Something about the string of hot summer days we’ve been having has been making me think about herbs. It’s probably all the lush, overflowing gardens Lottie and I walk past on our walks, and the way the now-golden prairie grass ripples in the wind. It could also be that I recently realized I needed to use up a jar of calendula infused olive oil pronto, or I’d be throwing it out the next time I went to use it (that doesn’t sound like me at all, does it? 😬). Anywho—this simple sunny yellow cleansing oil is infused with wispy golden calendula petals to create a gentle cleansing oil with the anti-inflammatory goodness of calendula.
Want to watch this project instead of read it?
As you might’ve guessed, the bulk of this recipe is calendula infused olive oil. To that I’ve added two different emulsifiers, but at a slightly lower percentage than my more recent cleansing oil recipes for a slightly more gentle end product. I’ve gone with a blend of solid (emulsifying wax) and liquid (Olivem 300) emulsifiers so we can get a bit of viscosity out of the solid emulsifying wax. I find 100% liquid cleansing oils are rather escape-artist-esque and tend to bolt out of my palm, so I like mine to be a touch more user friendly and have a bit of body to ’em.
Now, why is there an emulsifier when there isn’t any water in the product? It’s because we add water at the moment of use! The addition of an emulsifier allows us to blend the cleansing oil with a splash of water in our hand and watch it become all white and creamy (magic! Well… science!) as it emulsifies. Then, after you’re done massaging it into your face, it’ll wipe off beautifully, leaving no oily residue (side note: I’ve been using microfibre cloths for face washing for the last month and I’m never going back to normal washcloths!).
Want to customize your cleansing oil a touch? Go to your cupboard and pull out an oil that still smells fine, but is suspiciously old (and you have no other immediate plans for it), and use that for your calendula infusion instead of olive oil. Cleansing oils are a brilliant way to use up a good amount of oil quickly, not only in terms of putting it into a recipe, but also in terms of the recipe being something I’ll use quickly. I tend to motor through a 100g batch in a month or less as I use a nickel-sized amount morning and night, giving me a great way to keep still-usable (if not for long) from going to waste. Wondering how to make an herb infused oil? Learn how here!
As for the making—it’s easy-peasy. Measure, melt, stir, voila! I’ve chosen a blend of bright lemon and calming lavender for my cleansing oil, but you are more than welcome to use something else that your face loves, or leave it unscented and enjoy the herbal notes from the calendula—it’s totally up to you! You are free to make this Gentle Calendula Cleansing Oil your own 🙂
Want to watch this project instead of read it?
Gentle Calendula Cleansing Oil
10g | 0.35oz complete emulsifying wax (not beeswax!)
5g | 0.18oz Olivem 300 (USA / Canada)
20g | 0.71oz castor oil (USA / Canada)
64g | 2.26oz calendula infused olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada)0.5g | 0.017oz Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)
10 drops lavender essential oil
10 drops lemon 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 emulsifying wax, Olivem300, castor oil, and calendula infused oil into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup and use a flexible silicone spatula to stir that together. Place the measuring cup in your prepared water bath to melt everything through.
Once everything has melted, remove the measuring cup from the heat and dry the outside of it off with a dish towel. Set the measuring cup on the counter and stir the mixture with a flexible silicone spatula to combine everything.
Leave the melted mixture to cool for 20–30 minutes before stirring in the vitamin E and essential oils, and then decant into a 120mL/4oz plastic pump-top bottle or a 120ml/4oz squeeze bottle. That’s it!
To use, take a nickel-sized amount of the cleanser into your palm and combine it with a bit of warm water. Massage it into your face and wipe it off with a damp cloth. Follow up with the rest of your skincare routine.
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this cleanser 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
- I’d recommend Polawax, Emulsimulse/Ritamulse, or Emulsifying wax NF for the e-wax; BTMS-50 is pretty pricey to wash down the drain, though it will work
- You can use Polysorbate 80 instead of Olivem300—NOT Olivem1000!
