Most personal care brands name their products with marketing committees and focus groups. We named ours with a 3,000-year-old book.
This isn't about being exotic. It's about being honest.
The Problem We Refused
When we began developing MONOLITH, we had three distinct formulas. The chemistry was solved. The aluminum chassis was engineered. But the names felt wrong.
The marketing playbook suggested:
- "Original," "Classic," "Premium"
- "Hydra," "Ultra," "Max"
- Made-up words that sound scientific but mean nothing
Every option felt like a lie. These weren't arbitrary variants of the same thing. Each formula had a distinct character—a way it behaved, a truth it told.
Water-based doesn't just "feel different" than silicone. It is different. One flows and cleanses. The other endures and holds. These aren't features. They're natures.
We needed names that honored what each formula actually was.
Why the I Ching?
The I Ching (易經, Book of Changes) is one of humanity's oldest texts, dating back over 3,000 years to ancient China. It's built on a simple visual language: solid lines (yang) and broken lines (yin).
Three lines make a trigram—eight fundamental patterns representing the forces of nature: Heaven, Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Thunder, Mountain, Lake.
Six lines make a hexagram—64 combinations showing how these forces interact.
The I Ching doesn't predict the future. It describes patterns—how things move, endure, transform, return. It's philosophy as physics. Truth as geometry.
When we looked at our three formulas, we saw three patterns:
One that flows.
One that endures.
One that transforms.
The I Ching had already named them. Three thousand years ago.
RIVER《川》: The Water Trigram
The Symbol: 坎
━ ━ (yin: receptive)
━━━ (yang: intense)
━ ━ (yin: yielding)
Element: Water
Character: Flow, adapt, cleanse, return to source
The Meaning
Water doesn't fight its container. It takes the shape of any vessel, yet remains itself. The trigram 坎 shows a solid line trapped between two broken lines—intensity held by receptivity.
This is water pooling in a ravine. Dangerous. Necessary. Deep. Honest.
The Formula
RIVER is our water-based formula. It mimics the body's natural fluids—present when needed, gone when not.
It will not pretend to last forever.
Water evaporates. That's not a flaw. That's its nature.
Sensation:
- Initial contact: receptive, yielding (yin)
- The moment itself: intense, full (yang)
- Aftermath: dissolves, cleanses (yin)
For: When you want to feel them, not the product.
EARTH《大地》: The Pure Receptive
The Symbol: 坤
━ ━ (yin)
━ ━ (yin)
━ ━ (yin)
Element: Earth
Character: Endure, support, hold, wait
The Meaning
Earth is the only pure yin trigram—three broken lines representing complete receptivity. No resistance. Infinite patience. Unwavering support.
Earth doesn't act. It simply is. And by being, it enables everything else.
The ground beneath your feet doesn't announce itself. It just holds. For geological time, hours mean nothing.
The Formula
EARTH is our silicone-based formula. It doesn't absorb. Doesn't evaporate. Doesn't quit.
It will not rush or fade.
Silicone endures. That's not inertness. That's its truth.
Sensation:
- Initial touch: no resistance (yin)
- Hours later: still there (yin)
- Morning after: unchanged (yin)
For: When friction is the enemy and endurance is everything.
WINGS《比翼》: The Impossible Union
The Symbol: 比
━ ━ (Water above:)
━━━
━ ━
━ ━ (Earth below:)
━ ━
━━━
Hexagram: Union, holding together
Structure: Water (坎) above Earth (坤)
Character: Synthesis, mutual support, transcendence
The Meaning
Hexagram 比 is called "the one-winged birds" (比翼鳥). Alone, they cannot fly. Together, they soar.
This is the only hexagram that places Water directly above Earth. Two natures that shouldn't mix—but when they do, they create something greater than either alone.
Not a compromise. Not a mixture. A fusion.
The Formula
WINGS is our hybrid formula—water-based and silicone-based elements synthesized into a single nature.
The top three lines (Water trigram) give it flow and adaptability.
The bottom three lines (Earth trigram) give it endurance and hold.
It refuses the false choice.
You don't have to choose between natural feel and lasting power. Two truths can coexist.
Sensation:
- Initial application: flows like water (top trigram)
- Later stage: endures like earth (bottom trigram)
- The experience: evolves without reapplication
For: When you don't know what you'll need but know you'll need something.
What This Means for You
These aren't clever names. They're philosophical commitments.
When you choose RIVER, you're choosing a formula that will not lie about its nature. It will flow, cleanse, and return to source. It will not pretend to last forever.
When you choose EARTH, you're choosing a formula that will not rush or quit. It will endure for hours without reapplication. It will not apologize for being what it is.
When you choose WINGS, you're choosing a formula that refuses compromise. It synthesizes water and earth into something that transcends both. It will not force you to choose.
Every bottle carries its trigram or hexagram—not as decoration, but as an oath.
The Uncompromising Part
We could have named these formulas anything. Made the names easier to pronounce. Removed the Chinese characters. Softened the philosophy.
We didn't.
Because intimacy deserves the same design intelligence as everything else you care about. Your wardrobe. Your home. Your rituals. Your time.
If a 3,000-year-old text already described what our formulas do—why would we invent new words?
Water flows. Earth endures. Union transcends.
The I Ching knew. We just listened.
A Living Tradition
The I Ching isn't a museum artifact. It's a living system of understanding how forces interact, how natures persist, how opposites can coexist.
Our products aren't about "borrowing" Eastern wisdom. They're about finding genuine parallels between ancient truth and modern chemistry.
If you're from Chinese culture and you see our use of 坎, 坤, and 比—we hope you feel:
- Respected (we use the symbols correctly, with understanding)
- Intrigued (the parallel between philosophy and sensation is real)
- Honored (we treat the tradition as alive, not exotic)
If you're encountering the I Ching for the first time through MONOLITH—we hope it sparks curiosity. There's depth here. Three thousand years of it.
The Test
Next time you hold RIVER, EARTH, or WINGS, look at the symbol on the label.
Those lines aren't branding. They're what the formula will do.
Water will flow.
Earth will endure.
Wings will transcend.
The badge is the promise.
The I Ching is the oath.
The experience is the proof.
Carbon Copy. Uncompromising.
📚Want to learn more about the I Ching?
We recommend The I Ching or Book of Changes (Richard Wilhelm translation) as an accessible starting point. The philosophy is dense, but worth the journey.