Today we’re creating an herb-and-clay-based powder-to-foam facial cleanser. It’s a pretty simple concept, and easy to customize and tweak based on what you have on hand. It’s been quite a while since I shared a cleansing powder—it seems I really liked them in 2016/2017, and then forgot about ’em! A recent YouTube comment got me thinking about them again, though, and here we are.
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The bulk of this cleansing powder is a zeolite ultrafine clay, which is pretty similar to kaolin in terms of texture, so feel free to use either. I purchased a thoroughly silly amount of zeolite when New Directions Aromatics discontinued it years ago, so I have far more than anyone should, but I haven’t seen it for sale since NDA discontinued it. So—use what you’ve got, basically! Don’t use bentonite or rhassoul—they’re too coarse.
Up next are some botanicals; a blend of romantic rose and soothing calendula. They blend up really well, giving some mild exfoliating goodness without any overly aggressive botanical bits. I don’t find the botanicals contribute any scent to the end product, but if yours are more fragrant than mine you might get a touch of rose-y, herbal goodness.
Some colloidal oatmeal further amps up the soothing/gentle-ness factor of this cleansing powder, while some Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) gives us the foam part of the powder-to-foam description. At 15% this cleanser has a low, creamy lather. I also tried 10% and found that gave almost no discernible lather, though it definitely still cleansed the skin and rinsed off really well.
A touch of liquid jojoba oil helps weigh all the powders down so the end product isn’t too poufy when you open the jar and contributes a bit of richness to boot. All you’ve got to do to make this is to give everything a very thorough whizzing in your dedicated DIY coffee grinder, so what are you waiting for? Let’s get all sudsy and powdery!
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Calendula Rose Foaming Cleansing Powder
18g | 60% white kaolin clay (USA / Canada) or zeolite clay
1.5g | 5% dried rose powder
1.5g | 5% dried calendula petals
3g | 10% colloidal oatmeal (USA / Canada)
4.5g | 15% Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) (USA / Canada)
1.5g | 5% jojoba oil (USA / Canada)Put on your dust mask.
Weigh everything into your DIY-only coffee grinder and blend thoroughly. You’ll want to smack the lid of the grinder with the back of a spoon to knock powders down from the inside of the lid. You’ll also want to take the lid off at least once and stir around, taking care to turn over everything at the bottom of the grinder to ensure all the ingredients are blending together well.
Once the mixture is uniform, gently spoon it into a jar or other container; for a 30g (1.06oz) batch you’ll want a container with a 40–50mL (1.35–1.7fl oz) capacity. I used jars, but a wider-mouthed bottle would work as well.
To use, dispense a small amount of the powder (~½ tsp) into your palm, taking care to keep the contents of the jar dry. Work the powder into a lather between your hands, massage into your face, and rinse before continuing with the rest of your skincare routine. I find this gentle enough to use daily, but be sure to listen to your skin, especially if it is sensitive.
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this scrub does not contain any water, it does not require a broad-spectrum preservative (broad spectrum preservatives ward off microbial growth, and microbes require water to live—no water, no microbes!). Be sure to keep it dry to ensure it lasts as long as possible—don’t let any water get into the container and it should easily last a year.
Substitutions
As always, be aware that making substitutions will change the final product. While these swaps won’t break the recipe, you will get a different final product than I did.
- As I’ve provided this recipe in percentages as well as grams you can easily calculate it to any size using a simple spreadsheet as I’ve explained in this post. As written in grams this recipe will make 30g.
- To learn more about the ingredients used in this recipe, including why they’re included and what you can substitute them with, please visit the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia. It doesn’t have everything in it yet, but there’s lots of good information there! If I have not given a specific substitution suggestion in this list please look up the ingredient in the encyclopedia before asking.
- You’ll want a soft, smooth clay for this project. Do not use bentonite or rhassoul.
- You can use dried rose petals that haven’t yet been powdered—the coffee grinder will take care of them!
- You could also use different dried botanicals that you already have on hand.
- You could use oatmeal instead of colloidal oats, but this will make for a scrubbier end product.
- The format of the Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) doesn’t matter, as long as it is solid. I used the powder as it tends to be easier to find and less expensive than the noodle variety.
- If you’d like to learn more about the surfactant used and compare it to ones you might already have so you can make substitutions, check out this page. You’ll want a solid anionic surfactant, preferably with an acidic pH.
