WHY YOUR FACE MIST ISN'T WORKING

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Have you ever used a face mist and felt as though your skin was left feeling drier than it had been beforehand? You're not alone! Today's post is for you; I'm going to talk through why this happens, how to prevent it and which products you might want to avoid...

You might have heard the tip that hyaluronic acid should be applied to slightly damp skin and that once you've used your serum you should go straight in with a moisturiser. The reason for this is that hyaluronic acid and other humectants pull water into the skin, however if you don't give them something to work with; they can pull water from the upper layers of your skin deeper, which doesn't really help with hydration levels! The reason you want to go straight in with your moisturiser is because you want to lock in that hydration so it doesn't evaporate off the skin. Occlusives like oils help to seal things in before transepidermal water loss (TEWL) can occur. For the same reason, I'm not the hugest fan of oil-free moisturisers; sometimes they work, but sometimes they just let all of the hydration seep out of your skin. It's all about formulation, but it can be risky; for me there's a reason why most moisturisers contain a balance of humectants, occlusives and emollients.

I actually recently read an Instagram post by the brand Allies of Skin stating that this is the reason they don't formulate their face mist with hyaluronic acid. Whilst I don't think it's impossible to formulate well with humectants, it does pose some challenges. When you spray a mist on your skin that's formulated entirely with humectants, it can almost immediately evaporate off the skin and even take a bit of the moisture that was already there with it, which is why you might experience that dry feeling. 

There are a few ways to avoid this. The first is to skip the face mist and use a traditional toner; as it's not vapour-light, it's not going to absorb back into the atmosphere as readily, allowing you a tad longer to get your moisturiser on to seal it in. If you do really want to do the misting thing; it's important to go straight in with your moisturiser. The other thing you can do is go for a dual-phase mist that you shake up before use. Of course we all know that oils and water don't mix, which is why they come like this. The oils help stop the water-based humectants  from escaping, so you get lasting hydration and moisture.

Face mists I recommend

Sioris Time Is Running Out Mist* | £17 (15% off with code JASMINETALKSBEAUTY) | I know not everyone is ok with fragrance in skincare, so this is a great option that doesn't contain lots of fragrant oils (there's a little touch of orange peel oil but it shouldn't irritate most people and certainly doesn't make this a fragrance bomb). The exact formulation actually moves with the seasons slightly but it's currently formulated with hydrating fruit oils and plant oils like jojoba and sunflower to lock everything in.

Pixi Hydrating Milky Mist* | £18 | This is an old favourite of mine and pretty non-traditional as far as face mists go. It contains humectants in the form of hyaluronic acid and glycerin but also cetyl palmitate, as a skin-smoothing emollient, castor oil to moisturise and lock in hydration and allantoin to soothe and condition the skin. A great all-rounder for dry and lacklustre skin, in my personal opinion.

Pixi Rose Glow Mist* | £16 | This is another dual-phase formula that you shake up before use. This contains fragrant essential oils so won't be one for everyone, but I personally love the dewy, healthy glow it gives my skin. There's aloe extract in the water component and, in terms of oils. there's obviously rose oil, but also safflower and avocado, which I really love. 

Face mists that can work

Bybi Mega Mist Hyaluronic Acid Face Spray* | £26 (20% off with code JASMINE20) | I'm decidedly undecided about this one! There are some good ingredients here; the hyaluronic acid, aloe extract, camellia extract, algae extract, pomegranate extract and fruit waters. However, you do have to go straight in with a moisturiser to get that hydration and I'd much rather not have that issue. It doesn't not work, but there are better options out there. I know a lot of people love this stuff, and I really love Bybi, but I personally recommend using that affiliate code on something else from their site...!

Chantecaille Pure Rosewater* | £65 | This actually isn't pure rosewater; it contains glycerin and some preservatives, but I digress. Again, this will work fine; it includes the entire rose petal including the oil which helps with retaining water in the skin, but - given the price - it just didn't wow me. I feel a dual-phase formula would do more to lock in the hydration and moisture. The packaging is luxury and I'm sure Chantecaille source high-quality ingredients, but you can get rose water at Holland & Barrett for about £10. They have some lovely, indulgent products that work well and are a treat to use, but this just isn't up there for me.

Face mists I don't recommend

Indeed Labs Hydraluron + Moisture Mist* | £24.99 | This is actually the face mist that inspired this post. Indeed Labs do some incredible products and I don't want to take away from that at all, but I was recently at an event with them hosted by James Welsh which had us doing a 'follow along' facial. I sprayed this mist, but within moments I was like: 'why isn't my skin hydrated?' I proceeded to spray it three more times and my skin felt drier than it had been before I started. When I took a look at the ingredients and saw it was really a water-based product, it began to click with me that these sorts of face mists just don't work for my skin.

Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner* | £7.95 (not pictured - I gave it away because I don't like it!) | This is formulated with rose water, chamomile extract and glycerin, so looking back that's probably why it seemed to dissipate into nothing on my skin. I guess if you want something to mist over makeup or during the day, this could work because it feels refreshing and you've already sealed in your skincare, but it won't penetrate when applied in that way, so (unless you just like how it looks) there's not a lot of point.

I really hope this was helpful! Do you ever use face mists and have you had this issue before?

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