Micellar Water is a popular product raved about by beauty bloggers worldwide. A bottle of Bioderma’s Creatine H2O is sold every 6 seconds around the world, and celebrities are jumping on board with the likes of Gemma Ward giving celebrity endorsements. But what exactly is micellar water, and is it really as good as they claim?
Let’s firstly break down exactly what micellar water is. Micellar Waters contain tiny molecules called micelles which form when placed in water. A micelle is an aggregate of surfactant molecules dispersed in a liquid solution.
Picture a tadpole in your head. A surfactant molecule is similar in shape to this, as shown in the diagram above. The “head” loves water whereas the “tail” loves oil. The heads repel each other, and the tails attract each other. Therefore what happens is that these molecules create spheres with all the tails pointing inwards. See above diagram. Essentially, it is a bubble of oil trapped within the water. Water alone is not able to fully clean your face of your natural oils or makeup as water and oil don’t mix. It takes oil to breakdown oil. Having the combination of oil and water is what makes this product effective in removing your makeup.
But it’s not all positive. When it comes to products that are good for your skin, Micellar Water would be in the same category as face wash or face wipes, which are both simple and effective for removing makeup, but really not great for your skin at all.
So what is a Surfactant?
Surfactants are the most important ingredients in soap, shampoo, detergents and that sort of thing – they also happen to be good at making bubbles, so if something foams up, there’s a good chance it contains surfactants. So in layman’s terms, Micellar Water is soapy water. The key difference though, is that not all surfactants are made equal – so it won’t be as harsh as washing your face with a bar of soap – so if that’s what you or your clients are doing, then yes, Micellar Water is a much better option. However, it is not the best option. The best investment for your skin is a cream or oil cleanser. One of the greatest concerns of women is the rate in which their skin wrinkles and loses elasticity, and a cream cleanser will lessen the rate at which that happens (match it with an alcohol free toner and your skin will love you for it), Your products containing surfactants are going to increase the speed at which your skin ages, so you have two options, a product that will remove your makeup relatively quickly, or a product that not only is effective in makeup removal, but also much kinder to your skin.
Much Love & Success,
Jennifer 💕