Micellar waters are a very fancy name for a mild cleanser with the following characteristics: they have mild surfactants (or cleaning agents); are non-foaming and contain moisturising ingredients.
You can read about the technical detail on how micellar water or facial cleansers work at this BLOG.
What am I testing and why?
I am road-testing La Roche-Posay’s micellar water which is designed for sensitive skin, specifically the claim that it removes make-up.
Before photo
After applying a copious mix of waterproof, pigmented and shiny make-up, my forearm looked like this:
I then pressed down a pre-soaked (in micellar water) cotton pad on the above patch and counted to 5. Finally, I wiped over this area (quite firmly) exactly 4 times.
After photo
If I am honest, if I didn’t circle out the lipstick pigment and blusher, no-one would be any wiser. This is an excellent make-up remover and there is no doubt that it is second to only Garnier’s Skin Active Micellar Cleansing Water in Oil formula.
How do we do on the ingredient front?
The principal surfactant (or cleaning agent) is Poloxamer 124, which is a mild surfactant – this is good news. Similarly, it has a bunch of moisturing ingredients (PEG Caprylic/capric glycerides and Glycerin). The only sticking point for me is that it contains BHT. You can read all about BHT at this LINK.
A change of heart
Recently, my friend said “everyone knows parabens in some shape or form are bad. But every day we take decisions against our own self-interest and the same applies to skincare and make-up. I know this product has parabens but if it delivers I will use it. I need you to give me that information and not close that door because you hate parabens.“
I am going to follow that advice…and that’s my journey of being a student of skincare…I will change my mind if I think the product calls for it.
To buy, or not to buy?
Ignoring the BHT component, without doubt this is a top-tier product along with Bioderma Sensibio Micellar water. If you are OK with BHT, this is both an excellent micellar water AND make-up remover. If you are not OK with BHT, this is a pass.