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Makeup Remover Explained
Arguably, the worst part of wearing makeup is removing it. It's one of the last things you feel like doing at the end of a long day, but you really should. Sleeping with makeup on can not only lead to clogged pores and breakouts, but also result in premature aging.
We should note though that the one cardinal rule of makeup is to remove it before bed. “Oil, dirt, pollutants and makeup when left on the skin can lead to breakouts, irritation, styes, and even accelerated aging of the skin,” explains New York City-based board-certified dermatologist Dr. Charlotte Birnbaum. “The longer this debris sits on the skin, the more likely these undesirable effects can occur, which is why leaving your makeup on overnight is even more problematic. Overnight, this is compounded potentially by additional occlusion by a pillow.” Even worse is waking up to makeup stains all over your pillowcase.
How does makeup remover really work?
Makeup removers mainly work by dissolution or solubilization, meaning they dissolve makeup and keep it dissolved. Let’s take foundation as an example — once applied, it dries and adheres onto the skin because it is formulated to be “like skin” more than other surfaces. If you were to remove it with a dry cloth/tissue it would be very difficult and you can even hurt your skin. If you try plain water, it probably would not make removal any better. However, if you use a makeup remover capable of dissolving the foundation film, removing can be very easy.
Micellar water is formulated to contain micelles in it. Micelles are formed when surfactant molecules aggregate in solution. Surfactants are molecules with a “water-loving and a water-hating” portion in them that help keep materials dissolved that otherwise would not dissolve. Micelles are responsible for encapsulating dirt or makeup in this case in order to remove them. By having micelles in solution water can act as a cleanser making makeup removal is easy. Traditional makeup removers relay on a mixture of solvents to remove makeup. They can be water-based in which water is the main ingredient or oil-based in which a hydrocarbon, ester, or silicone oil is the main ingredient. And again you need to choose your remover taking into consideration that “like dissolved like”, so you’ll want to reach for water-based if you’re removing water-based, oil if you’re removing oil.
So there you have it Micellar makeup removers enable you to take all the makeup off with minimal skin damage, and help draw all the makeup off the skin to help draw it away making cleaning a lot easier.
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