- If your calendula is infused in a different inexpensive oil, use that instead
- The essential oils are fully customizable; feel free to use a different blend or a fragrance oil, or leave out scent altogether
- If you’ve purchased a pricey pre-infused calendula oil, use 10g of that and 54g plain olive oil
complete emulsifying wax
please would you let me know how to replace the complete emulsifying wax – in europa I can not get the complete emulsifying wax?
thanks and best
Hello,
I am in France and I can buy the Polawax indicated by Marie, and sole other complete emulsifying waxes. You can find links to europeen e-shops in the “where to buy…” above.
Cécile
There are loads of places to buy different complete emulsifying waxes in Europe, I promise 🙂 Have you checked the “where to buy ingredients” page?
I am crazy about all of these cleansing oil options. Thank you so much for working hard to formulate and post them. My skin thanks you.
You’re very welcome! My skin thanks me, too 🙂 Cleansing oils rock!
Hello,
Thanks a lot for sharing the brilliant idea of making the oil more easier to use. I wanted to see the last consistency of the concoction you made.I want to see how creamy it would be! Can you put a picture of it?
Have you watched the video? That really shows you!
Can’t wait to try this! I’ve been all about “gentle cleansers” lately! Our skin should be treated like delicate silk! To think I used to scrub my face DAILY with a body scrub. Eek!!
So true! My skin is SO much happier when I’m being kind to it rather than trying to beat it into submission!
Hi Marie, is there any way to use polyglucose in place of polysorbate in this recipe? I don’t have one on hand and there’s no mention of polyglucose in your substitutions but I was hoping against hope…thanks!
Nope, sorry :/ I’ve been experimenting with ways to include water soluble surfactants in cleansing oils, and it’s definitely not swapping out the polysorbate 80 for it.
Marie, I followed your advice and got Polysorbate 80 and ewax but my oil got all jello like after it completely cooled. Can you offer any insight into what you think happened? Thanks so much!
It should have some thickness and consistency to it, thanks to the e-wax—is yours solid?
Hi there Marie, the only complete emulsifying wax i found here in Italy is composed by: Cetearyl Wheat Straw Glycosides, Cetearyl Alcohol. Is it okey?
I’m not sure as I haven’t worked with this emulsifying wax, but from this Formula Botanica article, it sounds promising. Good luck!
Hi Marie, This is an unrelated comment-but I wanted to get your opinion on recreating the sunshine skin oil by Milk Makeup. It seems to be mostly a blend of grapeseed and citrus peel oils, and is used as a moisturizing face oil. How is it not photosensitive?
Thanks!
Hey Anna! If they are using steam distilled versions or versions that have had their photosensitizing compounds removed that wouldn’t be apparent on the label, but would mean the end product wasn’t photosensitizing 🙂
Also I can only find polysorbate 20, is it ok? haha sorry
It’s not ideal, but it should be fine 🙂
Marie,
Do you think this cleanser can de used as a hand lotion? My daughter just started her Medical Assistant course and has to was her hands constantly and the traditional oil/water lotions are making her hands crack more now that she is around water all the time. I wanted to make her your coco-mango balm but then realized that maybe due to the type of setting she is in a balm where she is dipping her fingers into might contaminate the balm but I figured it she used this after she washed her hands and they are still a bit wet that is can turn into a lotion right in her hands and be able to be put in a squeeze bottle.
or Is there a way to turn one of your balm recipes to be looser so it can be put in a go tube?
Sorry for the long comment. I’m just trying to help her suffering hands.
Hey! It definitely can! I’ve actually recommended such a thing to people who are gun-shy with emulsions 🙂
Something else I’d recommend doing would be nightly occlusive packs for her hands. Vaseline, while yes—a petroleum product—is an amazing occlusive, meaning it’ll lock in the lotion and water and oils she applies so they can really soak in and help her skin heal overnight. If she puts on some lotion, a layer of vaseline (or some other mineral oil/petrolatum based ointment like aquafor), and perhaps a pair of gloves each night before going to bed, that will help her hands immensely! That’s why I do if I’ve spent the day testing a ton of different hand washes and my hands are so soft and happy when I wake up 🙂
hello Marie, i hope that this finds you well –
i’ve been exploring many of your recipes and got so excited with your soothing oat bath & body oil, because of the way you described what emulsifiers do!
