Beyond35 asks…What’s the difference between a floral water and facial mist? The owner told me it [Wild Olive] was an infused water…I’m confused.
The Left Brain responds:
I looked at the website you mentioned. Let me try to answer your question.
Why lotions are better than face sprays
The product in question is Wild Olive Face Mist. According to their website this “product is an enriched water designed to help maintain good hydration levels in the deeper tissue of our skin.” The ingredients, referenced on the website, are basically water, a small amount of natural oils, glycerine, fragrance, glycerine, and a solubolizer (polysorbate-20) to help mix in the oils. I’m a bit surprised to see that there’s no preservative listed.
Spraying a water and oil mixture such as this one on your face will provide temporary hydration. I’m sure it feels quite nice if your skin is really dry. But, this type of product can’t deliver the same kind of long lasting moisturization that a cream or lotion can provide.
That’s because a moisturizer needs to be applied in a uniform layer across the skin so it can lock in moisture. (Moisturizers work by preventing water from evaporating through the skin. This is called Trans Epidermal Water Loss or TEWL.)
A spray like this will not uniformly coat your face and so it won’t reduce TEWL like a lotion will. Also, since this is a spray it consists of mainly water rather than the kinds of oils and waxes that really lock moisture in skin.
If you’re just looking for a fresh feeling and you have $20 bucks to spend, then this is the product for you. But if you truly want to deeply moisturize your face then you need a good facial cream.
Image credit: http://www.markhenspeter.com/
What do YOU think? Do you use facial mists or sprays? Leave a comment and share your thoughts with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I like to use facial moisturizing sprays to set mineral makeup. Gives a nice finish and helps to set the makeup. Works very well for that purpose.
This is very useful information for all of us.We must know very well about the product which we are using or applying on our face.Thanks for letting us know.
Awesome article. There is nothing better for your face than a good anti-aging cream or a good moisturizer.
I am bad in the heat. Like, BAD. I like to have a facial mist around on hot days to supplement the other things I do to cope with any heat that goes over about twenty degrees celsius – lots of long floaty white muslin, ten million kirby grips to pile my hair up as far away from my neck as possible, ice packs slipped into my waistband, never ever venturing out of the house, etc etc.
The upside of being so terrible in the heat, though, is that I am basically immune to cold. I am perfectly happy to frolic in the snow wearing nothing but a summerdress. Yes, I am weird.
I love love love my Clinique spray moisturizer. I use it to top off and ‘set’ my makeup before I go out, and sometimes use it during the day. Seems to improve the look of makeup when it crinkles into the wrinkles — smooths that scaley dry look. It seems to leave a moist look to my skin that lasts for a couple of hours. It also seems to make my skin much more comfortable, especially on windy or dry days.
Should I mention that I spend a lot of time in the high desert areas? I don’t tend to use it as much when I am back down in the sometimes foggy bay area. I wouldn’t be without it.