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 Beauty Brains respond
I looked at this Wild Olive product. “Floral water” and “facial mist” are not technical terms but rather just marketing descriptions so there is no set meaning. A floral water could be an ingredient in a facial mist. Another question is, what’s the deal with these facial sprays?
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: Wikipedia
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.