If you check the ingredient list of any skincare product in your beauty cabinet, you will typically find 'aqua' as the first ingredient. The common use of water as a main ingredient in beauty products has been a given forever. It has traditionally been utilized as a solvent for other components to mix, creating a more "cosmetically elegant" formula for application. Yes, water can act as a carrier for active ingredients in a recipe, but in doing so, it also dilutes them.
And while we think of water as a good thing, as we have always been advised to drink eight cups daily, what then gives rise to waterless beauty, a trend that rejects water in beauty formulas? Here's the answer - sustainability. While water itself isn't a harmful ingredient, some question the practice of relying on it so heavily in product formulations. To put it into context: This situation will only worsen at the current consumption rate. The World Wildlife Fund predicts that by 2025, two-thirds of the world's population may face water shortages.
Due to this environmental issue, from the start here at French Girl, we have been proponents of water-free formulations that use only botanical extracts and flower distillates instead. Going waterless where we can, saves more than just water - it lessens the environmental impact across our entire supply chain. With this in mind, we've selected the following popular waterless French Girl Products to kickstart your water-conscious routine and streamline your vanity closet.
Floral Mists
Despite water typically being a prominent ingredient in facial floral mists, water is often used as a product filler without any additional benefits. French Girl’s floral mists were created without water, proving to be much more potent, allowing the floral distillates to work harder to effectively achieve great skin benefits. You can clarify, prep, and restore PH balance with one of these floral mists. Our Ea De Rose Floral Mist has Rose, Neroli & Lavender floral distillates that have anti-inflammatory and antiseptic benefits while providing the skin a safe, subtle fragrance without chemical enhancers.
Vitamin C Polishing Facial Wash - Lait De Rose
French Girl's Vitamin C Polishing Facial Wash is a waterless, dual-purpose plant enzyme cleansing powder rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants that serve as an exfoliating wash and a masque. Superfruit Kakadu Plum, which contains the highest known Vitamin-C levels of any natural food source, brightens the complexion and promotes collagen production. At the same time, White Willow Bark and Pomegranate extracts work at the cellular level with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant action and gently exfoliate dead skin cells from the skin's surface. If you want to take your eco-friendly game to the next level, mix the lait de rose with one of the floral mists instead of water to achieve even more skin benefits from the dual action of both products.
Anti-Blemish Oil - Clear Skin Elixir
Since water components can typically make up as much as 70 percent of a water-based product, waterless products come into the picture by offering more effective and undiluted formulas that keep hydration levels in balance. Catering to all skin types but particularly suitable for problematic skin, this fast-absorbing plant-based oil is enriched with blue chamomile and lavender essential oils to reduce inflammation. While rosehip oil and linoleic acid contain plant-based vitamins C and A that work harmoniously to increase cell turnover and minimize scarring.
Lumière Shimmer Oils
Void of water, French Girl's Shimmer Oils are a perfect product to add to your summer beauty routine to achieve that extra glow. Argan oil, shea butter, camellia oil, and sunflower oil are used for an ultra-hydrating base in substitution for water. Try the Lumiere Rose Doree, a luxurious, shimmering dry oil for body, face, and hair, infused with mineral oxides, pigments, and nourishing essential oils to moisturize the skin and add a subtle glow. This Rose Gold Shimmer Oil has Amyris and Sandalwood essential oils that lend a subtle and long-lasting scent.
Body Sea Polishes
Bar soap vs. body wash: If you haven't committed to either camp, you might favor a smoothing yet exfoliating treatment with one of French Girl's Body Polishes. Our four hydrating body scrubs are composed of Himalayan salts, nourishing butters, and plant-based oils that work to gently exfoliate, detoxify, and moisturize the skin. What's great about these body sea polishes is that they don't contain any water giving them a longer shelf life. Our Rose Body Polish is a favorite with the team at French Girl. It is free of synthetic fragrances, not your grand mere's rose potpourri. It combines soft, floral rose with subtly sweet YlangYlang, palmarosa, rosewood, and frankincense essential oils to create a calming, floral, mood-boosting scent.
Lumière Body Oils
Body oils, unlike lotion, don't typically contain any water-based ingredients. Instead, it resembles the natural oil or lipids that our skin produces. Like lipids, a body oil, once applied, will help look and seal moisture, keeping your skin hydrated throughout the day. Try French Girl's Lumière Jasmin, a luxurious, hydrating body oil formulated with a lightweight blend of nourishing organic oils to leave skin resilient and glowing. This body oil combines two types of warm and spicy Jasmin scents with subtly sweet ylangylang, clementine, petitgrain, cabreuva, and copaiba essential oils that create a bright, floral, uplifting fragrance.
People are becoming more sustainably conscious and environmentally responsible as global warming, and water scarcity are currently some of the world's most pressing issues. Due to this, at French Girl, we are doing everything within our power to push for sustainable efforts with waterless formulas to help conservation and provide more effective beauty care products.
The absence of water from our products at French Girl means they are less likely to run into bacterial growth and contamination issues, meaning they're longer lasting due to increased shelf life. Going waterless with your skincare regimen means replacing it with pure, potent botanical extracts or plant-based oils, providing your skin with an even higher concentration of actives and more skin-nourishing ingredients. As a result, you get a better, faster, and more powerful skincare result.
Waterless beauty is trending, but it is also the beauty industry's future and will soon be the new norm.