What Is Micellar Water?

Micellar water seems to be the newest and hottest trend at the moment. The best kept secret that’s been around forever but forgotten about. Big magazines are reviewing it, grocery stores are selling it, and die hard fans are raving about it. So naturally, I had to give this new-to-me cleansing “water” a try.

So what exactly is Micellar water?

So first of all it’s not really water. I mean it has water in it, but it’s actually a blend of soft water and surfactants (a chemical that removes makeup and dirt).  When the surfactant clumps together it creates micelles which are tiny balls of cleansing oil molecules. Long story short, this type of cleanser claims to remove makeup, dirt, and oil without needing to rinse your skin with water. You squirt a dab on a cotton ball, wipe it all over your face, and voila! Super easy and supposingly non-irritating and works like a charm.

Hmmm….this reminds me a lot of makeup wipes?! And we know I don’t like makeup wipes. But i decided to give it a try anyways.

So here’s the thing with micellar water. The idea is it’s supposed to be a quicker and gentler way to wash your face. I’m not sure about how much quicker this is. First of all I had to reach for my cotton squares and it took me about 15 to fully remove all my makeup. Non-irritating? By the time I got done with my 15 cotton squares my face was beat red from all that wiping.

Ok so I did get all the gunk off. The cotton squares were dirty. Did my skin feel clean. Sure, I think so. Did it feel squeaky clean? No. In fact it felt a little rough. Like it got rid of the makeup and dirt and oil, but not the dead skin. I’m used to using a foaming gel with a cleansing brush so this felt subpar. It wasn’t terrible, just didn’t feel thorough.

The best way I can explain it is this: Micellar water cleanser to me feels like hand sanitizer. It’ll work when you can’t get to soap and water, but eventually you’re going to want to wash your hands.

I whole heartedly believe that the key to healthy skin is proper exfoliation and product penetration. I am not sure micellar water can do that for me.

Now I’ve heard of some sensitive skin people that love their micellar water. And honestly, if it works for you, great! Use it all day, everyday! But, overall I don’t think this is a suitable cleansing method for most skin types. I might bring this along if I’m camping (wait who am I kidding you couldn’t pay me to go camping), but whatever you get the point. Great alternative if you can’t get to water, but not ideal.

If you’re going to invest in your skin, don’t just invest on treatments and products but also invest in the time to properly cleanse!