Keana Nadeshiko built its name on baking soda: alkaline washes, scrubs and packs aimed at oily noses and visible pores. The brand's rice line exists for the opposite problem — pores on dry skin, where the texture feels rough and clogged but the skin itself is tight and easily irritated. The Rice Cleansing Oil is that line's first step, and it takes a very different approach from its baking-soda siblings: no alkali, no grit, no fragrance, just a light oil that dissolves what is in the pores and rinses away.
The formula, published in full by Ishizawa with each ingredient's purpose, is short. The first ingredient is ethylhexyl palmitate, a light synthetic ester, followed by PEG-20 glyceryl triisostearate, an emulsifier and cleansing agent, and triethylhexanoin, another light ester. Water comes fourth. Together, the esters dissolve makeup, sunscreen and sebum quickly, and the emulsifiers allow the oil to turn milky and rinse off completely when water is added. That combination is what makes a good cleansing oil: effective at dissolving, easy to remove.
Then come the rice ingredients, which the brand calls its 'rice serum'. Rice bran oil sits fifth; it is rich in fatty acids, tocopherols and gamma-oryzanol, and it softens the feel of the ester blend. Rice ferment filtrate, a sake-style ferment, rice bran glycosphingolipids — plant lipids often marketed in Japan as rice ceramide — and hydrolysed rice bran extract follow. These are included to leave dry skin feeling soft and supple after cleansing. In a product that is massaged for a minute and rinsed, their contribution is modest, but they help explain why the oil feels gentler than many.
The remaining ingredients are humectants and support: butylene glycol, pentylene glycol, glycerin, arginine, a second emulsifier, lecithins and tocopherol to protect the oils. Phenoxyethanol preserves the formula. There is no fragrance, no essential oil and no alcohol.
In use, it behaves like a well-made Japanese cleansing oil. Two pumps on dry skin with dry hands spread easily; foundation, sunscreen and most mascara dissolve with a gentle massage. Focusing on the nose and chin for thirty seconds or so helps soften the sebum plugs that make pores look rough. A splash of water turns the oil into a light milk, and it rinses away without a greasy film. Afterwards, dry and normal skin typically feels soft and comfortable rather than stripped.
For people with oily skin, it works too, although they may prefer to follow with a foam cleanser. For fungal-acne-prone skin, there is a caveat: esters like ethylhexyl palmitate are often on the avoid list for Malassezia folliculitis, so an oil-free cleansing gel may be safer. Ethylhexyl palmitate also appears on some comedogenicity lists; in a rinse-off product the practical risk is lower, but congestion-prone users should watch for small bumps in the first couple of weeks.
It is worth managing expectations about pores. A cleansing oil can dissolve sebum and help loosen soft plugs, particularly with regular massage, and many people find their noses feel smoother after a few weeks. It cannot permanently shrink pores or prevent blackheads from re-forming. For that, salicylic acid, niacinamide and retinoids are the evidence-backed partners, and this oil fits comfortably into a routine alongside them.
English-language feedback is thin — two YesStyle reviews, both positive — but the formula is conventional in the best sense, and Ishizawa's transparency makes it easy to evaluate. Its fragrance-free status alone puts it ahead of many popular cleansing oils for sensitive users.
The bottle's Japanese copy is revealing. A blue badge reads 'rice oil cleansing oil for dry pores', the main banner promises to 'instantly wrap up makeup and pore roughness, leaving skin smooth', and a smaller line notes that the rice serum is derived from 100 percent domestic Japanese rice. Two small illustrations contrast 'open pores' with 'finely textured skin'. Unlike the baking-soda products in the same range, nothing here promises to scrub or dissolve; the pitch is comfort and smoothness for skin that is both dry and bumpy. That is exactly what the formula is built to deliver, and it is a refreshingly accurate description of a cleansing oil's real job.
To use it, pump two portions into dry hands and massage over a dry face for about thirty seconds, paying attention to the T-zone. Add a little lukewarm water and keep massaging until the oil turns milky, then rinse thoroughly. Follow with a gentle foam cleanser if you wore heavy sunscreen or makeup; on very dry nights, you may skip it if your skin feels clean and comfortable.
On value, about twenty-four dollars for 145ml at a US retailer is reasonable for a fragrance-free Japanese cleansing oil, though it costs more than in Japan. A bottle lasts six to eight weeks of nightly use.
The verdict: this is a gentle, clean-rinsing, fragrance-free cleansing oil that suits dry and normal skin with rough pores particularly well. The rice ingredients add a nice finishing touch, but the real strength is a thoughtfully simple formula that removes makeup without leaving skin tight.
