Foaming when Layering?
Have you ever experienced this?
After cleansing, you apply toner, essence, or serum - and they get slimy to the touch. There’s foam!
So you wait for the product to dry, rinse again, or scrub harder, but even without any cleanser left on the skin, some products are just notorious for foaming when layered with others. Here’s how to prevent it.
Why does foaming happen?
When the right ingredients mix to create the wrong properties, air could be trapped in the formulation [1]. Like shaking soda creates bubbles, the process of massaging the skin can introduce air into skincare, resulting in a foamy texture.
The reaction doesn’t mean that something harmful is taking place.
How do I find the culprit?
Review for surfactants in the ingredient list
Take a look online - for example, products with niacinamide foam easily because most of them are formulated with mild surfactants to help emulsify the formula [2].
👀🔍 Keywords to look for: “sodium - sulfate”, “cocamidopropyl betaine”, “-glucoside” 👀🔍
Test and eliminate
Use each ingredient individually, then in small combinations to see which mix is creating the foam. Often the product is fine on its own - brands and manufacturers work hard to create the optimal texture - so it’s the pairing of 2 items that creates foam. There needs to be a part of the molecule that grabs onto water, to be soluble, and another part of the molecule that repels water, creating micelles that are prone to foaming [3].
Minimize rubbing
The process of massaging a product into the skin traps air bubbles in the formulation, which is then stabilized by surfactants so that it won’t go away.
💆🧴 Consider alternatives: gently patting instead of wiping, dabbing with a cotton pad instead of swiping across, or using a fine-mist spray to evenly disperse the product. 💆🧴