Why is my skincare pilling?Updated a year ago
Skincare pilling usually happens when different skincare layers refuse to play nice because they’re different types of emulsions. It’s more likely to occur when you apply too much product since, normally, skincare layers shouldn’t interact with one another in the first place.
Emulsions are a combination of oil-like ingredients (i.e., oils, silicones, plant butters, fatty acids, etc.) and water-based ingredients (i.e., water, plant hydrosols, and many botanical extracts). Oil and water don’t usually mix, but emulsions force them to get friendly with the help of an emulsifier. Most skincare products are emulsions, and especially creams and lotions.
If you’ve ever made homemade mayonnaise or a bechamel sauce, then you’ve made an emulsion - and perhaps you’ve also had an emulsion break, which is when the oils and liquid separate. Skincare pilling happens when the emulsion of your skincare breaks!
In the context of skincare pilling, there are two main types of emulsions: oil-in-water and water-in-oil. Oil-in-water emulsions have microscopic droplets of oily substances suspended in water, which usually means more water and less oil. They’re often referred to as “water-based” and usually have a more watery texture, like serums and lotions.
Water-in-oil emulsions are sometimes referred to as “oil-based” since water droplets are suspended in an oily substance. This usually includes thick creams or ointments, and most foundations and sunscreens, as well as our very own newly released Water Lock (even though it’s silky smooth and non-greasy).
Skincare pilling usually occurs when oil-in-water and water-in-oil formulas are layered one on top of the other.
Instead of mixing nicely or staying put in their layers, the oil and water bases of the different cosmetic layers end up reacting to one another, which causes separation. It’s often even worse when the products in question include film formers or silicones, which are designed to spread evenly over the surface of the skin rather than sink in. When the emulsion they’re held in is broken, those ingredients bind to themselves or to each other in clumps.
There are other factors that can make skincare pilling likelier, like following a multi-step skincare routine with too many layers, using very thick layers of certain products, and not waiting long enough between skincare steps.