To take care of your skin, forget tap water (whose limestone attacks the skin) and integrate thermal water into your beauty routine. True cocoon care for sensitive, irritated or intolerant skin, thermal waters are beneficial for all skin types. Find out how to use them.
Thermal waters are hot subterranean waters extracted either by deep drilling or by capture when they spring to the surface. Taken at the source, they are preserved from all forms of pollution. Considered to be pure, they sometimes travel hundreds of kilometers along a series of rocks and are enriched when they come into contact with trace elements and mineral salts. Their mineral content and their properties therefore vary depending on the geological nature of the soils they have passed through: calcium, potassium, zinc, magnesium, selenium, silica, strontium, iron, etc.
Many thermal springs are recognized by the Academy of Medicine for their applications and benefits concerning ENT and skin conditions (from eczema to severe burns or post-cancer care). As such, they are used in thermal cures for therapy. But fortunately, thermal water is not reserved for the specific clientele of hydrotherapy.
Note that thermal waters are protected by French regulations (the strictest in Europe), which prohibits filtering or treating them chemically. The Aquacert label guarantees their original purity and integrity.
Not just water but an active ingredient
In most cosmetics, water is the main ingredient – usually distilled or deionized water, which is easy to incorporate. Thermal water, on the other hand, is not just water, but an active ingredient.
We could say that these waters are “living”, because each of them contains a specific microflora which has been the subject of in-depth studies, in particular at La Roche Posay and Avène. As extracts of microflora cannot be included in a cosmetic treatment, these two laboratories derive, by biotechnology, a prebiotic.
Very different mineral compositions
Thanks to pharmacological research on these waters carried out by the groups that acquired the sources (L’Oréal with Vichy, La Roche Posay and Saint-Gervais, Pierre Fabre with Avène, Léa Nature with Jonzac, etc.), we now know how specifies the properties which have long been conferred on them empirically.
Their compositions differ, some being little mineralized (Avène, La Roche Posay), others very loaded with minerals (Uriage, Jonzac, Vichy). This index is calculated in grams of dry residue per liter. But they have in common to respect the cutaneous physiological balance of the skin and to be perfectly tolerated by the most sensitive skins.
- At Avène, for example, the water is weakly mineralized and has a neutral pH (which respects the skin’s balance). It derives its benefits from a clever bicarbonate, calcium and magnesium ionic balance. It is these active molecules that fight against the phenomena of inflammation and itching of the skin.
- At La Roche-Posay, it is the combination of minerals (bicarbonate, calcium, silicates, selenium, zinc, copper) which provides antioxidant, protective, soothing, anti-irritant and decongestant properties.
- Finally at Uriage, thermal water is said to be “isotonic”, that is to say that it comes into osmosis with the skin. It penetrates into the skin cells, without affecting their integrity (size, volume).
Overall, all of them have soothing, fortifying, antioxidant, even moisturizing or healing properties. But thermal water treatments are not just for problem skin. A mist spray after makeup removal, shaving or sport is beneficial to all skin types, and their virtues also benefit anti-aging care, for babies, make-up for damaged skin, sun products or shampoos and regulating hair care.