i’ve been hesitant to ask question, because i feel like you’re most likely overwhelmed with so much to do anyway! but here we go:
so reading Vanessa’s and your comments correctly, this could technically be used as both a cleanser (mixing with water + rinsing off) and a lotion (rubbing on damp skin and leaving on)? similar to what you mentioned in the video for the oat bath & body oil
hope this doesn’t sound too confused!
thank you for all the thing you do! it’s so incredibly helpful
take good care
eliane
Hey! Technically, yes, BUT polysorbate 80 can be sticky, so while I recommend it as an alternative here as it’s a rinse-off application, I wouldn’t recommend it as an alternative for a leave-on. That said, if you make it as written you should be good to go. Happy making!
Oh la la Lady of the Spatula!
I made one of your oil cleansers when you first started writing about them and I swore them off as I found it way too harsh. I saw the word gentle in the title and decided to try it again, and the Asian Beauty Care info has opened my eyeballs to a few things too. I used Hibiscus infused olive oil (so wish the smell came through more!!), and since I figured that vitamin c of the hibiscus should shine through quite nicely (hopefully), added in some sea buckthorn fruit oil as I have to use up some, added in some sea buckthorn extract as well and gave it a go.
I still found it a wee bit drying for my face, so I’m going to continue to try it for a bit to make sure it is not just a one time deal. But I think I like the idea of a liquid oil based cleanser and want to experiment using less castor oil, adding in some shea butter (I am slowly learning why shea butter is an awesome ingredient it only took how many years?) to try to make it a cross between the Klay Balm and Oil Cleanser.
Holy sweet mother of flower tea! Orange wax. Damnit. I have to work soon.
Hmmmm, interesting. I shall make an even gentle-r one with you in mind, then! And I saw your concoction on IG (?) and it looks lovely! You are a DIY machine my dear 😛 You are putting me to shame these days!
Yup. Definitely too stripping about an hour after I washed my face yesterday, my face was all that extra bad shiny that I hadn’t seen in ages! But I am glad I gave the oil cleansers another chance, I “think” today’s plan was some Christmas baby soap, but I am bored with the same stuff, I need a new face cleanser. Sorry babies! You will have to wait! Going for tweak 2 today. So can’t wait to compare notes!
I remember watching your video maybe it was the one about what you’ve learnt from a year on Youtube? Maybe? So now every time I go to photograph something I always picture you kind of dancing tossing flower petals here and there whilst Sonia’s taken to just taking aim and throwing stuff at products with snarky comments about… well. The comments I don’t feel comfortable repeating them on your blog, not sure if it would recover from an Irish temper.
I just got some Cromollient SCE and I’m so excited to try some new cleansing oils, and with winter and dry weather looming/already here (depends on the day, haha) I’m thinking I’ll try some milder cleansing oils/balms as well. I do follow my cleansing up with a boatload of hydrating serums and layers, so I don’t tend to notice if they’re mildly drying—super drying, definitely, but mild drying is quickly drowned haha.
Tried this recipe , but did 17g of castor and 67g of olive. I then added 2g of glycerin. Found this super gentle. I had tried the green tea oil recipe and loved it, but found it a tad drying as well. I’m not sure if it’s because I tilted the oils or because of adding the glycerin, but I found it left a silky moisturized feeling in my face and no drying.
P.s. I am LOVING your blog. Your recipes are really inspiring, and I’ve learned so much. Thanks for sharing your recipes☺
Oooh, cool! I do need to try some “weaker” (lower percentage emulsifier) cleansing oils/balms, especially in the midst of this super dry winter. Thanks so much for reading and DIYing with me!
Hi Marie, slightly off topic, but only slightly… if I wanted to make a cleansing paste, as in something that can be squeezed out of a tube like toothpaste, would I simply add more emulsifying wax to this?
As usual, I’m going to try and report back, but also as usual I’d like to have your thoughts.
