News on our website
Nakúp ešte za 23,50€a dopravu máš zadarmo
Would you like to create account?
One of the ways to cleanse your skin is to use cleansing balms. Balms combine the efficacy of oils, which help remove even waterproof makeup, with the degreasing and cleansing effects of clays. Thanks to the fact that the cleansing clay balm does not contain water, its production is really simple and furthermore does not require a preservative, as long as you make sure that no water gets into the product, for example when scooping out the balm with wet hands.
To produce the cleansing clay balm we basically need a blend of oils and clay, complemented with a fatty alcohol, which will help to solidify the product and thus make it easier to apply to the skin. Gently massage the balm onto skin moistened with water and then rinse thoroughly. You can remove excess greasiness for example with micellar water or other water-based, degreasing facial cleansers (foaming or powder facial cleanser).
In the following lines we bring you a few tips and tricks on how to make the production of the cleansing clay balm easier.Since the production of the cleansing clay balm is really simple, it is enough if you heat the mixture long enough so that all the raw materials combine well, and at the same time you take care that no water from the water bath gets into the mixture. Any water in the product can cause its rapid microbial spoilage, so avoid applying this product with moist hands. Since phase A starts to solidify after being removed from the water bath, it is necessary to add the raw materials of phase B before the temperature drops completely below 40 °C. If you were to wait until the temperature has completely dropped, the mixture would solidify and it would not be possible to stir in any additional raw materials. For this reason as well, tocopheryl acetate was chosen, which has a higher heat resistance than tocopherol. Therefore, do not substitute tocopheryl acetate with tocopherol.
Below we will introduce the individual raw materials used to produce the cleansing clay balm. In this way, you will learn not only more about the role of each raw material in the formula, but also about their possible substitutions or variations, thanks to which you can prepare a product tailored exactly to your needs.
A popular neutral oil for almost all types of cosmetics is MCT Caprylis. This oil has high stability and resistance to oxidation, so products containing it stay fresh for longer. At the same time, it is colourless and odourless, so it allows the other components of the product to stand out. MCT Caprylis can be replaced with vegetable oils of your own choice. Feel free to choose an oil that is your favourite, or even an oil with a more intense colour or scent, if you do not mind that these properties may influence the final colour and fragrance of the product.
Another popular facial and culinary oil is avocado oil. This oil is rich in vitamins and minerals, and thus provides the skin with excellent nourishment and care. However, avocado oil is not the only oil you can use to produce the cleansing clay balm. Feel free to replace this oil with another vegetable oil, similarly to MCT Caprylis. If you want to produce a larger amount of cleansing clay balm and price is a deciding factor for you, you can also choose cheaper oils, including refined ones – the product is rinse-off and thus will not remain on the skin for a long time, so it does not necessarily need to contain the most luxurious oils.
To thicken and solidify the final product, cetearyl alcohol was chosen for the cleansing clay balm. This fatty alcohol, in appearance and behaviour, is very similar to waxes, but it burdens the skin much less and does not create such a strong greasy film on it as waxes do. Cetearyl alcohol combines well with oil-soluble raw materials. By changing its quantity, you can adjust the final firmness of the balm – if you want a harder balm, increase the content of cetearyl alcohol by 1–2 %, and vice versa. A replacement for cetearyl alcohol is cetyl alcohol.
The emulsifier and at the same time the second structuring component of the cleansing clay balm is Olivem 1000. Although the product does not contain water, you will definitely appreciate Olivem 1000 as a component that gives the product firmness. For this reason, it is the second raw material whose proportion you can slightly increase if you want a firmer balm, and vice versa.At the same time, after massaging the cleansing clay balm into damp skin, Olivem 1000 allows the oils to emulsify with the water, thus enabling more effective cleansing of the skin. An alternative to Olivem 1000 is other emulsifiers, such as Beautyderm K10, but when replacing Olivem 1000 you must expect a slight change in the viscosity/firmness of the final product.
You too will appreciate the effective cleansing and degreasing effects of clays, thanks to our facial cleansing balm containing blue-green French clay. Clays help to degrease the skin and remove impurities very well, because they are able to bind substances and grease. In addition, clays are rich in minerals and thus help to nourish the skin. Do not leave the clay out of the product; the final product would no longer have such strong cleansing properties as with it. However, you can replace the blue-green clay with another clay of your choice. Try, for example, pink French clay or opt for yellow illite. Be careful, however, with bentonite; after combining with water and applying to the skin, it may behave somewhat differently than other clays, because it readily binds water. Thus, after applying bentonite to damp skin, lumps may form and the product will be more difficult to apply.
To prolong the freshness of the oils, an antioxidant was added to the product, specifically vitamin E, tocopheryl acetate. Unlike tocopherol, tocopheryl acetate is more heat-resistant, and therefore do not interchange these two substances, since we have to add vitamin E to a product that is still relatively hot.On the other hand, it is possible to omit tocopheryl acetate. You can do this especially if you plan to use up the product quickly (within weeks). If you want to use the product for a longer period, it is advisable to consider adding tocopheryl acetate, which will help delay pronounced oxidation of the oils used. Alternatively, you can also replace avocado oil with MCT Caprylis, which has significantly higher resistance to oxidation than common vegetable oils.
Who does not like pleasantly scented cosmetics? This is also why we added rosemary essential oil to the product, which has a pleasantly herbal scent and combines antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, making it an excellent addition to the cleansing clay balm.If you have another favourite essential oil, feel free to choose it instead of rosemary essential oil. However, respect the dosage for the given type of product, which is indicated, for example, in IFRA standards. An alternative to essential oils is represented by fragrance oils, which offer an even wider palette of scents than essential oils. Alternatively, you can omit the fragrance completely and replace the essential oil with a vegetable oil.
As mentioned, you can experiment with home recipes to achieve the desired properties. However, the final result can be influenced by many factors, such as humidity, temperature, quality of the raw materials or their storage. Before you use any raw material to produce a cosmetic product, familiarise yourself with its properties, recommended dosage, storage conditions and safe handling. Each raw material may have the potential to trigger an allergic reaction in sensitive individuals, so before using the product we recommend finding out whether you are not allergic to any of the raw materials or the product as a whole, e.g. by means of a patch test. If you have very sensitive or very acne-prone skin, or if you have other skin and health problems, we recommend that you consult a medical professional before applying a new product to the skin, whether it is a home-made cosmetic product, a pure raw material or a commercially available product.
Do you use cleansing cosmetics on your skin every day, or are you about to create a cleansing clay balm according to this guide? Write to us about how your cosmetic making turned out. In case of questions or additions to this guide, we will be glad if you write to us at our e-mail marketing@handymade.skWe thank the wonderful Ivana Jačalová for preparing this blog post. We look forward to seeing you in the next blog post.
See you at the washing-off, friends.
