Thermal water’s strengthening properties can provide skin with many benefits. We take a look at what it can do for your skin and how it can reinforce skin against daily aggressions.
Minerals make up 4% of our body, and they have big responsibilities, especially when it comes to the health of our skin. While we usually receive our intake of minerals through diet, thermal water can be an effective way of restoring them, providing instant relief from discomfort, and supporting the skin's defense mechanisms.
What can thermal water do for your skin?
Hydration is essential for healthy, functioning skin. But, even if you're drinking enough water, our skin still loses moisture via transepidermal water loss (TEWL) through the stratum corneum, the skin's outer layer(1). Without adequate hydration, skin can become dry, tight, dull-looking and uncomfortable(2). Thermal water can help to reinforce skin barrier function, and therefore decrease TEWL.
Why are minerals important for the skin?
Not all minerals have the same properties. There are around 15 that are considered particularly important for the skin, and each has different benefits:
- Hydrogen carbonates: pH buffer effect
- Boron: healing properties
- Calcium: protection
- Iron: cells oxygenation
- Fluorine and manganese: antioxidant
- Lithium and strontium: anti-inflammatory
- Magnesium and silicon: stimulate regeneration
- Orthophosphates: energy synthesis
- Potassium: skin hydration
- Sodium: regulation of cells hydration
- Sulphur: organism detoxification
- Ammonium: amino-acids synthesis
About Vichy's thermal mineralized water
So where can this elixir of minerals be found? These minerals are present in the thermal water sourced from Vichy, France. But if you haven't planned a French vacation, don't worry, they are also present in Vichy's skincare.
For thousands of years, water has flowed through the volcanic rocks around the town of Vichy, France, from a depth of up to 4,000 meters. During this time, the water heats up to 140°C before being propelled to the surface and emerging as thermal springs. This water is infused with the minerals of the different rocks and earth it has passed through, 15 in total, with 5.2g of minerals per liter of water.
When the thermal water reaches the surface at a spring called the Lucas source, it is then extracted and special precautions are taken to ensure the water stays completely pure and protected from pollutants. The water is tested several times a day, and at different stages of the extraction process, to ensure 100% purity.
Vichy Thermal Water
is infused with15different minerals
The benefits of the thermal water at Vichy have been known for millennia. Julius Caesar is believed(3) to have built the very first thermal spa in the town in 50AD, and the Emperor Napoleon III made it his primary vacation resort, attracting high society from all around Europe. It was in 1931 that local doctor Prosper Haller created Vichy, committed to taking care of sensitive skin. Since then, the benefits of thermal water have been widely studied, and because of its soothing properties, it is lauded in the skincare world.
SOURCES:
1. Baumann, L. et al, ‘Basic Concepts of Skin Science’ in Cosmetic Dermatology: Principles and Practice 2, (2009) pp. 4-7
2. Wildnauer, R. et al, ‘Stratum corneum biomechanical properties. Influence of relative humidity on normal and extracted human stratum corneum’ in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology (1971), pp. 56-72 [Accessible at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/5556501]
3. Altman, N. ‘Healing Springs: The Ultimate Guide to Taking the Waters’ in Healing Arts Press (2000) p.129.