Micellar water is a cleansing water that lifts make-up and the day's impurities onto a cotton pad, with no basin and, for most formulas, no rinse. To use it, soak a pad, hold it over closed eyes for a few seconds, then sweep gently outwards across the face. Choose it by skin type: a comforting formula for sensitive or dry skin, a purifying one for oily or combination skin, and a bi-phase version when the eye make-up is waterproof. Below are the ones we would choose for each, and the method step by step.
What Is Micellar Water?
It looks like water, and mostly is. Dissolved in it are mild surfactants, the same family of cleansing molecules found in any face wash, at a low strength. In water they gather into micelles: tiny clusters with one end drawn to oil and the other drawn to water. On a cotton pad, the oil-loving ends attach to make-up, sebum and dust, and the pad carries them away. There is no lather to wash off, which is why micellar water is the quickest cleanse there is, and why it suits a late evening, a light make-up day or a fresh start in the morning.
The cleansing base is much the same from bottle to bottle. What changes is what the house adds for your skin: humectants and soothing extracts for comfort, a gentle acid or zinc for oilier skin, or an oily phase for waterproof make-up.
Micellar Water for Sensitive or Dry Skin
If your skin feels tight after washing or flushes easily, choose a micellar water made for comfort, with humectants such as glycerin or hyaluronic acid to help skin feel hydrated as you cleanse.
A-derma's Dermatological Micellar Water Hydra-Cleansing is made for fragile skin, with the house's Rhealba oat and dandelion extract. Sensilis Sensitive Skin Lab Micellar Water, for sensitive and reactive skin, pairs hyaluronic acid with licorice. Eucerin's DermatoCLEAN [HYALURON] Sensitive Skin Micellar Lotion cleanses, removes make-up and hydrates in one step, with sodium hyaluronate. Rilastil's Micellar Solution is a delicate face and eye make-up remover for sensitive skin, with a tear-compatible pH and bisabolol on its list.
- Dermatological Micellar Water Hydra-Cleansing Makeup Remover
- Sensitive Skin Lab Micellar Water
- DermatoCLEAN [HYALURON] Sensitive Skin Micellar Lotion
- Micellar Solution Makeup Remover
Micellar Water for Oily or Combination Skin
Oily and combination skin suit micellar water well, as long as it is made to lift excess oil as well as make-up. Some carry a gentle acid or zinc to help skin look clearer and feel fresher.
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Micellar Water, with the house's thermal water, removes make-up, oil and impurities from the face and eyes, and the house describes it as non-comedogenic. Svr Laboratoire Dermatologique Sebiaclear Micellar Water carries gluconolactone, a gentle PHA, in an alcohol-free formula for oily skin prone to blemishes, and lifts waterproof make-up too. Topicrem's Purifying Micellar Water, for sensitive, combination to oily skin, helps lift excess sebum and pollution particles, with zinc gluconate in its formula. Payot's Pâte Grise Purifying Cleansing Micellar Water is made for combination to oily skin, with glycolic and lactic acids among its ingredients.
- Effaclar Micellar Water
- Sebiaclear Micellar Water Makeup Remover
- Purifying Micellar Water
- Pâte Grise Purifying Cleansing Micellar Water
If you already use an exfoliating acid elsewhere in your routine, patch test a micellar water with acids first and watch how your skin responds. Acids can make skin more sensitive to the sun, so wear a broad-spectrum sunscreen by day.
Micellar Water for Normal Skin and Every Day
If your skin is neither dry nor oily and rarely complains, the choice comes down to texture, scent and the small pleasure of the ritual.
Stendhal's Éclat Essentiel L'Eau Micellaire is made for normal and combination skin, with white pearl extract, in a bottle with a pump. Collistar's Acqua Micellare Struccante removes make-up from the face, eyes and lips and suits all skin types, with viola tricolor extract and inulin. Jowaé's Micellar Cleansing Water carries imperial peony and suits all skin types, including sensitive skin. Melvita's Bouquet Floral Gentle Micellar Water is built on flower and leaf waters: bitter orange flower, rose and tea.
- Éclat Essentiel L'Eau Micellaire Micellar Water With White Pearl Extract Makeup Remover
- Acqua Micellare Struccante Makeup Remover
- Micellar Cleansing Water
- Bouquet Floral Detox Gentle Micellar Water
Bi-Phase Micellar Water
A bi-phase micellar water sits in the bottle as two layers: micellar water and a light, oily phase. Shaken, they mix for a moment, so the oily phase can loosen waterproof mascara and long-wear liner while the micelles lift the rest. Shake it every time you use it, because the layers separate again as it stands.
La Roche-Posay's Biphasic Micellar Cleansing Water is made to remove water-resistant make-up from the face and eyes without rinsing, and is suitable for sensitive skin. laCabine's Hyaluronic Infusion Micellar Biphase Eyes & Lips Makeup Remover is made for the eyes and lips, with sodium hyaluronate. Byphasse's Waterproof Total Clean Skin Biphasic Micellar Make-Up Remover combines a water phase and an oily phase, for the face, eyes and lips of all skin types, including sensitive skin.
- Biphasic Micellar Cleansing Water
- Hyaluronic Infusion Micellar Biphase Eyes & Lips Makeup Remover
- Waterproof Total Clean Skin Biphasic Micellar Make-Up Remover
How to Use Micellar Water: Soak, Hold, Sweep
- Soak: wet a cotton pad generously, so it glides rather than drags. With a bi-phase, shake the bottle first.
- Hold: close your eyes and rest the pad over one eye for a few seconds, so the micelles can loosen mascara before you move.
- Sweep: draw the pad gently down and away from the lashes, then across the face from the centre outwards, and over the lips.
- Repeat with a fresh pad until it comes away clean, then go on to toner, serum and moisturiser.
Press rather than rub, especially around the eyes, where the skin is thinnest. If any gets into the eye and stings, rinse with plenty of clean water. If your skin is sore, broken or a reaction does not settle, stop and ask your pharmacist or doctor.
Do You Need to Rinse?
Usually not. Most micellar waters are made to be left on, and every one above is described by its house as needing no rinse. Several, including the Payot, Melvita and Svr Laboratoire Dermatologique formulas, leave the choice to you, and the Eucerin lotion can be rinsed or wiped away.
A splash of lukewarm water afterwards is worth it if your skin is oily or easily congested, if you prefer no trace of a bi-phase remover's oily phase, or if your skin feels tight or slightly tacky once it dries. After a full face of long-wear make-up, treat micellar water as the first cleanse rather than the only one, and follow it with a gentle wash.
Further Reading
For heavier eye make-up, our guide Removing Waterproof Make-Up Gently: Oils, Bi-Phase and Micellar goes further into the eye area. For evenings when an oil cleanser and a second wash make more sense, Double Cleansing: Oil Then Foam sets out the order. And once the face is clean, Facial Toner: What It Does and How to Choose One explains the next step.
In Short
Micellar water cleanses with micelles that gather make-up and oil onto a pad, and most need no rinse. Choose a comforting formula for sensitive or dry skin, a purifying one for oily or combination skin, and a bi-phase version for waterproof eye make-up. If you change one thing tonight, make it the hold: a few seconds of a soaked pad over closed eyes, and mascara comes away without a rub.
