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Water Works!


Skin Products that Hydrate
By Belinda Clarke


Water works wonders for the skin. Check out these wonderful water-based products to keep your skin hydrated.

Water-based Skin Care
 Products containing marine ingredients and fresh water feel great on your skin and help keep you hydrated on the outside. H2O Plus, a skin care company based in Chicago, Ill. uses marine extracts in all of its products. According to Beth Schmidt, H2O’s director of sales education, products made from marine extracts and seaweed are 10 times more hydrating that “soil-based” counterparts that use oil to retain moisture. “Skin has a natural affinity for water, but hydrating products evaporate too quickly,” she explains. “H2O did extensive research and discovered the hydrating properties of marine ingredients, specifically seaweed, which hydrates with no oil.” Schmidt says the marine ingredients keep skin supple but also have anti-inflammatory, anti-redness anti-itch properties, which are especially beneficial for dry, sensitive skin. She recommends H2O Plus’s Oasis line, because it is “straight hydration.” “Each of the Oasis products is great because it cools and hydrates with no residue,” says Schmidt. “The Face Oasis is a blue gel that slides on and absorbs quickly. The Body Oasis is good for the hips and chest. It melts into the skin and gives it a healthy feeling.”

Fragrances You’ll Crave

Many women will attest to drinking gallons of ginger ale during their pregnancies to ease their morning sickness or simply as a refreshing caffeine-free treat. Others opt for ginger ale as an alternative to soda. Now, thanks to Demeter Fragrances, you can wear that favorite sparkly, bubbly beverage -- with zero calories! Demeter, manufacturer of some of the most unique scents available, has a host of light, fresh fragrances women love. “I get carsick, and I have found that a spritz of the Ginger Ale fragrance really does the trick to relief my nausea,” says Christopher Brosius, founder of New York City-based Demeter. For expectant women, Brosius also recommends Madeleine, which evokes a delicate scent of cookies and tea, or Chocolate Mint, which allows women to give into their craving without actually eating any chocolate. “I worked with a British magazine editor who couldn’t get enough of the Chocolate Mint when she was pregnant,” says Brosius. Lastly, for sushi lovers, Demeter even has a fragrance called Sushi. “It’s not a fishy smell at all,” explains Brosius. “It’s very light and fresh, and has notes of ginger, wasabi, cucumber and little lemon.”

Another cooling product that works hydrating wonders is the Rose Face Mask made by Fresh, a New York City-based natural skin care company. Infused with crushed rose petals (that you can actually see), this gel mask absorbs quickly and feels decadent. Other ingredients include rose flower water, seawater and a micro-algae complex to help the skin retain moisture. Boulder, Colo.-based tend blends, helps you relax with mellowDrama Body Milk, a water, sea algae and coconut milk concoction that smells so good you will feel like you’re on an exotic beach. Or, wind down in your tub with Dead Sea Bath Salts from Better Botanicals, available in health food stores.

Juvena, a skin care company based in Switzerland, produces a line of products called Skinmarine that contain active marine (algae) ingredients and feel cool on the skin. The Ultra Hydration Cream Gel is a light aqua-colored gel that goes on smoothly and absorbs immediately.

For extra sensitive skin, Philosophy has developed Hope in a Jar for Dry, Sensitive Skin. This formula uses “water-binding” agents and phospholipids to lock in moisture and hydrate all day. And for those women who enjoy a good, water-based spritz to wake up the face, Australia-based Aesop makes an Immediate Moisture Hydrosol with rose petal, bergamot rinds and roman chamomile. It’s recommended to aid dehydration during travel and for whenever you need a little moisture pick-me-up. Another refreshing option is from L'OCCITANE which sells products online and in its own boutiques in malls around the country. Try the Extra-Gentle Cleansing Water with orange flower water and shea extract. It contains no alcohol, and is recommended for use throughout the day to refresh and cleanse the face, remove makeup at the end of the day or for use post-workout.

Water Workouts for Pregnant Women

Now more than ever, water exercise is becoming the activity of choice for pregnant women. Exercise in the water provides benefits for the pregnant mother, both physiological and psychological, says Jill Cohen, a lay midwife and associate editor of Midwifery Today. “Water provides a safe, inspiring atmosphere that women can use and work with as their bodies change and grow,” she says.

According to Cohen, it’s important to understand the physiologic dynamic of water and hydrostatic pressure. When you immerse a body in water up to the shoulders, two great things occur, she says. One is that the body becomes buoyant. The other is that the pressure of water against the skin surface while the body is in motion creates hydrostatic effect, which causes body fluids to move effortlessly upward. For example: If you have swollen feet and you kick through the water, hydrostatic pressure combined with the movement alleviates swelling.

“The hydrostatic force of water pushes extravascular fluid into the vascular space, producing an increase of uterine blood flow,” Cohen says. “Uterine blood flow is essential to grow a healthy baby and placenta. By moving a body immersed to the shoulders and at an adequate depth so that it's not touching the bottom of the pool, hydrostatic pressure makes the blood flow back to the heart easier. This is an excellent way to stabilize blood pressure.”

Finally, water provides a great environment for pregnancy workouts because it has a cooling effect. Because water is cool, women can work hard without compromise, explains Cohen. Water exercise poses little to no chance of hurting oneself. “Buoyancy in pregnancy is so relieving!” she says. ”It enables women to relax and enjoy movement uninhibited.”

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About the Author: Belinda Clarke is a senior editor for iParenting.com. She is the mother of one.


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