NEO I SPOTLIGHT
This is the multi-tasking cleansing water I can't get enough of
This is the multi-tasking cleansing water I can't get enough of
By Carolina Malis
Let me introduce you to my experience with cleansing waters. The very first time I tried one I hated it. It was a mix between water and some kind of an oil that left my skin feeling weird and stripped. At that point of my life (let's say about 6 years ago) I still thought that mommy-like feeling was right, and that it meant my skin was clean and oil free. Oh how naive I was back then.
After getting into korean skincare I got obsessed with double cleansing - I still am nowadays - but didn't realize until late 2016 that double cleansing morning and night was just too much for my skin. At that point I quit oil cleansers in the morning and kept them just for night time but continued to use a foam cleanser in the morning. Late last year I had a conversation with another skincare-lover friend where we exchanged thoughts about morning skincare routines, and she mentioned she cleansed her face with water and nothing else but water after waking up. My first reaction was: "you're insane, you need at least a foam cleanser" but then I got curious… could this be the reason why I was still getting so many breakouts? So I decided to try cleansing my face with only a cleansing water in the morning for a whole month to see if anything changed.
Will give you some spoilers and tell you that since then I've never used a cleansing foam in the morning again. My skin has changed in such a way that people started asking me which product I was using. When I told them I was reducing my cleansing routine I commonly got a frowned forehead. But once I got into explaining it all made sense: I do have acne prone skin, yes, but what I was not realizing was that my skin was also dehydrated, even when not dry. Double cleansing or even a gentle foam cleanser in the morning plus the double cleansing at night was getting rid of too many oils in my skin, which was leading to the viral circle of skin's sebum production. Since then cleansing waters have become my best friends and I have even took the risk of using just water some days.
Now, not every cleansing water works the same way though. I prefer the ones that also act like toners instead of just removing makeup or dirt. In fact, and I swear this is not a lie, I've used nothing but Neogen's Real Fresh flower cleansing water since then, but a few weeks ago I left my regular on the side to try Neogen's new Cica Micellar Cleansing Water, and even when I thought no other CW was ever gonna make it into my staples collection, this one may just as well do.
As I've told you on past posts Cica is a treasure ingredient. It not only helps hydrate and calm down troubled skin but it soothes inflammation and helps skin heal faster, so it's a winner if belong to the sensitive or acne-prone skin team. Well, well, well, Cica is contained on this cleansing water as well and let me tell you, once you apply it you can feel skin's stress and redness dimming down, an amazingly soothing sensation just as a glass of cold water on a hot day.
While I don't commonly use it as a makeup remover, I've tried it a couple of times to remove non-waterproof mascara and lipstick and works like a charm. Another perk is its refrshing and cooling effect. Specially now during these hot and humid summer days, a layer or two of this cleansing water will bring down my skin's temperature in matter of seconds and the effect will last.