Homemade All Natural Facial Cleanser
After a few months spent collecting all of the ingredients I needed, I finally finished my homemade foaming facial cleanser. It’s been part a goal of mine to ‘go natural’ in terms of skin care for a while and I already made my honey & sugar facial scrub (click here to read more about that) so this was the next step.
Now, this is only my first try at making my own cleanser. I’m quite particular about what goes on my face after struggling with acne and bad skin since my teens. I want my skin to feel clean, really clean, after I wash it. And smooth and moisturised, without feeling greasy. So it was important that I really research each ingredient before deciding whether or not to add it.
I have to say that for such a picky customer, I surprised myself when I actually really liked the cleanser on its first try! Sitting in the jug, I kid you not, the mixture was actually sparkling like magic gold potion (a combination of the honey colour and oils floating on top, but still, looking magical non-the-less!) It creates a lovely smooth foam which smells delicious and makes my skin feel lovely clean, soft and moisutrised….think lemon and honey, refreshing and soothing, invigorating but nurturing.
It’s based on a recipe from bodyunburdoned.com, the original recipe can be found here.
Before I tell you the method itself, here’s a little information about each of the ingredients and why I chose them:
Dr. Bronner's Liquid Castile Soap
I saw this on an online forum as a recommended base for making natural products. It's not just for skin care, but also can be used for washing your clothes and making your own shampoo, body wash and even home cleaning products.
This soap is made completely from natural plant based oils and contains no nasty or harmful chemicals. I chose Dr. Bronner's 18-in-1 Organic Mild Unscented Castile Liquid Soap which is made from certified organic jojoba, olive, coconut and hemp seed oils. This is the mildest of the castile soap so I thought probably less likely to cause any irritation to skin.
When my soap arrived, I was bemused by the seemingly bizarre ramblings written all over the bottle. Curiosity lead my to find out that Dr. Bronner, the creator of this soap, was a moral philosopher who decided to use his product labels to try and spread his ideas of unity and the goodness of humanity. The bottle makes for strange but interesting reading!
Argan Oil
Argan oil is made from the kernals of the argan tree which grows in Morocco. It is rich in Vitamin E and essential fatty acids and has anti-oxidant properties. Adding oil to the cleanser gives it a moisturising quality which stops it from drying out your skin.
The reason I chose argan oil is because it is non-comedogenic, which means that it does not clog pores - essential for any product that will be used on problem skin.
Check out this handy guide I found which provides the comedogenic ratings for different oils here.
Honey
As I mentioned in my post about the honey & sugar scrub, honey has both antibacterial and moisturising properties so it’s perfect for helping to prevent spot causing bacteria and keep your skin moisturised at the same time.
Essential Oils
Just to begin with, I want to say that whilst I’ve always had an interest in the use of essential oils, I am not an aromatherapist and the oils I added were based on the advice of others and research into each oil's properties and how they should be used. This page has some great detailed information - aromatherapybible.com
Tea Tree Oil – Being a natural antiseptic and with anti-fungal and anti-viral properties, this oil is perfect for helping to prevent bacterial infection and can stimulate the immune response to help clear up infections. It can be an irritant to skin so care should be taken when using it.
Rosemary Oil – Rosemary is also an antiseptic oil and has tonifying properties meaning it can help to condition and strengthen skin.
Lemon Verbena Oil – One of my favourite oils because it smells amazing! Lemon, again, has anti-bacterial properties but this oil is also an astringent, meaning that it helps to close your pores up, preventing bacteria from entering. It is a recommended oil for use on oily or acne prone skin. Lemon scent has also been shown to lift mood. So these are the reasons I chose this one.
Neroli Oil – This is my favourite oil. I chose to use this oil in place of lavender from the recipe on bodyunburdoned.com because I prefer the smell. It’s made from the blossom of the Seville orange tree and it has a beautiful sweet smell. Its aroma is said to have mood lifting, anti-depressant and anti-anxiety qualities. For the skin, it has similar qualities to lavender. It is low in toxicity and so has a calming and rejuvenating effect, making it helpful for eliminating dead skin cells, restoring moisture to dry skin and helping to treat wrinkles.
So have I convinced you that these wonder ingredients will make a delicious smelling and effective facial cleanser for oily of acne prone skin? I hope so! Ready to give it a try…..
You will need:
1 cup of water (boiled and left to cool)
¼ cup of Dr. Bronner's Liquid Castile Soap
5 tsp Organic Argan Oil
2 tbsp Honey
1 tsp Tea Tree Oil
10 drops Lemon Verbena Oil
6 drops Neroli Oil
10 drops Rosemary Oil
Method:
Add all of the ingredients to a jug in the order listed above.
Stir well and watch as the ingredients mix to form a glowing sparkly gold mixture.
Store in a foam pump dispenser – I recycled an old one I bought from a shop but if you don’t already have on you can easily find them on amazon for a few pounds
I’ve been using mine twice per day and I haven’t noticed any irritation, excessive dryness or oiliness. It seems to be the perfect combination for me. Everyone is different of course, so you may find that different combinations of oils or ingredients work better for you.
Have you tried this recipe? Do you have your own recipe? I’d love to hear from you. E-mail me at info@clairetaylormassage.co.uk or comment on my facebook page.