- You can use a different liquid carrier oil, though I would recommend choosing one with shelf life on the longer side of things, like fractionated coconut oil.
- If you’d like to include some essential or fragrance oils you can; I’d remove 0.5% from the clay and include the essential oil at 0.5% with the jojoba oil.
Thanks for the recipe! I’d like to give SCI a chance because I read some studies show it’s so gentle so it doesn’t swell proteins much and it doesn’t penetrate the skin.
I didn’t have much luck with cleansers with glucosides (even at low concentrations 1ASM) – it’s been dehydrating my combo oily-normal-dry skin resulting in increased sebum production in the oily areas and tightness in the dry ones. I found some study, in which glucosides were sooo good at solubilizing cholesterol – about 5 times better than SLES-CaPB 2:1 or SCI.
I’ll definitely try 10% instead of 15% but I have some questions:
1. Do I really need oats? I’d like to use it as a cleanser, not a scrub.
2. What do you think about using Amla (Phyllanthus Emblica) instead? It’s supposed to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, lightening properties and lowers pH. But not sure how much I should use.
3. Any ideas how to make it even more gentle? Less SCI – 1-5%? More oil? Use less than ½ tsp?
4. Not a question about this powdery cleanser, but do you know Sodium Cocoyl Apple Amino Acids surfactant? I have in plans buying it and try to make a gentle cleanser (micellar water) with just 1% – it’s water-soluble.
But perhaps your powder cleanser will be gentle enough 🙂
Hi Andrzej!
2. I’ve used 5 ml (1 teaspoon) of regular amla powder (not extract) in 150 ml facial polish + mask powder, but I don’t have any exact %. It depends? 😛 Recipe (a bit similar than Marie’s mud mousse) was based on this mask recipe:
https://katjakokko.com/ihotaikoja-jouluksi-diy-piparkakkunaamio/
I’m sorry for answering, hope this helps!
Btw, Marie, would you consider this “pH balanced cleanser” as written? It depends, I know, but I’d be happy to know what you think. Thank you for this recipe. Looks lovely. 🙂
Hi Johanna!
2. Oh, that’s a lot of amla I think. Depends on the source of amla, but on one of the DIY shop website, I read that amla extract at the concentration of 1% – 4,4pH. You used 5ml, that’s about 2.5g (assuming bulk density is 0.5g/ml), so it’s about 1.67% if 150ml of final powder is 150g (but it’s probably less).
I know you used regular powder, but I also have cheap amla powder from Hesh, it has a very deep dark green color when mixed with water and 1% is about 4pH, or even 3.5.
I’d like to know what’s the pH of clay, I know it depends on the type and the source. I use pink Australian (mix of white and red clay). It’s so finely ground and its color is very deep that it’s hard to measure it using paper strips.
It’s even in its description that it may dye hair up to 6 weeks.
I read a study it’s better to measure it using strips because pH meter can’t measure clay suspension. I also read that the pH of clay suspension fluctuates.
Anyway, I measured the pH of green clay (Illite, Montmorillonite, Kaolin) suspension, which doesn’t stain everything with its color like the pink one and it was about 7,5.
So that’s why I asked about Amla because it can lower the pH, has some good properties, and it’s a powder.
Hi, Thank you! My skin enjoys acidic skincare (around pH 3,5-4,5) and I like dark colors (and my skin does too), so 5 ml wasn’t too much for me. But it’s not about me. Why don’t you leave it out/use less and see how it goes based on Marie’s recipe? No, I can’t answer pH question, sorry. I’d also check that recipe again, and read more about the ingredients from katjakokko.com.
I pointed you a good starting point (and so did Marie) so that you could start slow, take notes, experiment, right? You are wellcome. 🙂
I reply here because I can’t on your comment below.
So I’ve been using 1g of powder to wash my face (more powder=too harsh):
– 79.5% Australian pink clay
– 10% SCI
– 5% Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride and 5% Black Currant Oil (I add this one just before washing. 1 drop to 1g of powder),
– 0.5% amla powder (actually I didn’t use rose and calendula because I’m allergic to roses and don’t have calendula petals)
I also omitted oats because I don’t want too much exfoliating power.
4 days and so far so good! Oil production reduced slightly and my redness and irritation reduced dramatically. I didn’t expect this.
I’m afraid of over-exfoliation a little bit because of the clay, but I try not to massage much, I do it only when I put it on to spread, then wash it off using a showerhead, without massaging.
Hi,
Why do some of the other powder cleansers include vitamin e oil but this one doesn’t?
