Luminous skin, voluminous hair, feminine makeup, and an energetic approach to both work and family life—beauty expert Megumi Kanzaki has become one of Japan’s most recognizable voices in beauty and self-care.
She has published numerous books, including 『一生ものの基礎知識 美容の教科書』, 『神崎CARE』, 『老けない美容、老ける美容』 and 『神崎恵のおうちごはん―さぁ、なに食べる？』, with total book sales exceeding 1.7 million copies. Her work also spans beauty and women’s magazines, cosmetic-brand advising, product development, fashion collaborations and her official YouTube channel.
Her current success was built through many different stages of life: marriage, childbirth, full-time motherhood, becoming financially independent, life as a single mother and opening a beauty salon from home.
As a child, she was a devoted soccer player who spent her days running around deeply tanned by the sun. She entered the entertainment industry at around 16, then stepped away from that career after marrying at 23 and became a full-time mother raising two sons.
Around the age of 29, she decided to build a life supported by her own work and explored a number of qualifications. At 30, she opened an eyelash and eyebrow salon at home. Her divorce was finalized at 34, and while raising two sons as a single mother, she gradually developed a career in beauty.
Her books and magazine work later gained attention, and around the age of 40 she made the decision to officially call herself a beauty expert. In 2014, she married hair and makeup artist Yusuke Kawakita, and in 2015 she gave birth to her third son. Their divorce was announced in December 2022.
Now in her fifties, Kanzaki continues to update the way she thinks about skincare, hair, food, exercise, sleep, work and relationships, with an emphasis on enjoying the person she is now.
From skincare, makeup and haircare to diet, strength training, sleep, bathing, life with her three sons, marriage and divorce, career and her outlook on aging, this article takes a comprehensive look at Megumi Kanzaki’s beauty and wellness habits through the different stages of her life.
Megumi Kanzaki Profile
Date of birth: December 13, 1975
Birthplace: Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Profession: Beauty expert
Family: Mother of three sons
Marriages: Married twice. She married Yusuke Kawakita in 2014 and announced their divorce in December 2022
Notable books and activities: Author of numerous beauty and lifestyle books including 『一生ものの基礎知識 美容の教科書』, 『神崎CARE』 and 『老けない美容、老ける美容』. Total book sales exceed 1.7 million copies. She also works across beauty and women’s magazines, cosmetic-brand advising, product development, fashion collaborations and YouTube
Megumi Kanzaki’s Beauty Journey: From Soccer Girl and Entertainment Work to Motherhood, Single Parenting and Beauty Expert
Her feminine image today may make this surprising, but Kanzaki was an extremely active child.
In interviews, she has recalled being deeply devoted to soccer and even having the nickname “Kanzaking.” She spent so much time outdoors that she was very tanned, and she also had naturally curly hair.
At the same time, she developed an early interest in beauty. One of the first cosmetics she remembers using was lip balm in elementary school. She has also shared the playful story that she once put vanilla essence behind her ears before going to school because she liked the scent.
💡 Her nickname was “Kanzaking”—and she once wore vanilla essence as fragrance
Kanzaki grew up as a soccer-loving, sun-tanned child, but she was also curious about cosmetics and scent. That mix of sportiness and beauty interest appeared long before she became known as a beauty professional.
She entered the entertainment industry at around 16 and gained experience appearing in front of cameras and working on shoots. It was an early introduction to how makeup, hair, clothing and presentation can change the impression a person gives.
At 23, she married and stepped away from entertainment work. She became a full-time mother and focused on raising her two sons.
Looking back later, she said that this period gradually strengthened her desire to become capable of supporting her family through her own work.
Around 29, she began studying different fields, including real estate and bridal-related qualifications, while searching for a practical path toward independence.
She eventually chose beauty, an area she had always loved. She studied eyebrow and eyelash techniques and, with encouragement from her mother, opened a home-based salon at 30. It gave her a way to work while continuing to care for her children.
Around the same period, she also worked as a model for a magazine aimed at mothers. On set, she actively talked about how much she studied beauty and gradually turned that enthusiasm into more professional opportunities.
Her first divorce was finalized at 34. She then supported two sons as a single mother while continuing to build her work.
💡 One question from her son changed the direction of her career
During an especially demanding period of work and parenting, one of her sons asked, “Mom, what is your dream?” Kanzaki has said that the question reminded her that adults can still have dreams of their own and helped push her toward creating a career in beauty that felt truly hers.
Her thirties became a period of steady accumulation: home-salon work, seminars, magazine appearances and writing.
She has described those years as feeling almost like a triathlon, reflecting how intensely she balanced parenting with the process of building a career from the ground up.
Her books began attracting attention, and beauty-magazine work expanded. Her third book, 『読むだけで思わず二度見される 美人になれる』, became one of the turning points that helped broaden her profile in the beauty industry.
