Facial mists – the solution to everything! So refreshing, and that feeling that you’re doing something good for your skin – awesome. Right?! Hate to break it to you, but facial mists aren’t all that, and there’re better ways to stay cool – be it at your office, your insanely hot apartment or (lucky you!) on vacation. My best skincare hacks to beat the heat!
How facial mists wreck your skin
As always, there’re two sides to a skincare ‘rule’, so let me first tell you something about water molecules. When you mist your face with a simple thermal water spray, water droplets will evaporate from your skin and you’ll feel a pleasant cooling sensation. Through the evaporation process of the water droplets on your skin, the salt on your skin will act like a magnet that draws not only the freshly layered water droplets, but also water from deeper layers of your skin. If you remember your chemistry days – there’re always salts in simple H2O, and so they are in thermal water. Especially thermal water from volcanic springs are rich in salts, which reinforces the process.
Presto – dehydrated skin in a few seconds. It gets worse the drier the air is, for example on an airplane.
But, you can still use them – just differently
To actually bind hydration to the skin, you need more than water. Your facial mist should include moisture-locking ingredients like glycerine, silicones, or oils. Be careful with hyaluronic acid – while it’s known to lock in moisture, it’s similar to water – when your surroundings are very dry, it can leave your skin even more dehydrated.
And if you think, well, no biggie, I’ll just load up on moisturiser in the evening, or, my skin is oily anyways, transepidermal water loss (more info here) is one of the reasons for a damaged skin barrier. I’ve dealt with a damaged skin barrier, and let me tell you, I didn’t like it one bit. Raw, inflamed patches of skin? No thanks.
There’s actually a way to use your simple water spray or mist: either you layer an occlusive moisturiser directly over it. Or you can use one of the following mists that have actually occlusive ingredients: The most famous is MAC Fix+, but I’ve also tried Instytutum Alive Water lately and liked it.
Now, instead of reaching instantly to a face mist when you’re hot, try one of those easy hacks instead!
How to beat the heat
Try to run cold water over your wrists or hold a cold cloth to your neck – your veins run directly under the skin there, and you’ll cool down much quicker that way.
Similarly, try to dab peppermint oil at wrists or temples – the menthol in it feels cold on your skin.
Wear natural fabrics like linen or cotton – sweat evaporates easily through them instead of your skin boiling slowly under plastic-y fabrics.
Try yoga breathing – roll your tongue and breathe in slowly through your mouth and out of your nose. Repeat.
No brainer: Drink lots of water.
Snack on frozen food, like frozen watermelon cubes!
When you come home, use a sheet mask from your fridge, or a cooling sleeping mask instead of your usual moisturiser!
Any hacks you want to share?
