This silky smooth Eucalyptus Mint Cleansing Oil is really quite lovely; freshly herbal and minty, with a touch of a cooling tingle that definitely helps perk one up first thing in the morning. I tried a new solubilizer and I really like it—the cleansing oil rinses off beautifully and isn’t too drying. It comes together quickly and easily, and I’ve included a big list of substitutions and alternatives at the end of the recipe so you can easily adjust it and make it work with whatever you have on hand.
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I’ve been wanting to try Cromollient SCE (Di-PPG-2 Myreth-10 Adipate) for ages; it seems to be the cleansing oil solubilizer of choice at /r/DIYBeauty. So, when I had a chance to place an order with Lotion Crafter last year I was sure to order a small bottle. Cromollient SCE not only functions as the ingredient that facilitates easy wash-off in our cleansing oil; it’s also an emollient, improving the feel of the product while we use it, and of the skin after we rinse it off. It has also been found to be useful in reducing required combing force when used in shampoos. It’s a clear liquid with a pH of 6, and is generally fairly unassuming.
The carrier oil blend is pretty typical for a cleansing oil: it’s inexpensive. I mostly used safflower oil as I have quite a lot of it, plus a bit of castor oil for a cleansing boost. You can use pretty much any blend of inexpensive liquid oils you have on hand. Bonus points if it’s an oil reaching the end of its shelf life; you’ll use it up pretty quickly in a cleansing oil as it’s both a product that requires lots of oil, and it’s a product you’ll use quickly. Please do stick to inexpensive ones as much as you can, though—after a very brief interlude on your face they’re going straight down the drain, so unless that argan oil is going to expire in a month and you can’t think of a single other project to use it in, cheaper oils are the way to go!
Our essential oil blend is fresh Eucalyptus Radiata and bright, punchy peppermint. The two compliment each other brilliantly, with the eucalyptus mellowing out the peppermint, and the peppermint brightening the softer eucalyptus. I’ve kept the amounts of both quite low, and I encourage you to do the same. Even at 0.25% the peppermint is quite chilly on the face, and I’d be concerned about any more being irritating.
I’ve included a small percentage of cetyl alcohol to give the cleansing oil a bit more viscosity. I tried two different versions: one with 3% and one with 6% (removing or adding from the safflower oil). At 3% it’s definitely still very liquid, but it’s got more body that a purely liquid cleansing oil. At 6% it’s still liquid, but noticeably viscous—I preferred that, so that’s what’s written here. You’re welcome to use 3% (or any other number, really), or if you’d like to avoid the fuss of heating you can leave it out altogether. The melting of the cetyl alcohol is the only somewhat fussy bit about this oil—it really comes together in a flash! Flash-ish enough that you’ll never have to run out 🙂
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Eucalyptus Mint Cleansing Oil
Heated phase
72.75g | 72.25% safflower oil
10g | 10% castor oil (USA / Canada)
10g | 10% Cromollient SCE
6g | 6% cetyl alcohol (USA / Canada)Cool down phase
0.5g | 0.50% Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)
0.5g | 0.5% eucalyptus radiata essential oil
0.25g | 0.25% peppermint (Mentha Piperita) essential oilPrepare a water bath by bringing about 3cm/1″ of water to a bare simmer over low to medium-low heat in a small saucepan.
Weigh the heated phase ingredients into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Place the measuring cup in your prepared water bath to melt everything through.
Once the cetyl alcohol has melted, remove the measuring cup from the water bath and dry it off. Stir to combine, and leave the mixture to cool, stirring occasionally.
When the measuring cup is barely warm to the touch, add the vitamin E and essential oils and stir to combine. It’s not strictly necessary to wait until the cleanser has cooled this much, but since we can avoid exposing our essential oils to heat, we might as well.
Once everything is all mixed up, transfer your cleansing oil to a 120mL/4oz bottle.
To use, dispense a nickel sized amount of cleansing oil into your palm, and work it up with a bit of warm water. Massage that into your face before wiping it off with a damp microfibre cloth.
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this cleansing oil 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
- You can use a different inexpensive carrier oil in place of the safflower and/or castor oil
- You can use Polysorbate 80 or Olivem300 in place of the Cromollient SCE
- For the cetyl alcohol:
- You could use stearic acid instead, though I’d use stearic at 3%
- You could use 10–15% of a soft butter, like mango or shea, adjusting the amount of safflower oil to keep the recipe in balance
- You can replace it with more safflower oil for a less viscous final product that does not require any heat to make
- You can also use more cetyl alcohol for a more noticeably viscous product; reduce the safflower oil by an equal amount to keep the recipe in balance
- You can use eucalyptus globulus essential oil instead of radiata. I haven’t tried all the different varieties of eucalyptus; I suspect many of them would work well, but I would avoid the lemon version as it smells strongly of bug spray.
