I ran out of my usual store-bought face wash and instead of
buying more, I decided to try making a facial soap. First, let me say that my
skin is super fussy when it comes to facial cleansers; when I find something
that works, I tend to stick with it for a long while. So, I haven’t really been
too keen to try making a facial soap before now, but I’m willing to step out on
a limb and try something new.
I decided to hot process this facial soap, for a couple of
reasons. First, because I needed it to be ready quicker than the usual 4-6 week
cure time (I still like to let my HP bars sit a minimum of 2 weeks). Secondly,
I wanted to use essential oils and I prefer to use EOs in hot process soaps
because I don’t need to use as much of them, and also because I was thinking
that the properties of the essential oils might come through better if they were
added after saponification. Here it is straight out of the mold:
I opted to keep my ingredients very simple and gentle, using
only olive oil and kaolin clay. I was looking for a more foamy and creamy
lather rather than big bubbles, as I prefer a more lotion-y coverage while
washing my face. I used oat milk and aloe vera juice for the liquid. I also
added chamomile extract, tea tree (astringent), lavender (soothing) and
peppermint (refreshing) essential oils:
I’ve only been using this facial soap for a week now, but so
far I love it! Usually after washing my face, my skin feels dry and tight, and
I need to apply moisturizer right away. I didn’t notice any dryness or
tightness at all after using this soap, which was a pleasant surprise.
There are so many great ingredients you could add for a
facial soap, I had a really hard time forcing myself to keep it simple. Next
time I might try infusing the oo with chamomile or calendula, or subbing some
of the oat milk for yogurt, or trying a different e.o. blend...
Do you make facial bars, and what are your
favorite facial soap ingredients?
Those flowers... wow <3
ReplyDeleteI also like the recipe. You sure put a lot of good things in it. This could be a nice soap for super sensitive skin. I´ve made several facial soaps, but my all time favorite is salt soap. My face feels so much softer and cleaner. And I don´t need to use anything else to remove make up. Still my favorite ingredients is aloe vera juice and different clays.
My skin is super sensitive, so I really tried to keep this one very simple. I forgot that you mentioned before that you really like the salt bars for your face, I really should try that too! Do you use a 100% coconut oil bar with the salt?
DeleteMy favorite is 80% coconut oil, 15% cocoa butter and 5% castor oil. And remember 20% superfat. Otherwise it will dry your skin. I like the best when I used pink Himalayan salt, but normal sea salt is also great.
DeleteOhhh, excited to try it...thanks for the tips Marika! :D
DeleteMy 'Hymalayn' was 80% C.O. 15% shea and 5% castor. 20%SF and 75% salt (finely gorund). Now, I would reduce salt amount!
DeleteOkay, thanks Maja...would you go with 50% salt then?
Delete....or even less....maybe 35! But, surely within the range 35-50.
DeleteOh,mine was with coconut milk, next time I would substitute it with goat milk.
Wonderful, thanks for all the tips Maja...I'm definitely going to try a salt bar next!
DeleteBeautiful clear and white soap Cee!!!
ReplyDeleteI like your choice of EO's
I make my facial Soaps with caolin clay or healing earth, with olive oil.
Liebe Grüße Vivien
Thanks so much Vivien! I haven't heard of healing earth, I'll have to check into it! =)
DeleteYour soap bar is just looking beautiful! And sounds very good too. I have used only chocolate-olive soaps for my face about a year now, and I am very pleased with it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Signe! For the chocolate, do you use cocoa powder or cocoa butter or real chocolate?
DeleteReal dark chocolate, about 70-80%. If I use 450g oils, I'll put 50g chocolate and cocoa powder. I don't need any other make up remover with this.
DeleteNow, I've used white chocolate in soap but not dark...I'll have to try this, thanks! :)
DeleteI have never tried hot process soap, but your experience sounds interesting, Cee! And you are right about the reasons.
ReplyDeleteI also used soaps to clean my face, especially I like salt bars. There are so many ingredients you can add to facial soaps, it's quite difficult to make a choice!
Love your mold!
Wish you a lovely weekend,Cee!
There must be something to the salt bars, Marika says they are her favorite too, I must try that next! I still really love making HP soaps Nat, they are different from CP in a way that I can't describe. Thank you and I hope you have a lovely w/e too!
DeleteHonestly, I can't believe you've been buying your facial soap! I'm sure you have a great collection of bars which can be used as facial. But I'm happy you have found your formula now,I bet you will enjoy it. What a coincidence, we both used Aloe at the same time....
ReplyDeleteI like this pattern,is it lining giving this texture? Looks like a cake decoration!
I know, shocking right...lol?! My skin is so fussy though that I've been hesitant to mess with what works! I saw that you used aloe too, great minds think alike ;) And you are right, that is a cake decoration! The liner that I used is a fondant imprint mat (but it works for soap too!) :)
DeleteLove it Cee! I have that liner as well, but hadn't thought to use it in my round mold, what a great idea! Your soap sounds lovely! I make a facial soap with shea and mango butters and sea clay, but I do find that I get that tightness after cleansing also, but really no dryness to follow, but I do have pretty oily skin. Thanks for the inspiration though, working on a new simpler facial recipe is definitely something to consider.
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura, I wasn't sure if the HP soap would pick up the finer points of the impression mat, but it worked just fine! Shea, mango and sea clay sound so nice for a facial bar, clays seem to be a popular choice for facial soaps. It's definitely hard to find a nice balance, I have a difficult combination of dry and oily skin...argh!
DeleteVery beautiful Cee. I love the simplicity of the soap. I have very fussy skin too, I suffer from Rosacea and have been hesitant to make that any facial soaps for me to use. I made one batch once but my face did not like it :(. I have never tried HP soaping...hmmm something new to try :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Roxana, I really dig simple soaps too :) I think HP soap might be a bit gentler too, or maybe it's that you can superfat them and/or add more cream or milks after the cook that makes it more mild, but so far my fussy skin is happy with the hot processed bar.
DeleteI think it is very beautiful! I love the idea of using a fondant mat for the design.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Andee! =)
DeleteVery cool looking soap Cee! I tend to use soap to wash my face, but I use regular soap which probably isn't the best thing for it. Will you be selling your facial soap on your store because I think that's exactly what I need.
ReplyDeleteHi Monica, I won't be selling them yet, but I just sent you an email ;)
DeleteIt looks wonderful Cee! I am also musing since recently about making some new facial soaps, they are a world of challenges for themselves.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Ksenija! Yes, the facial soaps do open up a world of possibilities (and challenges!), but also very rewarding when you experiment and find that right combo!
DeleteI love how you used a fondant mat to make the flowers, Cee Gee! Your facial soap sounds lovely. I haven't set out to specifically make a facial soap, but I have found that my oily skin seems to like my salt bars. I got some activated charcoal recently, and I should try that soon. I'll bet it would make a good facial soap ingredient, too!
ReplyDeleteYes, I think AC would be wonderful in a facial bar! I'm thinking next time I will try a 1/2 kaolin clay + 1/2 AC salt bar, you guys have convinced me to try the salt bars!
DeleteThe soap looks delicate and sounds so luxurious with all the good things you put in there! I haven't made facial soap before...been using my salt bars and they seem to work fine for my face.
ReplyDelete