Scientists claim this one thing will boost hydration

DITCH all those expensive creams filling your drawers. Scientists say all you need to achieve perfect skin is a bottle of this stuff.

Rhian Deutrom

3 min read

November 9, 2018 - 6:59AM

The Beauty Diary: The 5 minute face tutorial

IT’S A fact, universally acknowledged, that women will, at some point in their lives, consider the state of their face and ask what can be done to keep it looking fresh and fly.

You don’t have to be a supermodel to have these thoughts. Hell, you don’t even need to use makeup to assess the leather covering that noggin’.

“What will I look like when I’m old? How can I stop it happening so quickly? What can I slap on my mug to cease the ravages of time?!!”

Firstly, settle down.

Secondly, I have found the answer for us all, and it comes directly from science.

Woman with beauty scream to stay young

According to science, we’ve been making a major mistake when it comes to attacking dry and damaged skin.

Many of us have spent years turning to expensive and ineffective beauty products endorsed by celebrities like Goop queen Gwyneth Paltrow.

Lotions, serums, butters and balms vow to keep our skin looking youthful, but when they fail to deliver, we’re forced to move on to the next thing.

We drift from steam humidifiers to customised essences, from scrubs and mists to moisturising makeup, all in the perpetual pursuit of hydration.

But according to a group of Japanese scientists, we’ve got it all wrong.

A Skin Research and Technology study, released today, has found that we need just one ingredient to achieve beautiful, hydrated skin.

Water.

Here it is. The answer to our prayers.

The study, conducted at Aichi Medical University in Japan, examined the faces of 17 healthy adult women, aged between 30 and 46.

Each woman’s face was sprayed with a fine mist of water, under conditions similar to winter, when our skin is at its driest.

I must admit that before now, I always looked at those Evian Facial Mist cans and laughed — why would I bother spraying water on my face when this tap over here can do the exact same thing? What a rort!

But the results of this study may have converted me.

Scientists found that the women’s moisture levels and elasticity dramatically improved after a good misting with these tiny water particles.

Here’s one of the test subjects, look how happy she is! (This is not one of the test subjects).

“In addition, water retention function remained constant at 360 minutes after spraying,” the study found.

By my calculations, 360 minutes is roughly six hours. Six hours!

That’s you, looking fabulous, for an entire cocktail party, including the cab ride home with some hot dude you picked up!

That’s also the time it takes for you to attend your friend’s wedding ceremony, potentially upstage her with your fantastic elastic skin, attend her reception, then grab an uber home with some hot dude you picked up!

Ladies, it appears we have a winner.

Scientists have found that skin elasticity improved after a spritz with water.

The method of “watering” your face is also important to consider.

While you’ll certainly get wet by dunking your head in a bowl of water or under the shower, you wont get the penetration necessary to truly achieve hydration.

By using something like a misting bottle, water is separated into small particles with a tiny diameter, allowing the H2O to “pass through the gaps” between skin cells and layers.

This increases the water content in the skin, repairing dry areas and softening overall.

The study also recommended using “non-charged water particles” (i.e. not steam or vapour or gas that has been charged with electricity) to spritz your visage.

Apparently this plays an important role in maintaining the moisture in your skin.

If you’re feeling a bit extra once you buy your mist bottle, ditch the tap water and invest in a jug of distilled water for your spritz routine.

Distilled water has been stripped of contaminants and minerals so it’s even better for your skin.

It’s a really pure form of water, without salts and impurities, and is used as the base for most cosmetics, during surgery and in machinery to avoid corrosion.

Congratulations if you read this story, because you have just arrived at Hydration Station and the good news is you could only afford a one-way ticket, so you’re never going to leave!

If you don't feel like going to all the effort, here are some pure water facial mists you can pick up around town:

AVENE EAU THERMALE SPRING WATER