THE JOURNAL · SKIN

Fresh from the shower, that tightness we take for granted.

A towel, a mirror, and that familiar sensation: the skin feels tight, sometimes it itches. We blame the winter, the soap, the passing years. Rarely the water itself. More often than not, it is the very first culprit.

By Frédéric Esnault, inventor of Hyperionisation®

THE OBSERVATION

A discomfort so commonplace we no longer notice it.

Tight skin, a stiff, papery feeling on stepping out of the bath, the urge to scratch a few minutes after showering: these signs are so widespread that they pass for normal. They all point to the same thing, skin that has lost water rather than gained it.

The paradox is a curious one. We emerge from the water, and our skin is left thirsting for it.

THE MECHANISM

What ordinary water does to the skin.

The skin is protected by the hydrolipidic film, a fine veil of water and lipids that holds in moisture and keeps aggressors at bay. Hot water dissolves it. The longer and hotter the shower, the thinner this veil becomes, and the more the water held within the epidermis evaporates once the skin is exposed to the air.

Soaps and shower gels amplify the phenomenon, as does limescale. In 2017, researchers at King’s College London and the University of Sheffield showed that the calcium and magnesium in hard water bind to the surfactants in soap, deposit them on the skin and raise its surface pH. The skin barrier emerges weakened.

Ordinary water cleanses, but it dries. It glides over the skin, then slips away, carrying with it part of what protected it.

DAY TO DAY

The habits that limit the damage.

Dermatologists have long recommended a few simple precautions: lukewarm rather than scalding water, a shower of five to ten minutes, a gentle cleanser, a towel that pats rather than rubs, a moisturiser applied to skin that is still slightly damp.

Such measures slow the loss of water. They do not address its cause: ordinary water remains unable to hydrate the skin it touches.

OF ANOTHER NATURE

Water that hydrates, at last.

It is precisely this limit that Hyperionisation® has lifted. The process gives birth to an unprecedented water. Its composition remains unchanged: the same minerality, the same pH, the same bacteriological quality; nothing is added, removed or filtered. Its ionic organisation, however, is distinct.

From this break with the ordinary arises an affinity with the skin without equivalent. On contact with hyperionic water, the minerals, calcium foremost, set the skin’s biological mechanisms in motion. Hydration reaches deeper, and the epidermis grows denser.

Twelve studies have been conducted on Sublio® technology; they establish its efficacy on the skin.

THE SENSATION

What you feel, once dry.

From the moment you enter the water, you sense it is anything but ordinary. The most striking contrast comes afterwards, once the skin has dried: not a trace of tightness. It is firm, smooth and supple, as if nourished from within. You can feel that something has happened.

This effect builds over time. Each contact strengthens the one before: after two or three nights in a house equipped from shower to pool, the skin has regained a density it retains long after departure.

THE EXPERIENCE

Where hyperionic water awaits you.

Sublio equips hotels, spas and exceptional residences in their entirety, from the rooms to the pools and the spa, so that the skin never leaves hyperionic water.

Do you run an establishment? Every project begins with a feasibility study, complimentary and without obligation.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The essentials in five answers.

Does skin that feels tight after showering lack water?
Yes. Tightness signals skin that has lost water during and after the shower, for want of an intact hydrolipidic film to retain it.

Can showering dry out the skin?
Yes. Hot water dissolves the hydrolipidic film that protects the skin, and a long shower encourages water to evaporate from the epidermis. Lukewarm water and a short shower limit this dryness.

Does hard water make dry skin worse?
Yes. Combined with soap, limescale leaves deposits on the skin and raises its surface pH, which weakens the skin barrier.

Does hyperionic water retain the composition of the original water?
Yes. Its minerality, pH and bacteriological quality remain strictly unchanged: nothing is added, removed or filtered. Only its ionic organisation is distinct.

Where can you enjoy hyperionic water during an exceptional stay?
In the establishments equipped by Sublio, hyperionic water is present throughout, from the shower to the pool, by way of the whirlpool baths. Sublio is designed for palace hotels, luxury resorts, exclusive wellness retreats and yachts.

SOURCES