The majority of mainstream skin care, personal hygiene, and cosmetics contain can contain up to 90% of H20 otherwise known as Water. Water is used in the formulation of virtually every type of cosmetic and personal care product. It can be found in lotions, creams, bath products, cleansing products, deodorants, makeup, moisturizers, oral hygiene products, personal cleanliness products, skin care products, shampoo, hair conditioners, shaving products, and suntan products. The Consumer Personal Safety Commission or the FDA is the regulatory agency for personal care/cosmetic, they have determined that all ingredients on your product labels have to be listed in descending order of weight until they reach the ingredients that are present in quantities of 1% or less. This means the first ingredient on the list generally makes up about 30%-90% of the product.  

All Water Is Not Created Equally

Now when I say water, i'm not referring to tap water.  The metals found in tap water can speed up rancidity of our oils in the final product because it contain contaminants and impurities such as salts, and other microorganisms, yes plain old faucet water contains viruses and bacteria. Instead,  distilled water is used.  The difference between tap water and distilled water is distilled water has been boiled so that it removes many of the impurities in the water, then condensing the steam into a clean container. Other waters such as: Hydrosols or Distillates which are aromatic waters for health and skin care, deionized, kangen and purified.  You may be a fan of some of the more expensive liquids, but other than price, they all have their drawbacks and aren't always what they seem to be.

To Water or Not To Water

Finally, the most important fact about water in skin/personal care products is that Water hydrates your skin, from the outside in and visa versa.  Water is good for us and the more water we drink and apply topically, the better our skin will love us. With that said, water is cheap and I’m sure this fact is one of the main reasons it is so readily used.  At NFY, we actually only use “just water” when no other liquid makes sense. Instead, we combine distilled water with teas and herbs to make a more medicinal liquid, such as green tea, chamomile and  lavender flowers, or plant based milks like coconut, flax, soy, almond and oat. And then there is my all time favorite, aloe vera juice. All of these liquids provide an added benefit to our bodies and are by far a better source of hydration than just plain distilled water.

Check out some of our “water alternative” natural products such as aloe vera, tea infused, and plant based milk alternative, soaps, lotions and facial care products at http://naturallyforyousoaps.com/collections/all . Stay in touch with us by joining our mailing list and while you're there order your next new favorite product to “Begin To Nourish Your Skin Naturally From The Outside In”.