Waterless skincare is the future
Have a rummage through your product stash and you’ll typically find the first ingredient listed in many beauty and skincare products is water (or aqua). This means that water is the main ingredient in the product, sometimes making up 70% or more of the product.
Now don't get us wrong, we’re water babies at Such! We love drinking it, splashing around it in it and pretending we’re Monet on a rainy day and colouring with it. But while it is at the top of our list of tips for great skin (seriously, drink some water), we decided H20 was a no go for our clay mask formulations. Here’s why.
More potent
Water is a relatively cheap ingredient, so it can be used as a filler in skincare products. This leaves you with a lower percentage of actual active ingredients which are the goods you’re paying for.
Waterless skincare products are more potent because they contain high concentrations of active ingredients that aren’t watered down (literally). Waterless skincare isn’t diluted so it’s more effective than their conventional water containing cousins. This means that not only does your skin benefit from the higher concentrations of pure active ingredients, but you get more bang for your beauty buck!
More stabilised
Vitamin C is a superstar ingredient for bright and juicy skin. While many products contain Vitamin C, it’s a highly unstable ingredient. Once it comes into contact with air, it oxidises and loses a lot of those incredible benefits it can bring to your skin.
Waterless products provide better stability for ingredients, particularly Vitamin C. When used in a more stable powdered form, like our Kakadu Plum in our Australian Pink Clay Bum Mask is, the ingredient is only activated when it is brought into contact with water. This gives it the ability to deliver all its benefits - leaving you with brighter skin.
No preservatives
Without water, skincare products can be made without the preservatives needed to prevent bacteria growth. Including preservatives in products again eats into the percentage of the product available for active ingredients. But it can also have a negative impact on your health.
Ironically, while preservatives are included to make sure water-based products are safe and don’t harbour bacteria, the preservatives are not necessarily safe for your health.
Parabens, in particular, are a nasty we don’t like anywhere near our skin. You can read more about parabens and other ingredients you will never find in our products here. Some preservatives can also really irritate the skin, making it sensitive, red and basically pissed off! Steer clear and your skin will thank you for it.
Give it a mix
There is something so soothing about flowing water. Whether it’s pouring yourself a warm bath on a cold night or a fresh glass of water on a summer’s day, there’s nothing we love more than going with that H20 flow. This is why we find the process of adding water into our masks such a therapeutic one. Mixing up our masks yourself is actually a lovely, relaxing ritual that our customers find as calming as we do.
Another reason that we prefer to self-mix our masks, is that you’ve got control over the consistency. Whether you like a lighter more liquidy layer or you prefer to lay it on thick, it’s completely up to you.
By mixing the mask only when you are ready to apply it, you also ensure the active ingredients are only activated when used. This makes for a more concentrated product that will infuse your skin with potent nutrients. It's kind of like the difference between cooking a wholesome meal with fresh ingredients versus grabbing a pre-packaged meal.
In our pursuit of a “less is more” and “no fuss” approach, our formulations are multi-purpose exfoliant-to-masks. By combining two products in one, you can enjoy multiple benefits in a single product. Slow down, take your time to mix and apply our masks and see how the whole process adds to the soothing and nurturing ritual of caring for your skin and yourself.