Facial cleansers are the unsung heroes of every great skincare routine!
They’re your skin’s first line of defense, working hard to sweep away dirt, excess oil, and impurities that build up throughout the day. But a cleanser is more than just a cleanser—it’s the critical first step in creating a healthy, glowing complexion.
You can make a world of difference by choosing the right ingredients tailored to your skin’s specific needs, whether that would be hydration, soothing irritation, or balancing oiliness. With a good cleanser, you’re not just cleaning your face—you’re prepping your skin for the rest of your routine, ensuring it absorbs all the goodness your following products offer.
Start strong with the perfect cleanser, and watch your skin transform!
Understanding Facial Cleansers
What is a Facial Cleanser?
A facial cleanser is a specially formulated skincare product designed to remove dirt, oil, makeup, and impurities from the surface of your skin. Its primary purpose is to cleanse your pores deeply, ensuring your complexion stays fresh, clear, and balanced. By eliminating buildup and debris, a good facial cleanser helps prevent clogged pores, which can lead to breakouts, and prepares your skin to absorb other skincare products more effectively. Regularly using the right cleanser is essential for maintaining a healthy, vibrant, and radiant appearance.
Why Ingredients Matter
When making your facial cleanser, your chosen ingredients are key to addressing your skin concerns, and it ensures you know exactly what you’re putting on your skin.
However, it’s important to avoid ingredients that could harm your skin. Harsh cleansers, like sulfates, can strip natural oils, causing dryness and irritation. Heavy comedogenic oils, such as coconut oil, may clog pores and lead to blemishes, especially for oily skin. Choose ingredients tailored to your skin type to ensure your DIY cleanser promotes a healthy, glowing complexion.
Best Ingredients for DIY Facial Cleansers
Surfactants and Their Role in Skincare
Surfactants are the powerhouse ingredients in cleansers that help lift dirt, oil, and impurities from your skin. These molecules have two parts: a water-loving (hydrophilic) head and a water-hating (lipophilic) tail. The tail clings to dirt and debris, while the head pulls it into water, leaving your skin clean and refreshed.
Cleansing products often combine surfactants to boost lather, ensure gentleness, and enhance effectiveness. Here’s a closer look at some key surfactants and how they work:
Simply Earth’s Face Wash Powder
A pre-made blend of surfactants that works great as-is or can be customized with small amounts of carrier and essential oils.
Foam Boost (Cocamidopropyl Betaine)
This liquid surfactant makes products gentler, improves foam stability, and leaves skin feeling moisturized.
A gentle, easy-to-use soap base that’s perfect for creating face washes.
A mild surfactant that also dissolves essential oils into water, making it ideal for water-based formulations.
SLSa Powder (Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate)
A naturally derived, gentle surfactant that creates luxurious, bubbly lather—don’t confuse it with SLS!
SCI Powder (Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate)
Another naturally derived surfactant, SCI powder produces a creamy lather and has a pH similar to facial skin, making it perfect for face care.
Emollients: Nourishment for Your Skin
Emollients are ingredients that moisturize and soften the skin. They’re often used in solid and liquid formulations, adding luxurious texture to DIY skin care. Here are a few to consider.
Butters like mango and shea are excellent for nourishing skin. Mango butter is firm and lightweight, shea butter is rich and deeply moisturizing, and coconut oil sits somewhere in between. Remember the butter’s hardness when swapping it in a recipe.
Liquid versions of butters, carrier oils nourish and soften the skin while affecting the texture of your product. Favorites for face care include almond, argan, castor, jojoba, and sunflower seed oils.
This is essential for emollient-based bars, as it helps the product rinse off quickly and thickens the final formulation.
Waxes and Thickeners
Ingredients like beeswax and cetyl alcohol add structure to solid face bars. Cetyl alcohol offers a lightweight feel with more slip, which is perfect for facial products.
Exfoliants: Adding a Gentle Scrub
Exfoliants can take your facial cleanser to the next level by removing dead skin cells. Simple ingredients like ground oatmeal or clay are natural and effective options to incorporate.
Water-Based Ingredients for Hydration
Water-based ingredients bring hydration and soothing properties to your DIY products. Here are some great choices:
Distilled Water
Always use distilled water in DIY products to avoid impurities found in tap water.
Cooling and hydrating, aloe vera adds a soothing touch to skincare formulations.
A natural humectant, glycerin draws moisture from the air to your skin, enhancing hydration and improving texture.
Created during the essential oil distillation process, hydrosols are less concentrated, water-based versions of their essential oil counterparts, making them gentle yet effective.
Preservatives: Keeping Your Products Fresh
If your product contains water, it needs a preservative to prevent spoilage. Even products without water, such as emulsions or surfactant-based formulations, should include a preservative since they can come into contact with water during use. Powder-based products, like face wash powders, don’t require preservatives as long as water isn’t introduced until use.
For natural and easy-to-use preservation, we recommend Geogard ECT, which works well for various DIY skincare recipes.
Potential Ingredients to Avoid
Harsh Detergents
Harsh detergents, such as sulfates, are common in many skincare and cleansing products but can strip the skin of its natural oils. This disrupts the skin’s moisture barrier and can lead to dryness, irritation, and heightened sensitivity.
Fragrances and Dyes
Fragrances and dyes may make products more appealing, but they can be major culprits behind skin irritation, especially for sensitive or reactive skin. Synthetic fragrances and artificial dyes are often unnecessary additives that increase the risk of allergic reactions.
Overuse of Strong Exfoliants
Over-exfoliating with strong physical scrubs or harsh chemical exfoliants can damage the skin’s surface, causing micro-tears and weakening the skin barrier. While exfoliation is vital for promoting cell turnover, moderation is key.
Nourish Your Skin with Hydration and Care
Choosing a cleanser tailored to your unique skin needs is critical in any effective skincare routine. By understanding which ingredients to avoid and which to seek, you can ensure that your skin remains balanced, nourished, and radiant. While finding the ideal cleanser may initially seem overwhelming, it’s easier than you think! Taking the time to research and test ingredients is a meaningful investment in your skin’s health.
Remember, your skincare journey is all about progress, not perfection. Every step, from eliminating harsh chemicals to incorporating nourishing elements, brings you closer to your goal of healthier, glowing skin. To help you along the way, download The Ultimate Guide to Natural DIY Skincare, your comprehensive resource for creating skincare products at home. And if you’re looking for an effortless way to get started, subscribe to the Simply Earth Recipe Box to receive handpicked natural recipes delivered to your door each month. You’ve got this—your skin is worth it!