Every facial care should begin with proper skin cleansing. Lately there is a lot of talk about “double cleaning” of the skin. Do you know what the purpose of the double cleaning is, and why most use this method? How does micellar water work and how do soaps work?
What is the purpose of cleaning the skin?
Throughout the day, we are exposed to our cosmetic products and various environmental pollutants. With our hands we touch our faces, and in the winter there is a lot of smog and all this accumulates on the surface of our skin and in the pores. Because of all the impurities that accumulate, the skin needs to be cleaned in order to keep it healthy. Under all pollutants, pores become clogged and this may be reflected as an increased excretion of sebum or the formation of comedons.
Skin should also be cleaned in the morning. In the morning, it is necessary to wash the cosmetic products that were applied in the evening, from the face. At the same time, dust is on our head, which is also passed on to our face. So, before the next morning you start to apply morning care, first cleanse your skin.
How do cleaners work?
Surfactants
We know that water and oil do not like eachother. The oil is lighter than water and will therefore always float above the water, and these two substances will not be united by themselves. The reason for this is the excessive surface tension between them. For stabilization, however, a substance is needed, which will reduce the inter-phase voltage, and these are surfactants.
One of the most typical activities for surfactants is cleaning. Surfactants are key ingredients of cosmetic products such as soaps, cleansing gels, shampoos and sparkling baths.
Surface-active substances are substances that, due to their chemical structure, are distributed at the boundary between the two phases. The characteristic of surfactants is the presence of a hydrophilic and hydrophobic part in the chemical structure. Surfactants influence the dissolution of substances with different mechanisms.
Solubilization
Solubilization means increasing the solubility of a poorly water-soluble substance with surfactants. The mechanism involves “catching” (adsorbed or dissolved) molecules in the micelles.
Cleaners work on the principle of solubilization. By solubilizing the substance, the solubility and dissolution rate of the substance is increased. More broadly, solubilization also involves the use of other methods of increasing solubility, such as, for example, use of co-solvent.
How does micellar water work?
The main ingredients of micellar water are water and one or more surfactants. We can imagine micelles as a leaf that is folded back into itself. The way it folds depends on the media that surrounds it. In the aqueous medium, the micelle has hydrophobic tails on the inner side and the polar head on the outside. If the medium is an organic solvent, then the components of the micelle are turned – the polar heads are inward, and the hydrophobic chain is outwards.
By increasing the amount of surfactant in the aqueous solution, the surface tension drops until the molecules fill the boundary surface between the aqueous and the oil phase. At a given concentration, the surfaces between water and oil are saturated and surfactants begin to aggregate and form aggregates called micelles. The concentration at which micelles begin to form is called critical micelle concentration.
When the micellar water is applied to the face, the micelles capture the oily components into their interior. This happens because they are arranged in such a way that the lipophilic (hydrophobic) tails look at the place where the oil and other impurities are caught.
Why is it necessary to rinse off micellar water?
You must have heard that the micellar water needs to be washed off. Because they contain surfactants they can have a negative effect on the skin. Surface-active substances differ, some are gentle (eg syndrome), some are more aggressive (sodium lauryl sulphate).
It is known that the constant use of surfactants for cleaning has a negative effect on the skin. For decades, scientists have thought that the mechanism for damaged skin barrier is the removal of lipids from the porous layer. Recent studies show that surface-active substances cause denaturalization of skin proteins and interact with keratin.
Types of cleaning agents
Soaps
Soaps are a general term used for preparations containing alkaline (basic) salts from mostly solid fatty acids. Classical soaps are the most alkaline formulations with a pH value of between 9 and 10.
Glycerine soaps are made from glycerol and natural glycerine oils. Glycerin is a humidifier, which is often used for moisturizing and protecting the skin. This helps neutralize the effect of drying alkalis.
Superfatted soaps: contain glycerol, but also a wide range of lipids that help restore the lipid layer in the skin (triglycerides, natural oils and fats).
Antibacterial soaps include antibacterial substances such as carbanil and triclosan.
Soap with the syndets
They are made of surfactants, such as sulfuric acid esters and isoethates of fatty acids. These soaps have a pH of 5 to 6. However, they contain synthetic components.
Liquid cleaning agents
They can contain several natural and synthetic surfactants and various moisturizers and lipids.
Oil-free cleaning agents
Rich in fatty alcohols that allow you to clean your skin without the need for water. These formulations are rapidly dried and include moisturizing agents to prevent possible irritation.
Cleaning creams
These formulations are a mixture of surfactants, lipids and waxes. These have traditionally been used to treat patients with atopic dermatitis due to the high fat content that can form a protective barrier on the skin.
Double skin cleansing
Double cleaning is a method where two different types of cleaning agents are used, one after the other. In the case of two cleaning, first clean your face with clean oil, oil-based cleaning fluid or cleansing milk. Then there is followed by purification with a water soluble cream, gel or foam. Cleaning with oil-based products helps dissolve make-ups and water-resistant juicy creams. Compared to pure oils, modern cleaning oils contain emulsifiers that allow the oil to mix with water and form a milk emulsion. This facilitates skin rinsing.
How to properly clean the sun cream from the face?
A non-waterproof sun cream can be washed with a cleansing gel or oil, and waterproof sunscreen cleans only cleaning oil. The sun protection product can be partly removed with water, but this is a less effective way, compared to cleansing gel and oil. In addition, cleaning oil, in comparison with the cleansing gel, can less irritate the skin and dry it less.