For a time, out of respect for established beauty professionals, she hesitated to call herself a “beauty expert” and used the title “beauty brush-up consultant.”
Around the age of 40, she decided that beauty was the field in which she wanted to continue working long term and began using the title that is now closely associated with her.
She married Yusuke Kawakita in 2014 and gave birth to her third son in 2015. Her work continued to expand through another major chapter of marriage and motherhood.
In December 2022, she announced their divorce. She has continued working while raising her three sons and developing her career as a beauty expert.
Marriage, childbirth, independence, divorce, work, remarriage and another birth have all shaped the way Kanzaki approaches beauty and life today. Each transition led her to reconsider what kind of work and lifestyle suited the person she was becoming.
Megumi Kanzaki’s Skincare, Makeup and Haircare: Choosing What She Needs Now
Kanzaki’s beauty routine has never been completely fixed. She has continually adjusted it in response to changes in her skin, hair, work and age.
From eight or nine products in her twenties to a more edited routine in her fifties
In a 2026 MAQUIA interview, Kanzaki looked back on a period in her twenties when she sometimes used eight or nine skincare products in a single routine.
At that stage, her enthusiasm for beauty often meant experimenting with many products and enjoying the process of layering them.
Today, she places more emphasis on selecting products according to how her skin feels at that moment. Because her work involves trying many cosmetics, the exact products vary, but she has shared that she likes to begin skincare within about a minute after bathing, while her skin is still warm and slightly damp.
Years of working with cosmetics have gradually shifted her focus from how many products she can use to how carefully she can choose what suits her current needs.
Gentle application, hydration and daily UV care
In past skincare features, Kanzaki has demonstrated applying lotion and serum with gentle hand pressure rather than vigorous rubbing.
Her approach to UV care has also evolved. In a 2019 interview, she reflected on a time when sun protection was not always a top priority for her. Over the years, it became a more consistent part of her daytime beauty routine.
At 50, makeup has become even more playful
Rather than narrowing her makeup choices as she gets older, Kanzaki has spoken about wanting to enjoy a wider range of looks.
In interviews around her 50th birthday, she said she still enjoys sweet, playful elements such as pink blush.
She also treats foundation almost like clothing. Depending on her mood and what she is wearing, she may change the level of glow, coverage, weight and texture.
💡 She thinks of foundation almost like getting dressed
Kanzaki changes the finish of her base makeup according to her clothes and mood. Some days call for a light, sheer finish, while others suit a more polished or substantial look. For her, adult makeup remains a form of self-expression.
In 2026, she also introduced the idea of “toughness makeup”—makeup designed with real life in mind, including how it changes after hours of talking, moving and working.
The idea reflects a broader shift in her beauty philosophy: makeup does not have to remain visually frozen from morning to night. It can evolve along with facial expressions, movement and the rhythm of the day.
Her signature long hair has also required years of experimentation
Kanzaki’s full, glossy hair is one of the most recognizable parts of her appearance.
Yet she has described her natural hair as thick, coarse, wavy and abundant.
Her current hair routine includes not only shampoo and treatment but also attention to the scalp. In a 2025 éclat feature, she discussed using a scalp scrub around once a week as part of her routine.
She also adjusts leave-in treatments and oils according to the condition of her hair and the finish she wants that day.
💡 Her natural hair is thick, coarse, wavy and very full
Her long hair often looks effortlessly polished in photographs, but Kanzaki has spent years learning how to work with a hair type she describes as demanding. Scalp care, drying techniques and styling are all part of that long-term process.
She also thinks about hair in the context of everyday life. Food, sleep, exercise and stress management all form part of the broader way she cares for herself.
For Kanzaki in her fifties, skincare, makeup and haircare have increasingly become ways of enjoying the person she is now.
Megumi Kanzaki’s Diet and Fitness: Training Two to Three Times a Week and Enjoying Food
After three pregnancies and births, body care has become another long-running theme in Kanzaki’s approach to beauty and wellness.
She has spoken about changes in her body after pregnancy and about wanting to build a body that feels comfortable, capable and enjoyable to live in.
By 2026, training two to three times a week had become part of her routine
Around 2021 and 2022, Kanzaki was doing personal training about twice a week while also including independent workouts.
In a June 2026 interview, she described exercising two to three times a week, combining personal training with visits to a local gym.
When she cannot make it to the gym, she sometimes uses a treadmill at home while watching Korean dramas, combining something she enjoys with movement.
💡 No gym? She sometimes watches Korean dramas on the treadmill
Kanzaki has found a very practical way to fit movement into busy days: watching Korean dramas while using her home treadmill. It turns exercise into time she can genuinely look forward to.