If you want to try a cleansing paste, start here! 🙂 Mine is just on the verge of paste, depending on the ambient temperature any given day 🙂
Definitely the right recipe to start with to create a paste, it is rather thick, thanks! I am trying to somewhat replicate this lovely (and costly!!!) product https://eu.100percentpure.com/collections/masks/products/purity-facial-cleanser-mask, even though I do realize their version has soap and is water based. However, I have very dry skin, so having something similar in cleansing paste form is probably a good idea 🙂
Good luck and happy formulating!
I love cleansing oils and can’t wait to try this. I don’t have olivem 300 or polysorbate 80. Anything else I can use? Would cyclomethicone work? Thank you!
You’ll need an emulsifier, and cyclomethicone is not at all an emulsifier. If you love cleansing oils I’d recommend getting olivem300 or polysorbate 80; the polysorbate is inexpensive, and you’ll definitely use it!
I’ve been using cleansing oil and microfibre to wash my face for about 7 years. It never occurred to me to add an emulsifier. I made this recipe with Polawax and some pre-infused calendula oil leftover from another project. I find the creamy consistency of this cleansing oil more user friendly then liquid cleansing oil and will be adding emulsifiers to all my cleansing oils from now on.
Yay! I’m so glad you’re enjoying it 😀 Woo!
Hi! I just love your recipes and cleansing oils! I want to use SCI or coco betaine instead of polysorbate or Olivem300. But because SCI and coco betaine are anionic, are the substitutes advisable?
Those substitutes are un-adviseable because they are water soluble—they will not mix with a cleansing oil 🙂
I just made the Calendula Cleansing Oil and am in LOVE! My skin is loving it!
Yay! I’m so glad 🙂 Thanks for making with me!
Hi Maria,
Just ordered the emulsifying wax and polysorbate 80 to make this for my nieces. I love cleansing balms but they think they are too oily for their skin.
This maybe just what they need. Can the Cleanser be used around the eyes too?
Also if I reduce the castor oil amount down and increase the infused oil by the same amount would that be OK as I would like to make one for a friend who has very dry skin.
Thank you so much, love your blogs and your videos.
If you leave out the EOs you can definitely use it around the eyes (I use it around-ish the eyes with them, but wouldn’t use it to remove eye makeup), and yes, you can adjust the balance of castor oil with another liquid oil to tone it down a bit 🙂 Thanks for reading and DIYing with me!
Hello Marie, i just made calendula cleansing oil. But i did change some ingredients. I used olivem 1000 instead emulsifying wax, polisorbate 80 instead olivem 300, castor oil and infused calendula in olive oil. And the rest is the same. The result is a very thick liquid, its like honey. I think its because of the olivem 1000.
Can you tell me your comments.
It should be thick, but more like runny honey than thick, creamed honey. If it’s too thick, I would blame the olivem1000.
I did it again because i realy loved it, its a pleasure washing your face with it. And it became thick again, but its beautiful like this. I wish i could send you a picture.
Oh wonderful! I’m so glad you’re enjoying it 🙂 Thanks for DIYing with me!
Hi Maria,
My products arrived and yesterday I made the product but this morning it is very thick and has stuck to the sides of my bottle. Some little bubbles and a bit powdery looking. There is a thick glob of Cleanser sitting at bottom.
I am wondering if my emulsifier is wrong. I used a wax with cerebral Alcohol/peg-20 stearate, plus I used polysorbate 80.
Perhaps with this wax I should use less or is this wax the wrong one. My wax is made by Biorigins in the UK.
Many thanks
Angela
Hmm. I’ve never worked with that emulsifying wax before, but I can see it’s powdery, so that may explain the powdery-ness of the final product. The product should still work if shaken up before use, though 🙂
Thank you off to try it now. Quite excited I just bought your book and can’t wait to start reading.
Wonderful, thank you so much! Enjoy and I hope you make the whole rainbow 🙂
I made this using the same wax since its hard to get emulsifying wax NF here, I also used the Polysorbate, and I found a similar issue. Mine went milky and quite thick, like custard almost, and that was an issue because I had it in pump bottles.
