Water, Water Everywhere

The number one ingredient in most skincare products (even the high-priced ones!) is—you guessed it—water.

Water, of course, is excellent for your skin, especially if it is supplied from the food and water that you consume. Water applied to the surface has much less value. A principal ingredient in most moisturizers, water does in fact help to plump the skin, thereby helping to smooth and hydrate—but it won’t affect a real change in your skin.

And, there are several other problems with water:

1. Most creams and lotions take up to 30 minutes to be fully absorbed by your skin, and during that time much of the cream evaporates. So before your skin can derive any benefit from the active ingredients in the products, the cream has evaporated.
2. Water dilutes. So the more water you put in a cream or lotion, the less effective the product will be.
3. The addition of water to a skincare formula requires adding a micro/bio preservative system. That’s why parabens are frequently used, in very low concentrations. Are parabens okay?  Yes, but we can live without them.

Those three reasons are why we’re partial to developing anhydrous (water-free) formulas, like in Oclipse sunscreen and the new Radical Night Repair Plus. Water-free formulas deliver a much greater punch.

Should all skincare products be made without water so they’re extra potent? No. Over-stimulating your skin will cause irritation. Give your skin cells time to rest and recover. And remember to be careful applying Radical Night Repair Plus, as it is much more potent that other products you may have tried. Always follow label instructions, and begin gradually.