Her current approach places emphasis on building a body shape and physical condition that feel good to her, as well as maintaining the stamina to continue working and enjoying fashion.
In early 2026, she shared that she checked her body from all angles in the mirror after bathing. By June of that year, she described two to three workouts a week as part of her regular routine.
💡 After bathing, she checks her body from 360 degrees
Rather than focusing only on a number on the scale, Kanzaki looks at her silhouette and overall condition from the front, back and sides. It is a visual way of staying aware of the body she wants to maintain.
Her current food philosophy centers on eating well and enjoying it
Cooking has been an important part of Kanzaki’s family life for many years.
When her sons were younger and growing quickly, she often prepared substantial family meals and sometimes served dinner more than once because everyone returned home at different times.
Today, she pays particular attention to protein and regularly includes foods such as chicken breast, chicken tenderloin, salmon and pork loin.
In early 2026, she described choosing relatively light breakfasts such as soup, adjusting lunch around her work schedule and, when possible, finishing dinner around 6 p.m.
After training, she sometimes makes dakhanmari, a Korean chicken dish prepared with ingredients such as chicken, long green onion, ginger and garlic. After periods of frequent restaurant meals, she may also prepare seasoned rice with chicken breast and ginger at home.
By June 2026, she described a routine that included carbohydrates at lunch and meals centered around meat or fish with vegetables in the evening.
She also uses convenient foods when needed. One of her pantry staples is a favorite high-quality canned tuna, which she keeps on hand for busy days.
When discussing supplements, Kanzaki has said that she thinks of everyday food as the foundation and makes personal choices based on information about her own condition, including medical testing when appropriate.
At the same time, she makes room for foods she simply loves.
💡 On tired days, she may buy around ten flavors of gelato
Kanzaki has shared that she sometimes chooses around ten different flavors from a favorite gelato shop and enjoys them at home. Pleasure is part of her current relationship with food, alongside everyday meals and training.
Her current approach to food and fitness is centered on feeling comfortable in her body, enjoying the clothes she wants to wear and maintaining the stamina needed for a busy life.
Sleep, Bathing and Life with Three Sons: Adapting Self-Care to Real Life
Looking back at Kanzaki’s old daily routines makes it clear just how densely packed her working and parenting years could be.
Around 2018, she was waking at about 6 a.m., preparing breakfast and lunch boxes, seeing her children off, then heading to shoots and interviews. Evenings included grocery shopping, cooking, bathing the children, bedtime routines and, later at night, writing.
Because her sons often came home at different times, she sometimes prepared and served dinner multiple times in one evening.
It is easy to understand why she later compared her thirties to running a triathlon.
Her approach to sleep has shifted from optimizing quality to also protecting enough time
Kanzaki has described herself as someone with many things she wants to do and a long history of cutting sleep short.
By 2024, she was placing more attention on her sleep environment. She lowered the lighting at night, tried to finish eating four to five hours before bed, aimed to bathe at least around 90 minutes beforehand and used items such as silk pillowcases, recovery wear and fragrance.
On nights when sleep does not come easily, she sometimes watches Korean dramas until she naturally begins to feel sleepy.
In June 2026, she described herself as a short sleeper and said sleep remained one of her personal weak points. She had begun making a more conscious effort to increase the amount of time she slept, in addition to adjusting bedding and sleepwear.
She has said that, through this change, she noticed differences in her own concentration and ability to act efficiently and felt that her use of time had become more spacious.
Earlier in life, she often tried to maximize her waking hours. In her fifties, rest has become another important part of supporting the life she wants to lead.
Bathing also changes according to the day
Her bath and body-care routine is flexible rather than identical every night.
When she has time, she may relax in the bath, read and spend longer on body care. On especially busy days, she keeps things more compact. She has previously said that there are evenings when she simplifies skincare dramatically, even using just an oil.
That flexibility allows beauty to remain something she can enjoy in real life rather than a rigid daily checklist.
Her three sons have been one of the strongest motivations behind her career
Kanzaki has three sons. Her first two were born during her first marriage, and her third son was born in 2015.
When she decided to become independent, one of her clearest goals was to become a mother who could support her sons if they later said they wanted to attend university.
She wanted to be able to respond to their ambitions with confidence and give them as many choices as possible. She has repeatedly described that goal as one of the forces that pushed her to keep building her career.
💡 Every time she paid her eldest son’s university tuition, she celebrated alone
One of Kanzaki’s goals as a single mother was to become financially able to support her children’s education. Years later, whenever she transferred her eldest son’s university tuition, she would quietly toast herself for having reached that milestone.
There were also much harder moments. She has recalled winter evenings when she returned from work carrying two young sons as well as heavy shopping bags and found herself in tears.
