Name Water Description Water is primarily used as a solvent in cosmetics and personal care products because it dissolves many of the ingredients that impart skin benefits, such as conditioning agents and cleansing agents. Creams and lotions are often emulsions which are combination of water and oils. Benefits Water provides hydration to skin in moisturizing products. It can also help dilute surfactants so cleansing formulas are more gentle. Water itself is obviously non-toxic, but formulating with water has some drawbacks. (See risks section) Considerations • Skin Dehydration If one is constantly exposed to water, the skin barrier can become compromised. Formulators should take special care to use emollients and humectants to prevent transepidermal water loss. • Requires the use of preservatives
When water is present, broad-spectrum preservatives will be needed to keep the formula from growing bacteria, yeast, and other pathogens. A water-containing product without a preservative can grow harmful levels of pathogens within hours.
• Requires emulsifiers Moisturizers containing water are often emulsified with synthetic substances that are contaminated with carcinogens. Make sure to read the other ingredients present and figure out which ingredients are emulsifying the product. Synonyms Distilled water
Dihydrogen oxide
Sterile water
Water, deionized
Purified water
Water vapor
aqua
Water, purified
Dihydrogen Monoxide
Deionized water
DHMO
agua
acqua
dihydridooxygen
Wasser
Water, purified sterile
Water, sterile purified
Water purified
Aqua Purificata
H2O
Water, mineral
Water, for HPLC
Water; Dihydrogen oxide
Water, sterile
Water, distilled Research Sources https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/962 Summary Safe ingredient but requires preservation.
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