Micellar Water

What is micellar water?

Micellar water looks like water but contains very mild surfactants. These cluster together into tiny spheres called micelles. Their outer part loves water, their inner part loves oil. When you sweep a soaked cotton pad over your skin, the micelles attract make-up, sunscreen and sebum and lift them off – without foam and without vigorous rubbing.

What are the benefits?

• Very gentle: Ideal for sensitive, reddened or dry skin that feels tight after foaming cleansers.
• Eye make-up remover: Many micellar waters are mild enough for the eye area.
• Practical: No sink needed – perfect when travelling, after sport or late at night.
• Caring: Korean cleansing waters often also contain hyaluronic acid, ceramides or centella.

Is micellar water enough as a cleanser?

That depends on what you want to remove:

• Light make-up and sunscreen: Yes, micellar water is often enough as a first cleansing step.
• Waterproof make-up or very long-wearing sunscreen: A cleansing oil or a cleansing balm removes these more thoroughly.
• Oily or blemish-prone skin: Follow with a mild gel or foam cleanser so no surfactant or make-up residue stays in the pores – the classic double cleansing.

How to use micellar water

1. Soak a cotton pad well.
2. For eye make-up, hold the pad in place for 20 to 30 seconds so the colour dissolves, then sweep gently downwards.
3. Wipe your face from the centre outwards and use as many pads as needed until the last one stays clean.
4. Rinse or not? For sensitive skin, a quick rinse with water or a gel cleanser afterwards is usually the best choice. Even mild surfactants don’t need to stay on the skin for hours.
5. Continue with a toner and the rest of your routine.

Korean cleansing waters

From our range: the DIVE-IN Low Molecular Hyaluronic Acid Cleansing Water by Torriden, the Dermalogy Real Flower Cleansing Water by Neogen and, for on the go, the 1025 Dokdo Cleansing Tissues by ROUND LAB – cleansing wipes soaked in a mild cleansing water. For waterproof make-up, the Madagascar Centella Light Cleansing Oil by SKIN1004 is a good fit, and as a second step a gentle foam such as the Heartleaf Quercetinol Pore Deep Cleansing Foam by Anua. You’ll find more cleansers in our facial cleansers collection.

What does the research say?

Harsh surfactants can damage the proteins and lipids of the skin barrier and trigger dryness and irritation. Mild surfactant systems, on the other hand, cleanse without significantly disrupting the barrier (Ananthapadmanabhan et al., Dermatologic Therapy, 2004). This is exactly the principle micellar water relies on.