペリカン石鹸 薬用石鹸 For Back
6. Pelican Soap Family Persimmon Soap
Also from the family range, this soap has a refreshing persimmon fragrance. It has a refreshing citrus fragrance blended with rosemary oil, designed to naturally fight body odors. It also contains tea extracts, creates a rich lather and refreshes the whole body. Ideal for daily use.
Japanese: ペリカン石鹸 ファミリー柿渋石鹸
7. Pelican Soap Family Horse Oil Soap
Horse oil is revered in Asian skincare for it’s moisturizing properties, as it has a similar oil content to human skin. This soap has a classic soap fragrance and provides a bubbling gentle wash that is suited to dry skin and daily use.
Japanese: ペリカン石鹸 ファミリー馬油石鹸
8. Pelican Soap Hip Care Soap
Soap especially formulated for your bottom! Pelican Hips Soap has the scent of peach and comes in a cheeky shape. It is designed to treat underwear friction and the build up of keratin from sitting long hours. It contains extracts from peach, loquat and honey and has both scrub and moisturizing properties. I’m honestly surprised by just how popular this niche product is!
Japanese: ペリカン石鹸 ヒップケアソープ
9. Pelican Soap Dot Washy Facial Soap
This one easily wins best packaging. The tagline for this product is ‘don’t become a strawberry nose’ in other words, a nose that looks like a strawberry with dirt in its pores! Suitable for removing makeup residue and dead skin cells for a smooth and shiny nose.
Japanese: ペリカン石鹸 ドットウォッシー洗顔石鹸
Which Pelican Soap is the best?
The following rankings are based upon the average product ratings across a range of Japanese (and global) beauty and shopping sites.
| Product | Soap Type | Rating | Price |
| Family Honey Soap | Honey | 4.5 | See price |
| Pure Plant Additive-Free Soap | Natural | 4.5 | See price |
| Hinoki Kurocha Soap | Green Tea | 4.5 | See price |
| Deitanseki (Peat Stone) Soap | Charcoal | 4.4 | See price |
| For Back Medicated Body Soap for Acne | Back Acne | 4.3 | See price |
| Family Persimmon Soap | Persimmon | 4.2 | See price |
| Family Horse Oil Soap | Horse Oil | 4.1 | See price |
| Hip Care Soap | Peach | 4.0 | See price |
| Dot Washy Facial Soap | Pore Cleansing | 3.9 | See price |
