5 Homemade Facial Cleansers

I have what I would call combination skin with an oily T-zone and drier cheeks, but I was having all sorts of breakouts this winter, which prompted me to look for a new face wash. It didn't help that I made a really BIG mistake in using some Clean & Clear because I had purchased months before, having gotten what I thought was a super good deal with a coupon. Truly, it's not all that good of a deal if it makes your skin go crazy. Plus, this stuff is loaded with parabens and other chemical crap that I have been strategically eliminating from my day-to-day usage.

Next in my series of posts on the topic of "How I Pamper Myself," I am writing about a few different DIY facial cleanser recipes that I have been experimenting with for several weeks now. (My previous posts included How I Wash My Makeup Brushes, My Homemade Face Moisturizing Oil, and Homemade Eye Makeup Remover, in case you missed those.) There are many, many variations of homemade facial cleansers out there and this is just a small sampling that I tried. My original plan was to try at least 4 different recipes for at least a week each so that I could give a fair analysis of my results.

{This is my new favorite face wash!}

2/18/13 Trial #1: Baking Soda/Water
Up first was a simple sounding paste made with baking soda and water. I first tried this at night. My initial reaction was that this felt gritty in my palm, but adding more water made it slightly softer. My skin felt okay after the first usage, but I worried that it was too harsh to use regularly. By the second night, with twice daily usage, my skin felt smooth and my cheeks were not as dry. The acne on my forehead appeared to be clearing up, but I wasn't sure. After the third day, I was convinced that my skin was indeed looking better, but I could not tolerate the abrasive texture of this cleaning method any longer. I couldn't even bring myself to do this twice on the third day. So, my plan to last a week had failed. I don't remember where I came across this idea originally, but I do know that it was not my favorite homemade face wash! This works fine to wash my hair, but not my face, apparently.

2/21/13 Trial #2: Oil Cleansing Method (OCM)
This one seems a bit strange, but it also sounded relatively simple, so I decided to try it next. It's just a mixture of two oils, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and castor oil (found in the laxative section of the grocery store) It may seem counterintuitive to wash one's face with oil, but this actually feels really lovely and seems to produce very desirable effects. I learned a little chemistry lesson while researching this: oil dissolves oil, so using oil to make a cleanser is actually ideal for skin, since it naturally has oil. Plus, it's nourishing and not over-drying. Unlike my horrible experience with the Clean & Clear, this did not over-dry my skin (which, you are probably aware, makes your oil glands go into over-gear producing more oil to compensate, a vicious cycle).

On the first night, I combined a 50/50 mixture of my EVOO and the castor oil, because that was the proportion recommended for "normal" skin. I started with a small batch of just 1 teaspoon of each and mixed them in a small plastic bottle that is meant for travel sized portions of toiletries.

To Wash:

1. Apply oil mixture to DRY skin. Gently rub in. I do this all over my face, including my eye lids.
2. Soak a wash cloth in hot water. (I make it as hot as I can tolerate since it cools quickly.)
3. Apply wash cloth to face and allow the steam to clean your face. I usually wait about 1 minute for the wash cloth to cool off completely.
4. Gently wipe oil from face with the wash cloth. This removes eye makeup pretty well so for the most part, I have not needed to use my homemade eye makeup remover. I also do not find that I need to apply moisturizer after washing since the OCM is so hydrating.

My initial reaction to the OCM was that my skin felt good afterward, and it was not too oily. I quickly learned to keep wash cloths on hand in the bathroom instead of in the linen closet (since Logan was going through a phase of sleeping on the floor in the hallway, blocking my access to the closet). The main difference was the waiting portion of the cleaning routine. Normally, I would wash, rinse immediately, dry my face, and be done. I have since come to love the waiting because it forces me to just sit and be still for 1 whole minute, evidently not something I typically do! It's like giving myself a mini-facial, which is very pampering, in my opinion. On the morning of the 24th, I forgot keep my face dry in the shower, so I just decided to skip washing for that morning. I used my homemade face oil after the warm water splash and that got me through the day just fine. My skin seemed to be clearing up and I had less acne, but I was anxious to try out some other cleansers, so I kept experimenting.