Did you only include the vit e in the others to further the shelf life or other purposes?
Hello Andrzej!
I feel your pain! My skin is combo too and I have discovered I have to be so very careful! It looks like you guys answered all your questions! Thanks Johanna for replying!
In regards to the micellar water, Marie has stated many times that the only one she found to have success with is PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides.
Good luck and happy making!
Barb
Hi Barb, thanks!
How do you thoroughly clean your grinder afterwards?
I like to run a tablespoon or so of dry rice through the grinder and then dust it out with a dry brush 🙂 That usually does the trick!
Hi Marie!
I was wondering 1) what did you mean by “run it through”? Like grinding the rice or just throwing the rice in a ‘shaking’ it?
2) what does the rice do? Like, is there a specific reason you used reason for rice?
1) Grind the rice up, dump it, and dust out the grinder. That’s it!
2) It’ll help pick up anything left in the grinder, diluting it so it’s easier to remove. I use rice as that’s what was recommended to me by a reader years ago and I’ve always found it to work, but it’s also the cheapest of all the dry grains that are likely to work (quinoa, for instance, would likely work, but it’s much more spendy!).
Happy making!
Is it really important to use glass or plastic container for clays? Would this kind of mixture be fine to put in an aluminum tin since it’s not hydrated while stored?
I haven’t found anything convincing to suggest clays can’t be stored in metal—I say go for it!
Bentonite is clay with the capacity to exchange cations in its structure with other cations. But an aluminum container is in the metallic form (Al), not the cationic (Al+). So it should be fine unless your container started to oxidize (corrosion) – it won’t rust like steel or iron, aluminum oxide forms hard white surface.
I think most tips on the Internet about not using metal with clays is because spoons are most commonly used and they can have some corrosion after many years of usage and I know people who pass cutlery from generation to generation. My family is an example, my parents refuse to buy new ones because they’re from grandma who passed away. Some of the cutlery is in good condition, but there are some with rust or with a compromised protective layer. Bentonite clay may react with it.
So just make sure your metal containers/spoons/etc. are in perfect condition without corrosion.
This post is also an interesting read on the bentonite/metal topic 🙂
Hi, Marie!
Thanks for such amazing new formula. I’m a huge fan of your work and I have been reading your blog and testing your recipes for about four years, but never had the courage to comment here. I apologize for any english mistakes.
I live in Brazil and I cant find colloidal oats here. Can I repleace it with coconut milk powder? I couldnt found more informations about this ingredient on the Encyclopedia.
Thanks! And congratulations for your work and generosity!
You definitely can! Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
Hi Marie & bees,
What I meant was: Both Katja and Marie have provided you a good starting point.
Sorry about the typo. 🙂
I made a test batch (sage, rosemary & mint, white kaolin and regular powdered oat). Love the scent. I’m blending it with slightly acidic toner to adjust the pH lower. I’ll test it more to see how this works.
Looks like well balanced and gentle cleanser with everything in it. It feels deep cleansing, foamy, very easy to use, no irritation so far. Thank you, Marie.
Woohoo! Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
Made this 2 days ago and I’m in heaven! I’m a licensed esthetician and got spoiled by high dollar products but since I decided to stay home when I had kids I haven’t been able to buy some of my favorite products anymore. This is a perfect substitution for one of my favorite cleansers, dermalogica daily microfoliant. Thank you so much for bringing a piece of my routine back into my life that has been missing.
I’m so SO thrilled to hear it, Chris! Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
Hi Marie! I’ve been following your posts, blogs and videos for a few months now and have made several of your recipes but this is my first comment. First off, thank you for all that you do, it’s obvious that you put a lot of time, effort and care into your work! I’ve really been enjoying binge watching your channel on YouTube and planning out which recipes I want to attempt. I had to write and tell you that I made this calendula powder to foam cleanser last weekend and I’m totally IN LOVE with the final product!! After using it for the first time this week my 50 year old skin felt as smooth as a baby’s bottom and really glowed! In fact, the following day a co-worker told me my skin looked positively radiant and asked what my secret was!! I told her all about what I’d made and even brought in a sample for her to try the next day. She was just as happy with the results as I was and turns out I really made her day with the simple offering. So here I am writing to you to say thank you for the recipe, I’ll definitely be making this one again and gifting it to others!!
