Hasta La Gadget!

Summer might be the time for designer fireworks, but it’s pretty darn humid around here.

To battle the intense heat, Japanese companies have an interesting new product up their sleeves: ice cold cooling foam sprays, which are advertised as to provide instant temperature cool downs for users. Japanese male cosmetic brands such as Gatsby and Uno are well appreciated for their cooling body and facial sheets that not only provide the user with a sensational frosty feeling, but remove facial oil as well. Products such as these are not new, but we have seen a boom in demand for them this summer with the idea of “setsuden” (energy saving) becoming more imminent in Japanese people’s everyday lives. Taking it one step further from traditional cooling sprays, this fascinating innovation actually releases a chilling foam that hardens and can be wrapped around the user’s wrist.

Products such as “Hokkyoku Monogatari” (directly translated: Tales of the North Pole) offer a whole new method of cooling down in an interesting way. Not only are they convenient, they can be transformed into anything, ranging from a icy wristwatch to graffiti sprayed onto one’s body. The blue foam feels like a giant ball of confetti and as they squeeze it, the air bubbles expand and then “pop,” releasing a refreshing breeze of cool air.

Ice Spark is also another cool product that offers a similar solution to the heat in Japan: it sprays a freezing -9 degrees Celsius gel that fizzes on the user’s skin, creating a satisfying bubbly sensation. The crackling sound is particularly pleasing to the ear and the gel dries up after a couple seconds, without leaving a sticky feeling on the skin. The spray can be used for different purposes, such as a citrus smelling deodorant.

In line with the “setsuden goods,” a term coined for products that save electricity, we can see a handful of Japanese companies developing new products to counter the intense heat in Japan. Tokyo Hands, a Japanese department store focused on hobby, home improvement, and lifestyle products, has a whole floor dedicated to cooling products.

Numerous ideas for cooling sprays are being placed on shelves, such as the Savanna 50 Blizzard, which instantly sprays -15 degrees Celsius mist onto towels and handkerchiefs, as well as clothes and the insides of shoes.

Sprays are not the only type of lineup that Tokyo Hands has to offer; Ice Masks, Zero Degrees Pillows/Neck-rests, bandannas, scarves, and many other interesting innovations that add a chilly touch to a normal consumer product.

Ice gels and ice bars are also available for those who aren’t afraid to get wet or experience a frosty touch on their skin.

Gatsby “Ice-Type” facial and body sheets are also extremely popular among the Japanese, as they not only act as a cooling deodorant but wipe away facial grease as well.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Japan without cute looking cases for ice coolers such as the ones below.

Although sprays such as Hokkyoku Monogatari and Ice Spark may not exactly be eco-friendly, they definitely do provide a way to endure the intense heat that saves energy in contrast to air conditioners and electric fans.

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