I tried it again but swapped the ratio for the wax and polysorbate and its much better, still a little too thick for a pump bottle but would probably be quite nice for a squeezy tube. But it emulsifies and rinses away beautifully – I used lavender and neroli in mine and it smells gorgeous.
Try dropping the amount of wax and upping the polysorbate, that seems to be the trick with this wax.
Thanks so much, Paz!
Hi Pay,
Interesting I will try again reversing quantities, have tried a couple of different recipes using different oils.
Thank you
Can I just use all olivem 300?
Also I purchased some olivem300 that is solid flakes, have you seen this product? Know anything I can use I for?
You can, but I do find it rather pricey to constantly wash down the drain, and the end product will be a bit drooly. Olivem300 should not be solid flakes, though—that sounds like Olivem1000 to me!
Hi Marie
I don’t have access to polysorbate 80 or olive 30 . I just have emulsifying wax nf. Can increase the percentage of e-wax to substitute polysorbate or olivem ?
I’d recommend referring to this recipe 🙂
hi Marie, I looked thru your substitutions for Olivem 300 but didn’t see any.. thoughts on subbing something else? Thank you!
Polysorbate 80 will work really well here 🙂
Just slightly unrelated question: Can you use the calendula petals for anything else after you’ve used up the soaking oil? could you possibly use them in a bar soap recipe? PS thank you for all your great recipes, you have me hooked!!
They’re rather “spent” after being infused—I’d just compost them 🙂
Hi. I only have olivem1000 on hand.Can i use just that? Thank you.
You can use it for the complete emulsifying wax, but not the Olivem300. Refer to the substitutions list for more information 🙂
Thanks a ton for all your work. Keep going! But can you let me know why is my oil cleanser self emulsifying from the bottle itself? I used the same olivem 300 and emulsifying wax nf. It would be really appreciated x
Hey Sara! It isn’t emulsifying (unless you added water)—it’s likely just getting cloudy, which is possibly an ambient temperature thing, and partly the reason I moved away from making cleansing oils this way. Check out this formulation for an updated approach 🙂 In the meantime, it still works fine; just shake before use. Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
whenever i make this it turns out slightly murky, with little clumps of bubbles in it. first time i thought it was because i had maybe contaminated it with a little bit of water , but i definitely didn’t second time round. could it be because i’m using turkey red oil instead of the olivem 300?
[sorry for spamming you with questions, i’m just loving your site so much and am slowly working my way through a large chunk of your recipes. i really appreciate your no-nonsense scientific approach, i’m learning so much. thank you!]
It could be, though I’ve also found that this one gets a bit cloudy over time, and I suspect it has to do with the calendula infusion, though I haven’t chased it down any more than that at this point. Apologies I don’t have a more scientific answer for you at this point!
no worries, that is helpful! i’ll try again with my newly acquired polysorbate 80 to see if that works. if not, i’ll point the finger at my chamomile oil.
Fingers crossed & happy making!
I made this with the Milliard emulsifying wax pastilles, Polysorbate 80, and 10g of store bought infused calendula oil and 54g plain olive oil, and my end product looked like a clear yellowish liquid, but after bottling its a little grainy. Its still definitely a liquid, but has little specks. Did I need to heat the emulsifying wax longer? Or did I heat it too long? What could cause this to happen?
I’ve found this happened to my version of this recipe after a few months; I suspect it is the differing density of the infused oil, and things generally settling out when left undisturbed. I wouldn’t worry about it, just shake before use 🙂
Thanks for the beautiful recipe, can I ask why poly 80 or Olivem 300 is necessary? Is the emulsifier enough or is the poly needed? Thanks!
