Waterless beauty: why the beauty world has turned the tap off

A growing trend within the skin care beauty-sphere, 'waterless' products, and brands dedicated to slashing their H2O usage are trickling onto the industry's radar. With water increasingly scarce, formulators are exploring ways to tackle their reliance on this all-too-precious resource — developing innovative (concentrated!) products which deliver results while preserving the world's reservoirs.

Simple and efficacious, this trend not only means great things for the globe, but also promises great things for skin. Developing simple, concentrated and sustainable products which limit the use of water in production, not only combats the need for preservatives, but also means less product use per application — reducing excess packaging (a double-whammy of good news for Mother Nature, if you will).

Plus, they're travel-friendly. With airline restrictions a bone of contention for legions of beauty-obsessed jet-setters, the swathe of dry, powdered and 'waterless' products are perfect for frequent flyers.

A trailblazer within the shift, {Conserving Beauty} is an Australian beauty brand that’s making a splash in the world of skin care without any added water. Sustainability (and skin care!) are at the the heart of Conserving Beauty’s ethos and having reimagined the lifecycle of beauty products from bottle to box, each product contains no added water — just potent and pure skin-loving formulas.

They've even taken it one step further with their patented InstaMelt technology; harnessed in their world-first {Deep Exfoliating Day Dissolver} wipes and {Skin Soothing Sheet Mask}, it provides a sustainable solution to single-use products by its ability to dissolve instantly in water after use — leaving behind no microplastics. Plus, the InstaMelt products boasts 100% recyclable (soon-to-be completely compostable!) packaging.

More and more brands are actively seeking new ways to combat their water consumption — even giants such as L'Oréal have pledged to reduce water usage by 60% per each unit of product by 2020 (bravo!). FARMACY's {10% Waterless Vitamin C Serum} is a first-of-its-kind treatment, powered by the purest, most potent form of vitamin C that boasts maximum potency and maximum stability right until the very last drop. Want to bring waterless beauty into your {body care} regime? Nuxe's {24HR Fresh-Feel Deodorant Balm} is a powdery balm with a dry finish that gently cloaks the contours of your underarms to deliver long-lasting odour protection — all without leaving a sticky residue or white marks.

And what's more, 'dry' ingredients are often super fresh, with powdered cleansers (such as Odacité's {Green Ceremony Cleanser}) and essence-free masks like Charlotte Tilbury's {Instant Magic Dry Sheet Mask} delivering phenomenal results without a drop of aqua vitae.

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