The Japanese have countless for words for ‘dragon’, not least because the mythological creature appears heavily in national folklore and art. ‘Tatsu’ is one such name for the monster. It also happens to be the name of a new grooming range concocted, somewhat incongruously, by Dutch brand Rituals. (Tatsu is also the name of an insane-looking rollercoaster in California but, for the purposes of this news story, we’ll be focusing on the grooming collection).
The clawed water creature is set to hijack men’s bathrooms everywhere in the form of a ten-strong body care collection, designed to mimic various Japanese cleansing rituals. The icy shower gel, for example, is inspired by the Japanese Misogi ritual, which involves standing underneath a cooling waterfall in order to achieve purification.
The volcanic clay contained in the unfortunately-named-but-rather-refreshing Dragon Mud, meanwhile, is a less messy take on the Japanese pastime of ‘mudslinging’, where half-naked men wrestle together in a mud pond (the stuff is a symbol of good luck, apparently).
Other highlights in the affordable range include a reviving shampoo containing Kami (a Japanese Mint) and a Sento Cream Bath formulated with organic bamboo and wakame. And, yes, we’ve been going banzai over the whole lot.
Available from rituals.com from £5.90; rituals.com
Ahmed Zambarakji is the Grooming Editor of Shortlist MODE and also blogs at theexfoliator.com