I’d like to start a new series on the blog where I decode a skincare product and give you all the tea. I will put brands and preference aside and tell you the naked truth about the product. The dirst product I will decode is micellar water. I first came to know about micellar water when it was introduced in the beauty scene 3 to 4 years ago, it was all the range overseas. I remember the first brand that had micellar water in South Africa was Garnier.

What is it
A liquid makeup remover product that claims to gently remove makeup, cleanse, tone and in some cases, brighten up the skin.
Micellar water is a facial cleanser made from micelles, tiny cleansing molecules suspended in water. The micelles have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic qualities. That means they have the ability to wash away dirt, impurities, and makeup with just a few swipes of a cotton pad across your face. The formula is clear, like water, but when it touches your skin you’ll realize there is a lot more going on in this product. It has multiple functions — it removes makeup, cleanses and helps moisturizes your skin. (Source)

Ingredients
All micellar water I’ve come across have water as the first ingredient list. Other major ingredients include: glycerine, propylene glycol and carrier oils (grapeseed, castor, coconut).

How to use it
Most micellar water I’ve come across have the following instructions: Apply on a cotton pad and wipe gently over the face, eyes and lips to remove makeup. I read into this statement as that you use micellar water on a full face of makeup that you want to remove.

Thoughts
Micellar water definitely piqued my interest when it first came on the scene, I bought a bottle as soon as it hit the shelves. I used it as directed on the packaging for a few days and I was hugely dissapointed, I even gave away the barely used bottle. I felt that it was wasteful because I had to use sooo many cotton pads in order to completely remove my makeup. I gave up using it for some time but then decided to give it another try. In my second iteration of using the product, I changed the way I used it, I started using it after cleansing so it can remove any bits of makeup that missed the cleansing phase.
Micellar water is now firmly entrenched in my evening skincare routine and the baby girl is here to stay. I’m happy to say that I only use 2 cotton rounds everytime I use the product.

My favourite brands
Pretty much every skincare brand out there has micellar water in their range – there is so much choice. I am not brand specific because I find that all the ones I’ve tried pretty much work the same. However, I steer away from any brands that contain alcohol. I’ve used the following brands: Garnier, Neutrogena, Bioderma, Ponds and Nivea.

Cost and availability
There is micellar water to suit every pocket, the cheapest I’ve come across is from the Clicks Skincare Collection which costs R50 for 400ml. It’s available from grocery shops, pharmacies and such places.