Look at the ingredient list on most of your face and body moisturizers, and you will notice water as the #1 ingredient listed! The reason water is so widely used is apparent: It’s super affordable. It’s also inactive and well-tolerated in the sense that individuals don’t develop allergic or irritant reactions to it, unlike a myriad of other things. So how do you know if you should choose a waterless moisturizer?
Is Water The First Ingredient?
When you look at the back of a product bottle, the ingredients are listed in descending order, starting with the most significant amount. If water is listed as the first ingredient, it likely makes up the majority of the product. If it’s at the bottom, there’s very little water in it, and the product might therefore be considered waterless. Wait – a waterLESS moisturizer? Why?
Waterless skincare products don’t contain any additional water; they’re formulated, instead, with a base of potent botanical extracts. To clarify, these concentrated botanical extracts do have water because water is a necessary part of the extraction process. Still, waterless skincare means that water itself is not an added ingredient in a product. Naturally, you might assume that waterless skincare products are, therefore, stronger and more effective, with more active ingredients that work harder to get you that healthy, radiant skin you so desire?
Why Choose A Waterless Moisturizer?
One approach to waterless beauty is to offer effective products that aren’t diluted with tons of water, an inactive and a bacteria-breeding ingredient. Many companies offer powders meant to be mixed with water at the time of use and used as a mask or scrub! Water-activated ingredients remain fresher and more potent since they haven’t been sitting on a store shelf, diluted in water for 12 months!
Water indeed encourages the growth of harmful bacteria, and skincare products with a high concentration of water also require a high concentration of preservatives — often of the chemical variety, since safe, natural preservatives are few and far between — to extend their shelf life.
“You may have better luck achieving a preservative and chemical-free face mask by using a high quality powdered [formula],” Dr. Jennifer Vickers, a dermatologist at Sanova Dermatology in Texas, confirms in an email to The Zoe Report.
Compared to water-based products, however — where water is one of the key ingredients — water-free products tend to have higher percentages of active ingredients. This is one reason that some people have decided they’re better. However, others may argue that active ingredients don’t necessarily have to be present in high amounts.
Some people may find that waterless products are more hydrating, especially if they are oil-based or contain waxes, while others may find them too heavy or greasy for their skin. So, in the end, it’s not really about waterless versus water-based products.
Some Things To Consider With Waterless Moisturizer.
Waterless ingredients may have the benefit of having potent active ingredients.
That said, sometimes, you do want the benefit of more potent active ingredients, and that’s where waterless skincare comes in. For example, if you have dry or dehydrated skin, you might want an essence that has an incredibly hydrating base ingredient so that it provides your skin that extra boost of hydration it so desires.
Sometimes, waterless ingredients can be absorbed more deeply and easily into the skin.
It’s about molecules — specifically, it’s about molecular size.
Water has a molecular size that’s roughly 1.5 times bigger than your skin particles, so it can’t always sink as deeply. That’s not to say that that’s inherently bad — again, there is no clear right or wrong here. It’s simply that, when it comes to hydration, you want it to sink as deeply into the skin as possible, and a moisturizer like the MIG LIVING Body Lotion Bar might be the best way for your skin to get that BUTTERY dewiness.
What Will Help Your Skin Glow?
The short answer is there is no hard and fast rule saying that waterless skincare is inherently superior to skincare containing water. Waterless skincare is just another option you have to address specific skin needs, so think about your skin concerns and determine what kinds of products, whether with water or without, will best help your skin GLOW.
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