Australian brand Conserving Beauty has created the world’s first dissolving face wipes with InstaMelt™ Deep Exfoliating Day Dissolver Wipes ($39). When I heard about the launch, I was curious but sceptical. As a beauty writer and ex-makeup artist, I’m not a fan of face wipes. They’re not great for your skin, and they’re worse for the environment (even Rihanna told Harpers Bazaar last year that she had sworn off them).
Currently, 20 million makeup remover wipes go to landfills each day, with 86% of beauty consumers using wipes, some up to three times a day, reports Beauty Independent. With their popularity going nowhere, a more sustainable option is needed.
The Environmental Impact of Face Wipes
Most makeup remover wipes are made of plastic fibres — once they’ve scraped off (some) of your makeup and been tossed, they leak microplastics into the ocean and take 100 years to decompose. The same goes for non-dissolvable sheet masks, and any single-use personal care or household cleaning products.
To add dermatological insult to environmental injury, many of the most popular makeup remover wipes on the market simply don’t work very well. In 2021 Dr Esho MD went viral when he demonstrated (using an orange) how makeup wipes actually push foundation deeper into your pores. They are also made of the aforementioned rough, plastic fibres, making them a less than ideal product to rub vigorously around your delicate eye area.
How Are Conserving Beauty “InstaMelt™” Wipes Different?
InstaMelt Deep Exfoliating Day Dissolver wipes promise a deep, hydrating makeup removal experience and a wipe that dissolves in water in seconds. Vegan, cruelty-free, palm oil-free and fragrance-free the formula is also waterless, as are all Conserving Beauty products.
The ingredients list is full of skin-friendly oils. Jojoba esters, Squalene, Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil and Vitamin E nourish skin and break down makeup and sunscreen at the same time. The dissolvable material is made of a soft, water-soluble polymer which has been awarded a coveted “Fine to Flush” Certification in the UK (sadly many wipes that say they are flushable are not — if you are purchasing a flushable wipe, it’s best to check their certification).
The texture is slightly ridged, which I like for removing makeup — it helps you get into nooks and crannies like foundation around the nose area, or eyeliner in the lash line (think of using a face cloth to remove your oil cleanser). Conserving Beauty recommends you dissolve your wipes in the shower or as part of your daily water usage. However, if you use them before you crash into bed (let’s be honest, this is when most makeup wipes are used), they are fully biodegradable within 14 days.
Conserving Beauty’s InstaMelt™ Packaging
My first instinct when I opened my carton? “Oh dear”. The wipes are individually packaged in sachets so while it’s wonderful they dissolve, I was instantly running the maths on how much plastic they were using compared to a normal wipe. Turns out the sachets are made from fully recyclable laminate called “R28 Film” — the film is also lightweight, decreasing carbon emissions through transport (the weight of a product contributes to its carbon footprint as it requires more energy to move). The cardboard exterior is made of post-consumer recycled waste. I would still prefer the wipes weren’t individually packaged – it’s tricky to remember to recycle small sachet, (I don’t keep a recycling bin by my bedside table, but maybe I should) and ultimately, we can’t recycle our way out of a climate crisis.
The R28 Film packaging is an improvement on the non-recyclable soft plastics most face wipes come in. As Raj Prakash, CEO of private label single-use product manufacturer Anthem, told Beauty Independent, biodegradable wipes need to be hermetically sealed, so they don’t biodegrade on the way to the consumer. This means there are fewer opportunities for biodegradable packaging than in other skincare categories. Prakash told Beauty Independent that manufacturers were currently engaged in finding a solution: “It’s a matter of trialling, testing and seeing if they work over the long term.”
How Do Conserving Beauty’s InstaMelt™ Wipes Perform?
Because Conserving Beauty’s InstaMelt wipes are oil-rich, they break down products quickly. I tried them on a full face, primer, foundation, mascara, liner and a red lip to really put the product to the test and was impressed. They removed several different long-wear formulas in seconds, and the oil-rich formula left my skin feeling soft rather than dry or tight. They also didn’t irritate my sensitive eyes, which many makeup removers do.
As a die-hard double cleanser, I would consider this a first cleanse in a convenient form. However, I did use InstaMelt again over the weekend, tiptoeing in late and wanting to avoid my housemate’s dinner party (it should be illegal to have bathrooms and kitchen/dining areas next to each other), I simply toned off the excess product, chucked on some moisturiser and fell asleep. They saved my skin and my street cred.
The Fun Part
This product dissolves in seconds in water. I ran my wipe under a cold tap — the brand suggests you dissolve your wipe when you’re already using water to further reduce water wastage.
The Verdict
I’m far too wedded to double cleansing to ever really be a wipe girl, but InstaMelt™ Deep Exfoliating Day Dissolver wipes make a very effective, and convenient, first cleanse. They were gentle on my sensitive skin and effective at removing a full face of long-wear makeup, quickly. If you’re a regular wipes user I would strongly encourage you to switch to a more sustainable option — and this is a good one that will give you the same “wet wipe” feeling, without the devastating environmental impact (as an added bonus, they actually work). For me, I’ll certainly keep them handy for travel and by my bedside for late-night lazy moments.
Conserving Beauty’s InstaMelt™ Deep Exfoliating Day Dissolver Wipes ($39) will be available at MECCA from May 24th, 2022. Until then they are available via the Conserving Beauty website.
