Have you ever used a waterproof makeup remover? They are particularly useful if you wear mascara, lipstick or long-lasting foundations. If you haven’t tried waterproof makeup remover yet or just want to know more about it, don’t miss this article.

We’re sure this has happened to you before: you get home, try to remove your makeup, but it’s hard to remove completely, and you end up having to use various cotton pads for one area. And your skin pays the price! Lipsticks, eyeshadows, foundations, and mascaras are sometimes waterproof, and a traditional makeup remover just doesn’t do the trick.

This is of particular interest now, as Christmas approaches with its parties and events. Still don’t know about biphasic waterproof makeup removers? Mercedes Abarquero, scientific director at Vichy, tells us all about them.

1. Waterproof or biphasic makeup removers are especially great for removing long-lasting eyeshadows, foundations, and mascaras containing hydrophobic components (that don’t dissolve in water) like pigments or wax which make the makeup last longer. 
2. For a makeup remover to be able to remove waterproof makeup from the eyelid or other parts of the face, it must be both an aqueous and an oily solution. In other words, that surfactants applied to the eyelids for eliminating impurities and removing makeup are soluble. These surfactants loosen the tension that joins the particles to your skin, meaning that the cotton pad can move over the skin easily and remove the makeup. When we use a waterproof mascara or a thick foundation, the surfactant can’t easily eliminate makeup from the surface since the hydrophobic compounds can’t be dissolved as necessary. That’s why biphasic makeup removers were developed with an aqueous phase, containing surfactants that reduce the strength of the particles’ attachment to the skin, and then an oily phase that dissolves the hydrophobic elements. When you shake biphasic makeup removers, a light emulsion forms, and this is when they are most effective.
3. If a waterproof makeup remover is well formulated (with hypoallergenic ingredients tested for sensitive skin), you can use it every day. 

Still not using a waterproof makeup remover? Try it now