Among makeup removers and facial cleansers, micellar solutions were introduced only very recently to the market. Those solutions are being advertised as universal and extremely effective, removing makeup and impurities from the face with merely a single touch, thereby soothing the skin and not even requiring you to wash it off your face afterwards. Sounds like the good old milk cleansers, eye makeup removers and toner are products from the past. But is that really so?
Proper face cleaning involves removing natural fatty secretions, dead skin cells, makeup and other impurities that accumulates during the day on the skin surface. Which facial cleanser will do the best job primarily depends on the skin type. A good cleanser should clean effectively, yet preserve the skin's natural lipid barrier.
Milk and cream facial cleansers
These are mainly intended for dry, normal to mixed, and sensitive skin types, where the sensitive skin generally requires a gentle formula without conservants, artificial colors or fragrances.
Milk cleansers are emulsions of oil and water. Oils present in the fat component dissolve fat from the skin surface, which can then be removed thanks to the emulsifiers, using a pad and lukewarm water. High-quality products are composed of vegetable oils (rich in vitamin E), cosmetic active ingredients (such as enzymes and coenzyme Q10) and herbal extracts with various beneficial effects on the skin.
Milk cleansers have an advantage over soapy ones, because they are not aggressive and do not dry out the skin. Besides cleaning thoroughly, they're nourishing at the same time.
I can recommend Weleda Cleansing milk with almonds in the category of slightly more expensive products, or Bioten moisturizing cleansing milk for normal / mixed skin types in the category of more-affordable ones. Currently I'm testing Marigold natural milk cleanser, which you will read about in a future review.
The use of toner
Toner should be applied after you finished removing makeup from your face using milk cleanser. Toner removes any excess residue such as traces of makeup and the cleanser, pieces of dirt that the cleanser couldn't remove, and chlorides from the water that remain on the skin after cleansing. Afterwards, the skin is prepared for treatment by moisturers and absorbs them perfectly.
Micellar water and how it "works"
Micellar Water is a stable emulsion in which the main role is played by tensids (or surfactants as in surface acting agents). Tensids are what really clean and can be found in most cleaning products (e.g. sodium lauryl sulfate is a known anionic surfactant).
Basically, the way how miscellar water is cleaning is not too different from the way regular soaps and most other foaming cleansers are cleaning, so actually the miscellar technology itself is nothing new.
Then how are micellar solutions different? The main difference is in the fact that not all tensids are identical. The ones in micellar water are gentle enough not to irritate the skin, yet effective enough to remove makeup and other impurities thoroughly. They are compatible with the skin by not changing its pH value and do not penetrate deeper layers. Hence, you don't necessarily need to wash your face after using miscellar water - all impurities stay on the pad (always only use real cotton pads with it, since they are much more effective due to their hydropholic nature).
Since miscellar solutions are very soft and tender, they are ideal for use on sensitive skin. Toner is not required.
Of those I tried so far, I can recommend Darphin Azahar Micellar Water and Bioderma Sensibio H2O. Bioderma might be slightly more efficient, but my skin feels much better after using Darphin.
Are micellar solutions good for all skin types?
Although micellar water is, due to its gently nature, recommended for use with all types of skin, you shouldn't expect it be equally efficient. On oily skin for example, the layer of dirt and grease is thicker, so you might have to repeat the procedure several times, by lightly pressing (never rubbing) the pad on the skin. The same is true for multiple layers of waterproof makeup and generally eye makeup, because the skin on the eyelids is usually oilier than the rest of the face. In these situations micellar water will probably not give those "magical" results that advertisements promise :).
Which makeup remover and facial cleanser do you prefer? Do you have any experience with micellar solutions?
Thank you Natasha, Sanja and Ana for the comments and questions asked, which inspired me to write this article.
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