Water, Water Everywhere

Part 2.

If you read Part I of Water Water Everywhere you now know to look for water in skin care ingredients for several reasons. If water is listed:

1. It can be up to 98% of the total ingredients.

2. It must, by law, also contain preservatives to prevent microbes, yeast, fungus and other contaminants from growing in it.

3. It must contain emulsifiers if it also contains any oil(s), in order to keep the two from separating.

4. It can be a formulation completely devoid of active ingredients (those that actually make the product deliver on its promises and benefit your skin in all the ways it claims).

Here is the phenomenology of water in your skin care:

1. A typical application of skin care product is a half-teaspoon or less.

2. “High humidity” (55%) is the point at which mold grows. Unless you live in any other than “extremely high” (70%) humidity (e.g., New Orleans in August), any water in a half-teaspoon of product will immediately evaporate from your skin into the atmosphere.

3. The protective layers of your skin’s structure contain densely-packed cells, fibers and oils— not an easy barrier for water to penetrate through (by grand design). As the water in your product evaporates from atop your skin, it will take many of your skin’s natural oils with it.

4. After water evaporates, the remaining ingredients- undiluted chemicals, preservatives, additives, allergens and irritants are all that’s left behind on your skin. This wreaks double-destruction on your face and leaves it worse than if you had not used the product at all.

Next, these undiluted chemical additives, preservatives, fragrances, emulsifiers and alcohol left behind on your face signal your skin to overproduce sebum to compensate, clogging it up and- seemingly contradictorily- leaving it both oily and dry at the same time (see “Note” on dry vs. dehydrated skin beloww).  Worse, used over time the water in skin care products can actually create acne caused by this chronic congestion. 

None of these elements- additives, preservatives, fragrances, emulsifiers or alcohol- are “active ingredients”: those that actually provide the skin benefits the product claims. For most commercial skin care products, the presence of water, preservatives and emulsifiers puts the amount of active ingredients between 2 – 25%. Combined with the "Rule of Five" (the first five ingredients determine the real content of what's inside), the remainder can comprise so little volume as to be negligible. You have seen, and perhaps used, products boldly named after and advertised as an ingredient known to be beneficial, only to examine the ingredients to find it last in the list, rendering its presence and its potential effect nearly non-existent.

The solution? Your insides love water, in fact they have a miraculous moisture-delivery system made especially to hydrate your skin.  The water you drink goes to the cells in every part of your body and since your skin is your body’s largest organ, the water you consume not only hydrates your skin through the blood, it flushes impurities and toxins out of those same cells.

With regard to the much-hyped hyaluronic acid, said to hold “1000 times its weight in water” it has no functional ability to “push water into your skin” as alleged by many manufacturers.  If you recall studying passive transport in science class, you remember that “Substances move from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration.”

Applying hyaluronic acid in any other than an extremely high humidity will cause it to actually backfire by attracting that “1000 times its weight” by pulling moisture from the area of higher concentration (the deeper layers of your skin) up to the surface to disperse it to an area of lower concentration (the atmosphere).  Your skin is then less hydrated and tighter, to the extent of being uncomfortable for many. 

Lastly, hyaluronic acid- like collagen- has zero moisturizing effect on your skin.  Its high molecular weight means its molecules are too large to penetrate your skin; it merely sits on top of it which is how it acts as a vehicle for moisture depletion rather than moisture delivery.

Note: It is important here to distinguish between dry skin and dehydrated skin.

Dryness is a permanent skin type.  Dry skin lacks oil and is typically genetically-based, meaning you inherited skin with fewer oil glands.  As a result, you have fewer natural fats and lipids and your skin is less able to retain the moisture required to stay strong and protect you from the external environment.

Dehydration is a temporary skin condition.  It means your skin lacks water and is typically caused by external factors such as weather, environment, diet, smoking and alcohol/caffeine/sugar consumption, all of which diminish the water content within your skin.

“Combination skin” has usually described skin that is oily in some parts (such as the “T-Zone”) and dry in others (outside the “T-Zone”).  There is a new “combination skin” to consider as well: skin that is simultaneously oily by nature (inherited) and dehydrated by nurture (lifestyles, environment).  Both dryness and dehydration contribute to “congested skin”, even acne, when the build-up of dead cells your body routinely sheds (30,000-40,000/day) that- if not effectively removed and the skin cleansed- get trapped in pores resulting in dull, lackluster, uneven skin, blackheads or acne.

Putting water on your skin neither hydrates nor moisturizes in.  It actually does the reverse. Increasing your water intake and lowering moisture-depleting habits addresses dehydration, while upping your water-free organic oil serum application addresses dryness! Both work together to moisturize and fortify your skin as well as relieve congestion, to give you the best healthy glow possible.    

Because of all these factors, Slowild Organic believes there is no place for water in skin care, so our serums contain none.  As a result, our serums also have no preservatives and no emulsifiers. The result is not just 100% certified organic hydrating and balancing botanical oils, but 100% active ingredients. Each is chosen for its ability to do exactly as it promises, as backed by scientific studies. 

In addition, the world’s leading market intelligence agency forecast that “water-free beauty” will be a global trend within 5 years.  This is exactly the same time the World Wildlife Organization estimated that two-thirds of the world’s population will face significant water shortages. 

Can upgrading your skin care to organic and water-free change the planet?  Perhaps, in itself, no.

Can becoming more conscious and caring about all your lifestyle choices not only have incalculably positive ripple effects throughout the planet but immeasurably improve your life on it as well?

SloWild says yes.