I Tried TikTok’s Viral Hair Hack of Using Micellar Water for Hair, and Was Shocked With How My Scalp Felt

By now, most of us already know all the skin-loving benefits that come with micellar water. Although micellar water has been around for decades, the cleanser and makeup remover in one became wildly popular just a few years ago after going viral on social media. Ever since, it has continued to remain a skin care staple for many people’s skin care routines. But recently, it’s been gaining popularity for something else — and it might surprise you. Beauty influencers and experts have been boasting about how you can also use micellar water for hair! Here, we get into all there is to know about micellar water for hair, from its benefits to how to apply it and even tried it for ourselves to see if it really works.

What is micellar water?

You may know what micellar water does, which is rids skin of makeup, dirt and grime, but you may not know what it actually is. Micellar water is essentially a very gentle cleanser with very gentle and mild cleansing agents or soap. Whereas a typical cleanser is dense and often foams or suds up, micellar water is very light and liquid, similar to the density of water. It doesn’t feel soap-y or like you’re washing with a heavy face wash; It just feels like water.

Micellar water’s gentle properties makes it a great option for those with sensitive skin who are typically irritated by heavier cleansers. It’s also great for double cleansing the face, since it’s not too stripping and therefore can be used before a heavier cleanser.

Can you use micellar water for hair?

In short, yes! Micellar water is made of very gentle ingredients, as discussed, so there’s a very small chance it would hurt your hair. However, if you’re worried, do a strand test on a small section of hair first before trying elsewhere; if you have a reaction, it’s best to skip this trend.

What does micellar water do for hair?

Now, we know that micellar water is great at removing dirt, makeup and oil from our skin. But what does micellar water do for our hair? Just like skin, micellar water removes dirt, grime and oil from our locks and the scalp.

You can think of it similar to a dry shampoo that combats an oily scalp. Dry shampoos are meant to soak up the extra oils on our roots to give it a “cleaner”, more revived appearance. Micellar water has the same idea, meant to make roots look more fresh and “clean”.

However, whereas dry shampoo goes on dry, micellar water goes on wet. You can totally let it air dry, but if you’re in a pinch and need to head out the door, we recommend blow drying roots after applying the micellar water.

How to apply micellar water to hair

Before you start dumping your micellar water on your hair straight from the bottle, read these tips first on how to apply micellar water to hair.

The best way to apply micellar water to hair is with a cotton pad. Doing it this way makes it easier to be more precise and have more control over how much product you’re putting on strands, and makes sure you don’t oversaturate your hair.

Take your cotton pad and apply a few drops of a mattifying, oil-absorbing micellar water, like Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water for Oily Skin. Then, take 2-inch sections of hair and gently rub/pat the cotton pad on the roots of each section. You don’t need a lot — a little micellar water goes a long way! Lastly, you can let roots air dry, or for more volume, use a round brush and blow dryer to dry your roots.

Watch the video below by creator and dermatologist @dermguru for why you should apply micellar water with a cotton pad.

I tried micellar water for my hair, here’s what I thought…

We tapped our Beauty Director, Lauren Stachiw to test out this viral hack and this is what she had to say. “I have a lot of hair but it’s fine in texture and gets very oily within a day, or even sometimes hours, after washing my hair. This means I have to wash my hair every day or use dry shampoo in between wash days. And while I love dry shampoo, I know it’s not always the best to use on hair since it can damage and dry out the scalp and hair if used too often. So hearing that micellar water is an alternative to dry shampoo, I was excited to try it! Anything that gives a new use to something I already have is a win for me.”

“I waited for a non-wash day to test this out and saturated a cotton pad with micellar water and patted on one side of my part. At first, I just started on the roots along my part and then lifted up some sections around the scalp and near my ears. Then, I repeated on the other side of my part with a new cotton pad soaked in the water. I let the liquid sit for one minute and then used a blow dryer on my hair to dry up the water. It was surprising how much cleaner my scalp felt, but my hair still looked pretty shiny/greasy. So it’s not a complete fail and not also a complete win.”

“I didn’t use a mattifying version of micellar water because I didn’t have one. If I tried this all over again, I’d probably pick up one of those options. Otherwise I’m going to stick with my normal shampoo routine and use dry shampoo when I need to remove excess oil. I would say that it’s worth a try to see if this hack works for your hair type, it just didn’t work for mine.”

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