They increase the cleansing power/rinse-off. You can try leaving them out, though it will make for a gentler/potentially less effective product 🙂
Hi Marie! I was just going over this recipe again, as I had made it before slightly modified and need to make more. It is so good!! I wanted to comment because you say to combine with water and massage onto face .. it’s my understanding that oil cleansers in general should be used plain on dry skin, massaged in (have to use enough so you’re not pulling on your skin) and then wash the oil off your hands and with damp hands start combining the water with the oil until the final rinse off with more water. That way the oil, dirt and grime has a chance to really stick to the oil before being emulsified. Anyway, I’m new to this just wanted to mention that’s what I’d heard. I love this recipe, thank you 😉
You can certainly do it that way if you want—I’ve used many different oil cleansers both ways and have never noticed any kind of performance difference using either method 🙂
Thanks! I’m making another batch tonight. I love how well this one washes off but I think the olive oil makes it quite greasy feeling… I made the lime in the coconut one and liked how it felt but not the wash off! Ha. Should be ok to switch or the olive oil for rice bran or fractionated coco oil, right? Thanks again!! BTW, wish I could go to the austin meetup but I have a class that eve! Arg! Y’all have fun.
You totally can! Any inexpensive liquid oil is a go for something like this 🙂
Bummer re: the meetup! If you have any thrift shop or vegetarian restaurant ideas I’m all ears 😀
Your timing with your Calendula formulations is perfect! I have a garden full of them and just completed my first oil infusion. I made this cleansing oil and love it! But I can never leave well enough alone so I played with it a bit. I wanted it to be a bit thicker, so I added .5 gram of stearic acid. It thickened it perfectly but after a few days oils are starting to weep out of the more solid parts. Any ideas? Should I have just added a touch more ewax? I’m trying to keep it gentle and non drying.
Also I tried adding foaming silk to see if I could add a touch of lather and it incorporated nicely. A few days later I noticed some separating of the oils from the more sold mass. ( I also used stearic acid in this batch) But now I am wondering if because the foaming silk is water soluble would the emulsion now need a preservative? Thank you for for all your wonderful work and making it user friendly for us. You are a treasure!
Hey Connie! So, for the first one—I eventually noticed something similar, so I would suspect it is actually the oil infusion, oddly enough, rather than the addition of the stearic acid. I’m not entirely sure why at this point in time—sorry! I did find that shaking and continuing on my merry way worked perfectly fine.
The foaming silk will contain water in it, so you’ll want to include a preservative. The separation is likely due to it not being a very stable emulsion, which makes sense—none of the emulsifiers in here are the type I’d choose to emulsify a small amount of water into a large amount of oil—both are “small amounts of oil in large amounts of water” emulsifiers/solubilizers. Once properly preserved I’m sure it’ll do fine as a shake-before-using thing, and it shouldn’t foam up much (if at all) given the low water content.
Happy making and thanks for being a patron!
hello Marie, thanks for all your videos it has really helped me a lot in skincare formulation. Please i like to know an emulsifier that I can use to emulsify small amount of water into large amount of oil. I want to make a body oil but would like to add water soluble extracts into it.Thanks
Thanks for the reply above. I have made this several times and really love it! But I’m having a problem, and the problem may just be part of the same issues I was having in my comment above. I live in a hot climate and above 85 (F) degrees or so it completely liquefies then when it cools down the solids stay separate and become chunky. Is there anything that I can add to keep it smooth and creamy? Should I just not use that little pinch of stearic acid I added? I just want this to be as perfect as possible because I am so impressed with it. Thank you again!
Hello Connie!
The joys of living in a different climate and DIY’ing. Here’s the handy guide for steaic acid ratios. Figured pass that on ASAP!
As for the climate and DIY’ing, that’s one of the hardest things to overcome. I’ve discovered altitude, humidity level, temp, and so much more plays a part. And even in the spring time with the pollen- it can make or break a otherwise stable emulsion. It’s all about toying with the liquid to solid ratios and trying to make something work. Adding additional ewax without compensating for that extra oomph of cleaning action, could ruin the product. It is a lot of trail and error to find the right combination of ingredients! Have you tried upping the emulsifying wax a wee bit and reducing the castor oil a wee bit?
Hi
Can i add a little bit of colloidal oatmeal into this formulation ?
Maybe 1-2%
Yup, that should work!
Thanks for reply
May i know what is the reason you use ewax in the formulation?
Coz if for emulsifying – olivem 300 can do the job
If for thickening, we can use cetyl alcohol.
Is there any special benefits using ewax?