As her sons grew older, her way of expressing love also evolved. Today, she places greater emphasis on respecting their individual lives and choices while being available when they need support.
Her family stories reveal an important part of the drive behind her beauty career: she wanted her children to have options, and that gave her work a very concrete purpose.
Beauty at 50: Skin, Hair, Hands, Eyes and the Details That Create a Polished Impression
Kanzaki turned 50 in December 2025.
She has spoken positively in several interviews about reaching that milestone and about looking forward to the next stage of her life.
In her thirties, she became more aware of changes in skin texture and pores. In her forties, she began paying more attention to firmness, facial contours and other shifts that came with age.
Today, her beauty focus is on caring for the person she is now and enjoying the qualities that belong to this stage of life.
💡 Compliments she values more now than “You look young”
Ahead of turning 50, Kanzaki said that comments such as “You seem energetic,” “You work hard” and “You’re smart” had become especially meaningful to her. She appreciates being recognized for the life and effort behind her appearance as well as for beauty itself.
Aesthetic medicine is one personal option within a wider approach to aging
Kanzaki has also spoken openly about her personal view of aesthetic medicine.
She emphasizes preserving the expressions and overall atmosphere that feel like her, while discussing any procedures with trusted medical professionals and making choices she personally feels comfortable with.
She pays attention to the “edges” of her appearance
In her fifties, Kanzaki’s beauty routine extends beyond facial skincare to details such as hands, nails, the mouth area, eyes, hair ends and feet.
In an éclat interview, she discussed the idea that a polished impression is often visible in these small “edge” details.
She keeps her nails relatively short so they are practical for work and cooking and uses hand cream regularly. Her oral-care routine can include floss and interdental brushes as well as ordinary brushing.
She also pays attention to her eyes in a lifestyle that involves long hours on smartphones and computers, using items such as glasses, eye drops and sunglasses according to the situation.
For Kanzaki, these details are part of feeling comfortable and well cared for in everyday life.
Hair ends, fingertips, the mouth, eyes, posture and body shape all contribute to the overall impression a person gives. Her beauty philosophy in her fifties increasingly looks at the whole person rather than the face alone.
Megumi Kanzaki Today: Using Effort as Strength and Living More Freely in Her Fifties
Turning 50 has not slowed Kanzaki’s interest in trying new work.
In 2026, her activities included the development of shapewear, production of an eyelash curler, and collaborations with fashion and lifestyle brands.
She also launched her official YouTube channel in 2024, partly because she wanted beauty information to reach younger audiences in new ways.
Her thirties were largely about building the foundation of a career capable of supporting her family. In her forties, years of work developed into a wider public profile. In her fifties, she is increasingly thinking about how to pass her experience and perspective on to another generation.
Effort itself gives her confidence
In her 2026 “toughness beauty” interviews, Kanzaki spoke about the confidence she gains from knowing that she is making an effort.
Parenting, work, beauty, cooking and exercise have all been areas in which she has taken concrete action whenever there was something she genuinely wanted to achieve.
Since her mid-forties, she has also become more selective about where to place that effort.
She now concentrates time and energy on the people, work and environments that matter most to her and creates greater distance from situations that consistently disturb her sense of calm.
That means her idea of effort has become more focused: she still works intensely toward meaningful goals, but she is more deliberate about choosing those goals.
Her goal for the future is “maintaining the present”
At first, that may sound modest. In Kanzaki’s case, however, “maintaining the present” is an active idea.
She wants to remain able to move, work and learn with similar energy 10 or 20 years from now. That requires maintaining physical stamina, curiosity and knowledge while continuing to try new things.
Looking back across her life, one quality appears again and again: when her circumstances change, she looks closely at the person she is at that moment and chooses her next step accordingly.
Soccer-loving childhood. Entertainment work from her teens. Marriage at 23. Motherhood. Full-time homemaking. A decision to become independent at 29. A home salon at 30. Single motherhood. Years of building a beauty career. Remarriage. A third child. Divorce. And now her fifties.
Her skincare has moved from using eight or nine products at once to carefully choosing what feels appropriate now.
Her relationship with food centers increasingly on enjoyment, nourishment and fitting meals to the realities of her daily life.
Exercise has become a way to build a body shape she likes and stamina she can rely on.
Sleep has shifted from time she often sacrificed for activity to time she intentionally protects as part of the life she wants to sustain.
Across beauty and life, Kanzaki continues to observe herself and adjust rather than relying on one permanent formula.
Her attitude toward aging is similarly expansive: instead of viewing each new decade as a narrowing of possibilities, she appears increasingly interested in what she can enjoy, learn and try next.
Beauty, food, movement, sleep, family, work and learning all exist together in that picture.
That willingness to keep updating the way she lives may be one of the clearest threads running through Megumi Kanzaki’s beauty and wellness story.