- You can also use a different blend of essential oils
Yay cromollient SCE!!! I’ve been using it in a diy oil cleanser somewhat based on the one in Tatcha’s line, and I’ve been absolutely loving it! I do have a question about your application instructions. I apply mine to completely dry skin because it was my understanding that the crom SCE would bind to the oils, makeup, and dirt already on my face, and then wash completely clean once water is added after that. You say to mix with water first and then apply to your face and simply wipe with a cloth afterwards. Can you tell me what you think the benefits of doing this are vs. the dry method? I see you’re on vacation, so enjoy yourself and no rush with an answer! I may try applying your way in the meantime and comparing the results myself. Thanks again for all your hard work, Marie!
You can honestly do either, and I often switch between methods—both work exactly the same way. The oils in the cleanser will bind with the oils on your skin regardless of whether or not water has been added in—water cannot “fill up” the cleansing power of the cleanser, so it really doesn’t matter when you add the water. The oil soluble parts of the cleanser can only bind with other oil soluble parts. I’ve usually just washed my hands before washing my face, so my hands are already wet, hence my wet usage 🙂
Hello Marie, In your substitutions you indicate to use Polysorbate 80, but in which amounts? it is rather sticky… If you don’t have Cromollient could you use Red Turkey oil instead?
I am impatient to make this facial cleanser! I will wait patiently for your answer though. Have a nice trip!
Use Polysorbate 80 as an equal swap; stickiness isn’t really a concern in a product that is immediately washed off 😉 Some readers have reported theirs went very solid using the higher amounts of cetyl + the PS80, so definitely stick with the lower amount! I don’t recommend using TRO as it can be irritating and we are using this on our faces 🙂
Hi Marie!
I made this recipe by replaced safflower with sunflower oil & cromollient with polysorbate 80. After few hours, the colour of facial oil become very white, not bright anymore as the beginning. I put it in room temperature. Is it normal?
It sounds like it’s opacifying and thickening? That’s fine.
I used polysorbate 80 in place of cromollient (none in Canada, boo!) and the 6% cetyl and its as solid as a rock. I had to reheat to get it out of the container 🙁 Guess I should have tried 3%….
How very odd. Hmmmmm. I suppose there is something going on there with the polysorbate 80 swap. Hmmmm.
Just made this – or rather, a cleansing oil inspired by your recipe :] I subbed olivem 300 for the cromollient, used stearic acid at 3%, and used olive oil instead of castor oil. I loved a store-bought cleansing oil that was mostly olive oil so I knew I was going to sneak some in one way or another. The scent blend is perfect and fresh for spring, now my skincare regimen is ready for spring even if the weather isn’t quite there yet.
Thanks for generating and sharing so many recipes, whenever I want to make something for the first time, your blog is the first stop! This is also true when I want to make something for the second, third, seventy-fourth time, etc. :]
Beautiful! Your cleansing oil sounds lovely 🙂 Thanks so much for reading & DIYing with me!
I think I’m going to make this and try it as cleansing oil for my hair. Sick of frizzy dry hair so was looking for sulfate free shampoo, then this morning decided to leave some of your solid conditioner in after washing my hair. No frizz! But a not so pleasant residue that actually made my hair not as soft as it looked. Cleansing oil seems to be the next natural test for defrizzing. Will report back.
Hmmm, I’m really interested to hear how this works for you! Please do keep me posted 🙂 You might want to use BTMS-50 instead of cetyl alcohol to add some conditioning and added rinse-out 🙂
Hi Marie. I still haven’t had the time to make this exact cleansing oil, but was impatient to have an idea of how it might work, so I used the cleansing oil I am using for my face – based on your Gentle Calendula Cleansing Oil – and I liked it! Still needed to use a bit of conditioner, and of course it was just the one time, so I’m not sure if say a month of continuous usage is going to create buildup that needs to be washed away by actual shampoo. But it works well! And since I have a rather big batch of oils to use up, why not make a big bottle of cleansing oil to use for face-body and hair? I’ll replace cetyl with BTMS-50 (I have a ton of that too) as you suggest and will re-report back 🙂
Oooh, good to know! This is such an interesting line of experimentation 😀 I’m thinking I should play with it, too, ha. I’m really curious about what the experience is like. I look forward to hearing how the conditioning one works!
Hi again, so many different thoughts on this going through my head! First: I have something called Conditioner-Emulsifier (here, in French but you are Canadian, right? 😉 https://www.aroma-zone.com/info/fiche-technique/emulsifiant-conditioner-emulsifier-aroma-zone) that I should really be using.
Reading the description, it says 1) that it makes oil-in-water emulsions stable and 2) that at a pH between 4.5 e 5.5 it acts as a conditioning agent for hair.
