Clean sweep: Clé De Peau’s new micellar cleansing water to feature Shiseido’s new make-up removing tech

The latest tech will be applied to Clé De Peau Beauté Micellar Cleansing Water will be rolled out in Japan in June and will be launched subsequently overseas from July.

Clé De Peau Beauté Micellar Cleansing Water will be the first product to be enhanced with the newly developed tech and Shiseido intends to develop more cleansing products with it in the future.

The impetus of the new launch was Shiseido’s development of a unique state of surfactant, the sponge phase.

According to Shiseido, the sponge phase enhances make-up removal properties of micellar waters, which traditionally contain almost no oils.

Without oils, micellar cleansing waters leave skin feeling refreshed, hydrated and non-sticky after use. However, this weakens its ability to remove make-up residue compared to oil-based make-up removers.

“The micelle phase is a state in which multiple surfactant molecules are assembled in water and dispersed as small particles. Used in make-up remover, the micelle phase provides an excellent skin feel after cleansing, but at the same time, there remains a technical point to be desired to improvement in terms of cleansing ability.”​

To improve the limitations of micellar make-up removers, it developed a cleansing water formulation utilising the sponge phase.

According to the firm, the sponge phase is a state which sees surfactant molecules form a mesh-like structure that contains a large amount of water. This gives it a low viscosity and appears as clear as water.

The sponge phase also has extremely low interfacial tension, meaning it can blend well with oil-based ingredients, like those in make-up.

Formula evaluation

To evaluate the effectiveness of the new formula, a simple experiment was carried out to test it against a conventional formula.

Foundation was applied to a white artificial leather material and wiped off with the two make-up removers.

Results showed that the conventional formulation left some residual makeup, while the sponge phase formulation almost completely removed the foundation.

The researchers conducted another experiment to test the ‘skin feel’ of the sponge phase formulation compared to conventional micellar cleansing water.

The formulations were tested by 100 women in their 20s and 30s, who evaluated the formulation’s usability and their skin condition after cleansing.

They were asked to evaluate the post-use skin feeling, including stickiness and freshness, as well as the appearance of the skin after use.

Results showed that the sponge phase formulation was evaluated more favourably in all categories.

It surpassed the conventional formulation not only in the usability, but most respondents also reported that their skin appeared to be brightening and saw that their skin dullness had improved.

These results can be attributed to the fact that the sponge phase in the formulation blends with oil easily and has high permeability into fine structure, thereby also removing dead skin cells as well.

“We have achieved the use of a sponge phase in cleansing water formulation, which was previously thought never before possible, and successfully develop a cleansing water that provides both a pleasant feel after use and excellent cleansing ability,” ​said Shiseido.

“Going forward, Shiseido will continue to offer various approaches to achieve healthy, beautiful skin that match each consumer’s lifestyle.”​