2/28/13 Trial # 3: Oatmeal
This sounded easy enough. I like that it really only had one ingredient. I had already ground up some oatmeal in the food processor, making a knock-off Aveeno oatmeal bath that I had seen on Pinterest. I didn't share this one because it grossed Logan out and he refused to soak in it after the first time, so as far as a home remedy for eczema goes, that one was a strike-out for me. I put some in a small bowl that has a lid and kept it in the bathroom during this trial period. To wash my face, I just a tablespoon of oatmeal in my palm and then added enough water to make a paste. (I realized that this was way too much and vowed to use less after that.) Initially, I was surprised by how gentle this was to use. I had expected some abrasiveness. The smell wasn't overwhelming, it was distinctly "breakfast-y" but not so much as to deter me from using it. After the first use, my face felt clean and it appeared brighter. It didn't feel dry, but I saw dryness on my cheeks and followed up with my homemade face oil. Also, when I washed with this, I feared it was no good in the eye area. I wasn't even willing to attempt it, so I had to use my homemade eye makeup remover when washing in the evenings. Questions that came to mind were I wonder if this would be okay with whole oats, or did I do the right thing by using my ground oats? and Is this more appropriate as a weekly scrub/exfoliant rather than a daily cleansers? As you can see by the dates, I kept with this method for a bit. One downside to washing with oatmeal, however, is that I did not like finding bits of it in my hairline and eyebrows after I thought I was done rinsing. For that reason alone, I wanted to keep looking for another face wash method.

3/10/13 Trial #4: EVOO/Grapes/Milk
Well, I already knew I liked the olive oil, and milk is an ancient method for cleansing the skin. Lots of different fruits are purported to be good for the skin, probably because of the acids, I am guessing. What sold me on this particular recipe is that it didn't call for ingredients that were exotic or expensive. I can't tell you how many recipes I saw that asked for me to gather 15 different items, many of which I do not regularly have on hand, so this one looked like a winner for simplicity's sake! Grapes? Check.

2 Tbs EVOO
5 fresh grapes
1 tsp milk (I used whole milk)

1. Process ingredients in a food processor until smooth and watery. (I found this hard to accomplish due to the peels plus the small size of the batch.)
2. Apply to face. (The directions did not say how to use this at all, so used my hands.)
3. Rinse with warm water.

My initial question was How long does it keep? The pros for this method were that it was easy to make with items most people have in their kitchens, it felt good going on the skin, and my face felt clean and moisturized. The cons were that it smelled bad, it looked icky, it probably wasn't safe to use near the eyes (I did not venture to try this), and it may have possibly clogged up my sink. I wanted to determine how long it would keep for and try it at least 3 times (to keep with my somewhat scientific method of giving stuff more than one chance to prove itself to me). On the second night, I found that it had congealed in the fridge, so I tried to warm it in my palms and apply it to my face, following with a warm wash cloth a la the OCM. This was a mistake. The smell nearly gagged me when I was confined under the wash cloth and forced to inhale the odor. I really did not like using this stuff, but my skin looked better than it had in weeks. The answer to my initial question: I would consider this to be something that is a one-time use formula, which makes it better for a weekly "mask" application, not something I would do daily. (Food processor each day? No thanks!)

3/13/13 Trial #5: Pure EVOO
Well, this fits my first requirement of being simple. It's just straight extra virgin olive oil. When I first tried this, I had no complaints. I used it the same way I did the OCM, just without the castor oil. However, I eventually decided that I didn't like how my skin felt afterward; it was just too oily. And it had seemed that my acne had improved more when using the 50/50 blend that included castor oil.

4/8/13 The Winner for Me: Back to the OCM!
My skin is not completely clear of break-outs, but it is definitely much improved from the winter when I was using the dreaded Clean & Clear. It's also very smooth and moisturized, and I swear it looks brighter and healthier. I now use the OCM just at night. For the most part, it gets rid of all my eye makeup, so I rarely need to use my homemade eye makeup remover. In the mornings, I just rinse my face with warm water and follow with my homemade face oil. This fits my lifestyle in that it is simple, inexpensive, and safe to use. The castor oil, which I found at Kroger, was on sale for $1.59 (regularly $1.89) for 4 ounces. Extra virgin olive oil is widely available, and I am considering buying it in bulk. The bottle I bought from Kroger was $3.49 for 8.5 ounces, but I just finished it off last night while experimenting with some other homemade beauty products. When I went back to this face cleanser, I made myself a larger batch consisting of 2 tablespoons of castor oil and 2 tablespoons of EVOO. I know that I can tweak the proportions as needed, but for now, I am happy my natural face wash.