I Washed My Face With Bottled Water

With all the different skincare products out there, it can be hard to choose the one that is right for you. Well, what if I told you that what type of water you use to wash your face could be almost as important as the cleanser you choose? Prepare to have your mind blown, because washing your face with bottled water could be the answer to all your skin woes, if you're anything like me.

I've had problems with my skin for years. Causal breakouts here and there and bumps along my jawline were the main culprits. It even got so bad that I, believer of holistic healing and all-natural products, finally went to the dermatologist for it. After the medicine that they gave me completely burned my skin without managing to fix the problem, I was desperate to find a fix. So I decided to spend a week washing my face with bottled water. Could that be the quick fix to all my skincare problem?

“Hard water, especially, has a high mineral composition containing heavy metals like iron, copper, zinc, and nickel that can lead to redness and irritation, leaving the skin itchy and inflamed,” dermatologist Dr. Russak told Refinery29. “It can also contain chlorine, which is very drying and strips the natural oils and proteins present at the top layer of the skin."

Yikes! This is why I decided to take the seven-day challenge to see if washing my face with bottled water (plus my usual Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser from Philosophy) could help my skin. Here's what happened.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser, $27, Amazon

Day One

On my first day, I was most concerned with seeing how washing with the bottled water would effect my acne. The first thing I noticed was that I didn't have such a dry feeling after washing like I normally did.

Day Two

After a night out, it felt surprisingly nice to wash my face with bottled water. I didn't notice anything major besides feeling overall more hydrated after my wash.

Day Three

I woke the next morning to see that my blemishes were going away a lot faster than I expected. My face also felt really hydrated overall. I even forgot to put my moisturizer on this day!

Day Four

This was when oily mode kicked in. I have never in my life had oily skin before, and now I was seeing more oil build-up in my T-zone than ever. Since nothing else changed, I'm going to attribute this to the bottled water.

Day 5

I was still more oily than ever halfway through the experiment. I'm guessing that's why I started to see a few more blemishes on day five.

Day 6

I decided to just wash once this day, rather than twice, and that ended up being the trick to controling my new oily-ness. Overall, I could finally feel the bumps along my jawline going away completely, so that was a huge win.

Day Seven

On the final day, my skin felt more hydrated than ever before, and, as you can see, my acne spots were almost completely gone. Not only that, but the I got rid of the bumps on my jawline too.

Final verdict: At first, I was concerned about waste with this experiment. Why use bottled water when I could so easily turn on the faucet? Well, I ultimately found that it saves a heck of a lot of water. I used only a bottle and a half for my week-long experiment.

Then came the actual benefits. I started out with problem areas on my skin, including red dots on my forehead and bumps along my jawline. I'm used to a dry, dehydrated feeling after washing my face. But after washing with bottled water, I felt hydrated. Washing your face with bottled water is definitely worth a try, but I'd stick to once a day to combat the oily side-effect. Not all water is created equal, so make sure you're using the right kind on your face.

Images: Kali Borovic/Bustle (8)