Thanks so much, Kristin! Your comment put the biggest darn smile on my face 😀 I’m beyond thrilled! Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
Hi Marie,
Is there a technique in making a large batch of powdered ingredients? I want to make a large batch of a recipe like this but I found that using percentages wasn’t giving me accurate amounts for the volume of my jars. I know you usually make your experiments in small batches but I don’t know if things involving clay work properly when percentages are used.
I hope this makes sense, I just don’t want to waste time making these if there is an easier way to measure these ingredients, especially in the imperial measurements.
Percentages and weights always work—it sounds like your challenge is in converting weights to volumes. I would recommend figuring out the density of your product and then backwards engineering that to know how much weight you need to fill a given volume. For instance, if your 100g (3.5oz) batch fills 150mL of space, and you need to fill 300mL of space, you’d need a 200g batch. Happy making!
Hi Marie,
I’m thinking about adding some Activated Charcoal powder to this recipe to help with my acne prone skin and am really unsure about where to add it. Would I use it instead of the oatmeal (I would really like to keep the oatmeal in there if possible) or take a small amount off the Kaolin Clay? Also, how much charcoal do you think I should add?
Thank you so much for your help,
-Clare
Hi Marie
This cleanser sounds beautiful !
I can only get Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate noodles at the moment in the UK. Will they be ok with some extra blending?
Thank you
Yup, definitely! Happy making 🙂
Excellent. Thanks your replying x
Oh how stunning this is! I made new rose spearmint one yesterday following your recipe more closely. I adore mild scent of rose powder + spearmint eo + rose absolute. Anyway, cleanser is more gentle/ less scrubby this way, it foams like a dream and I absolutely love it. I should try new things more often.
I’m so thrilled you are enjoying it ❤️
This is seriously best powder to foam cleanser ever! Every single batch I’ve made (swapping just the botanicals and leaving eo’s out) is fantastic.
Hooray! ❤️
Absolutely beautiful! Please make some more versions of these non-fuss powder cleansers with dried botanicals! The addition of the milk & honey powders leaves gorgeous silky soft skin! Also great for those who are scared of using preservatives! Such a wonderful concept!
Thank you so much, Summa! ❤️ I will keep it in mind 🙂
Did you just straight-up add milk and honey powders to this recipe, or did you subtract from other ingredients to include them?
You would need to subtract other ingredients to make room; I’d adjust the clay amount 🙂 Happy making!
I could have sworn when I read this initially, someone asked about using SLSa instead of SCI, but I don’t see that now. Granted, I read LOTS of your recipes, so I may have confused this one with another one. I have read the susstitutions info, BUT, would SLSa be OK to us in formulations for the face?
Yes, that works!
I just tried this recipe and absolutely love the way it feels on my skin! It’s my first time to try SCL and I’m thrilled at how the finished product foams up.
Question… could sandalwood powder be added? Just curious, as I have some and the benefits to aging skin are great.
Hooray! Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
Read this re: incorporating new ingredients 🙂
What if I don’t own a coffee grinder can I just mixed dry ingredients?
That’s a bit like trying to make a smoothie without a blender; you’d end up with a banana, some frozen berries, milk, and a handful of spinach (or whatever) in a bowl. Edible, sure, but also very much not a smoothie, and not really enjoyable 🙂
Hi Marie,
I am going to try to make this and I was just interested to know whether I can use Rooibos tea (Aspalathus linearis) in powder form as a substitute for the dried botanicals?
Thank you!
That should work! Try it and see what you think 🙂
I made this and it’s lovely! I have been testing and tweaking for sale eventually, but I have a question. I am noticing that in more humid times, it can slightly clump together, well not “clump” exactly, but the powder doesn’t move as freely as when there is low humidity. I’m wondering if I were to use this in a shaker bottle, would it be safe to include a tiny little silica packet in each bottle I sell? I just want to make sure it is shelf stable to any climate I ship to. Thank you so much <3
Hello,
If I wanted to add COCO Glycoside with the Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate how much would I add of each? I read Sodium cocoyl isethionate can be stripping of the skin and cause irritation and if you add Coco Glycoside it helps balance it out and adds more lather.
Love your videos Thank you so much!
Hi Marie! Made this today and it turned out beautifully. I actually turned it into a scrub by adding a teaspoon of apricot shells to your recipe! Lovely and gentle. Quick question: where do you source your powdered product shakers/dispensers? I am in Canada.
Hi Marie!
Can you substitute the jojoba oil with marula oil, and at the same percentage?
Yup!