Now, I have noticed that after a week or two, my calendula cleansing oil separates into a thin layer of oil on top and I need to shake it back in. Could maybe the conditioner emulsifier help, even though there is no water in this formulation?
And, given the absence of water hence no PH, will this thing still be a conditioning agent?
As usual, I am going to try anyway (specifically, I will make two small batches to compare), but sharing and asking opinions anyway. Happy weekend everyone.
Hey! If you’re getting separation in something with no water in it, that’s going to be a density thing rather than a failed emulsion thing—more like how sand settles out of water if left to sit. The emulsifier might help simply because it could add enough viscosity to prevent the separation, but not because it’s an emulsifier.
You’re correct that the oil itself won’t have a pH, but it will when you use it because you have to add water at some point. I’d make a 10% solution of the oil in some distilled water and check that 🙂
Happy making!
Small update on the project, then a question on ingredients.
Update: have been using the BMTS-50 version for a couple of weeks, I see absolutely no difference with using a regular shampoo. Except it is better in terms of the fact that I massage my scalp with the cleansing oil before getting in the shower, where it takes only a quick rinse before I can apply conditioner, so shorter showers. I still need conditioner and smoothing serum, but my hair is dyed and sunbleached and my water is very hard, so there’s no way a cleanser can get around that.
Will be using the BMTS-50/Emulsifier-Conditioner version when I am finished with this one and will report back to let you know of any difference.
Now for the question. To date, and for every cleansing oil I made, I have been using Polysorbate 80 instead of Olivem 300 (absolutely no source in Europe whatsoever. Gracefruit used to stock it and no more. I am beginning to think it is not legal here), and every cleansing oil I have made to date separates a layer of clear liquid on top (which might be oil, or a mix of oil and Polysorbate 80, or just Polysorbate 80) after a week or two, with the layer getting thicker as time goes by. I just shake it all back together before use, but this kind of thing is my go to for gifting to friends and it would be nice if it didn’t separate.
In this formulation I also have used Polysorbate 80 instead of Cromollient SCE, and same separation. Now, given that I now have found a source of Cromollient in Europe, would it make sense to order it? Could the separation be because of the Polysorbate 80?
The separation sounds like a density difference, though it’s interesting that it happens for you but not me! I did not encounter any separation issues with cromollient SCE, and it is really lovely and versatile (it’s also great in shampoo!)—I’d recommend getting a bottle the next time you place an order with that supplier 🙂
ma’am, I would love to know what your european supplier is, I’m going nuts googling over here.
Aaand the last update, even though I will continue to experiment 🙂
I absolutely love cleansing oil as an all over cleanser for face, hair and body. The version half BTMS 50 and half conditioner emulsifier doesn’t show any particular difference in cleansing action, but the container does seem to show build up of what I think can only be the conditioner emulsifier. So maybe I need to drop the percentages to 3/4 BTMS 50 and 1/4 conditioner emulsifier (because I still want to use it up).
Main advantages of using this as an all over:
– quicker showers
– less lotion needed for a dry skin
– colour of dyed hair does not fade like it does with shampoo
– my slight keratosis pilaris is not there anymore. Which didn’t happen even with specific products for keratosis pilaris
In short: I don’t think I’ll ever go back to soap/shampoo. Which is a shame, because I like making soap. Oh well.
In other news, I have also ordered Cromollient SCE and will give that one a try as well.
Amazing! Thank you so much for sharing your results! I definitely have to add this to my (far too long) list of things to play with!
Dear Marie and Patrizia,
That’s the same hair oil cleanser experiment I’ve been doing. My daughter and I have very fine straight hair that tangles easily. With the oil cleanser, this is much better. The cleanser rinses out pretty well, but I do still wash with a mild shampoo. I have short hair so I don’t really need a conditioner step. My daughter has longer hair so I do condition hers. She’s 4, so the less tangled the better. I have been using 4% BTMS, 3% e-wax and 3% olivem 300. The rest is a combination of castor, coconut, camellia seed and avocado oils. I’m ordering some cromollient with my next lotioncrafter order and will try that instead of the Olivem.
Shaliz
P.S. I love your blog and YouTube site and am referring friends over.
How interesting! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂 I really should try a conditioning/cleansing hair oil… probably on a day where I don’y rally have to be anywhere, just in case it doesn’t work for my hair, ha 😛
And a big thank you for your support!
Hi I was wondering if I could swap the cremollient sce for peg 7 glycerl cocoate
It’s worth a try! You may find you need more or less of it to get the desired level of cleansing, but it should work 🙂 Happy making!
Hi Marie,
If I substitute the cromollient with polysorbate 80 in liquid form, do I need to water bath the formula? and can I omit the cetyl alcohol and replace it with more carrier oil? I’m thinking to use a mix of grapeseed, tamanu, and centella oil for this recipe.
Thank you so much!! I look forward for your reply?
Yes to everything 🙂 Happy making!