In the last few years, Micellar water has popped up on beauty shelves everywhere claiming to be the newest and most gentle way to remove dirt and makeup from your face.
Think it sounds too good to be true? So did we! That’s why we put Micellar water to the test to see if it could hold up against our Olive Oil Cleanser. Before we break down our results, we wanted to explain a bit more about what micellar water is and what it claims to do.
What Is Micellar Water?
Micellar water is a clear liquid that is usually odorless and colorless and has a similar texture to water. Micellar water claims to have many benefits, like being great for sensitive skin. Many of the micellar waters we found also boasted about the fact that they are free of soaps and detergents, but we found that was sort of misleading, considering they have different types of chemicals in them that act the same way as a soap would.
How We Tried It
We followed directions to apply micellar water to a cotton pad and use that to wash our face at the end of the day. Throughout the day, we had used makeup, sunscreen and had been outside where pollution and dirt could have entered our pores.
After wiping our faces down with the cotton pad, we could see some makeup and dirt had been wiped away but we couldn’t help but feel that our skin wasn’t completely clean.
The Verdict
We couldn’t get over the feeling our skin wasn’t clean so we actually took some of our very own Olive Oil Cleanser and used it on the cotton pad to wipe down our face again.
To our surprise, there was even more dirt and oil on the second cotton pad (check out the photo above!) meaning that the micellar water didn’t live up to the promise to completely cleanse your skin of makeup and grime.
Because micellar water lacks some of the components needed to really dig deep into pores and cleanse, don’t go throwing your cleansers out just yet…
Could this be an easy quick fix before the gym or while traveling? Sure! But we absolutely would not recommend it as your only cleansing option for the entire day. Based on our test, it leaves dirt and oil still trapped in pores and if left there, it can lead to breakouts, enlarged pores, and deeper wrinkles so stick with your Olive Oil Cleanser to make sure your face is as clean as can be!
