Excitement from the cream tube: how emulsifiers dry out your skin

Photo by Alena Shekhovtcova and Ron Lach

Emulsifiers: This is why your skin feels tight after cleansing

If the skin on the face is tight, the first impulse is to apply lotion. For many, the first choice is creams with soothing fats to make the uncomfortable feeling go away. At the same time, they usually contain a lot of moisture, because that's just what's missing. In principle, the combination of fats and water is also correct. The problem is that both substances need some kind of couplers to bind together, the so-called emulsifiers .

The emulsifier turns oil and water into an emulsion that feels good and absorbs quickly. A dream team you could mean. But the emulsifiers have a catch: Once they get on the skin, they can't stop pandering.

While the nourishing substances of the cream have long since been absorbed, the emulsifiers are stored in the skin and diligently continue to combine fats and water. Since there is no more cream, they use what is left and couple the skin's own fats with water that comes on your skin, for example when showering or washing your hands.

This is how the skin's own fats are released from your skin barrier and are gradually washed away, the so-called wash-out effect . You are probably already familiar with this phenomenon: Do you often put lotion on your hands and are surprised that they are still so dry? Et voilà.

The result: your skin becomes drier with every cream and wash.

Use cosmetics without emulsifiers

Easier said than done! Because it starts with cleaning the skin: the many impurities that accumulate on your skin over the course of the day make cleaning in the evening unavoidable. However, almost all classic skin cleaning products such as hand soap and shower gel already contain emulsifiers in the form of surfactants . At least when washing your hands and showering, you can't completely avoid using emulsifiers. It is best to use natural cosmetics here, because the surfactants used in them are milder on the skin and ensure less drying out than classic products.

And now the good news : With the following tips you can completely do without emulsifiers when cleaning and caring for your face.

By the way: We at FIVE do not use any emulsifiers in any of our products ! This is almost unique in the world of cosmetics and is due to the fact that we limit all products to a maximum of 5 ingredients. The ultimate goal for us is to ensure a better skin balance with our products and emulsifiers in basic care have no place here.

Facial cleansing without emulsifiers

Rely on facial cleansing without emulsifiers. A make-up remover or cleansing oil such as our FIVE make-up remover is suitable for this. With it you can easily remove city dirt, make-up and mascara, but also sunscreen without being punished with an unpleasant tightening of the skin afterwards. In contrast to most other make-up remover oils, our make-up remover oil does not contain any emulsifiers. The difference in use is that the make-up remover oil does not turn into milk as soon as it comes into contact with water, because emulsifiers are needed for this. Instead, you remove the make-up remover oil together with make-up, mascara or sunscreen with a washcloth. Here are the instructions .

Face cream without emulsifiers

Use emulsifier-free facial care for this. But how does that look in practice? We learned above that the function of an emulsifier is to combine fat and water. Now every classic cream consists of water and fats and therefore always needs emulsifiers so that a homogeneous cream forms at all. That's why you won't get far if you're looking for a face cream without emulsifiers.

However, the problem can easily be avoided by combining two products : use a moisturizing serum for moisture and simply combine it with a waterless balm (in winter) or a face oil (in summer). And this is how you apply the products together: First apply the serum to your skin. Now put the balm or facial oil directly on the still damp skin and massage everything in gently.

This is how you elegantly avoid the emulsifier trap and provide your skin with moisture and fats without any drying additives.