It’s mostly a personal preference thing—I find a like a combination. You can refer to my most recent cleansing oil for something a bit different 🙂
Dear Marie I am just about to make that lovely recipe but I only have polysorbate 80 as there is no olivem 300 in UK. Will I be using PS80 at the same amount as Olivem300 as in recipe? Also recommend usage rate is 1-20% for PS80 so how I am gonna know how much I need for my future projects the more I add the thicker product will be? Thank you for all your help! Love love love your website! Kind regards Roksana
Hello Roksana!
I know! It is such a grrrrr to want a specific ingredient and not be able to find it. And Olivem300 was so cheap in China! I have actually made this formula using Poly 80 and using a combo of rice bran oil and wheatgerm oil. My skin does not like olive oil!
Happy making!
Barb
Hi Marie, I have a question: I made this product with some substitutions (Polysorbate 80 instead of Olivem 300, and grapeseed oil instead of olive oil). I made this as a half batch just to test. I heated everything over low heat, let it to set and it turned into a jelly texture. Once I was able to get it into my hand, the warm immediately turned it back into liquid form, additionally, if I run the bottle under hot water for a minute, I can get it back to a liquid state. Can you help me figure out what might have happened? It still feels amazing when I use it but what hoping it would store as a liquid.
Hiya Erin!
It’s all in the Ewax! Emulsifying Wax NF- as Marie’s link in the formula takes you to an Amazon page for Emulsifying Wax NF, contains some thickening agents! Check out the Encyclopedia page on Ewax-NF! I love finding the balance between various oils and ewax for various cleansers in a gel like consistency! Cool isn’t it?
Happy making!
Barb
Hello Marie !
Thank you for your wonderdul recipe !
I tried it today with Polawax and Polysorbate 80 the substitutions you mentioned, but my oil became solid i don’t understand why :/
Quite a trouble since i put it in a pump bottle, i’ll try to put it in lukewarw/warm water to make it liquid and put it in a jar as a cleansing balm but any ideas why it happened that way ?
You aren’t the first person to encounter this (read through some of the other comments to see!), but I’m still not sure what’s going on. This didn’t happen with mine, and I’ve made other cleansing oils with similar ratios that also haven’t done that. Weird!
Any suggestons for subbing out the Olivem 300 (which I’ve enjoyed working with) trying to avoid petrochems from the polyethelyne glycol part of the PEG ester. This formula was fabulous btw, I’m loving the lightly gel-like consistency, the easy easy wash-off, and that amazingly fresh scent that mixing lavender and lemon produces. This is a winner for me. But will go w/o the Olivem 300…..so will anything else benefit it ?
Perhaps Cromollient SCE (Di-PPG-2 Myreth-10 Adipate)? Most liquid solubilizer type things are PEG.
Mary,
I am looking for Olive ester (Olivem 300) that doesn’t contain ethylene oxide and 1,4 dioxane which are present as by products of Ethoxylation. I was able to find the vendors in UK and Australia but shipping is very steep $50 for $10 product. Do you know any supplier in USA.
I’d recommend reading this 🙂 No PEGs you find will be completely, 100% free of all traces of 1,4 dioxane, but it is a very well known contaminant and is very carefully controlled for.
Thanks for your reply. Yes I have seen like 10 ppm residue. However, I am still baffled how Australia and UK have it and not US. Is any supplier in US is preferred due to less residue than any other or all are same?
It’s honestly not a thing I’ve looked into at all; I’m not concerned about it.
Hi- what is the function of emulsifying wax here? can this oil be made without complete emulsifying wax? If yes was a cleanser that had only oils and olive ester, so just wondering. If yes, do I need to increase on Olivem 300 ratio?
Hi Marie! I would like to make this cleansing oil, but I do not have Olivem 300 or a suitable replacement. I am thinking of increasing the calendula infused olive oil by 5g and sticking with 10g e-wax NF. Would you recommend a different adjustment? Thank you so much!
That’s exactly what I’d do 🙂 Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
Sorry Marie but don’t have olivem or the polysorbate. Can this be omitted from the recipe and still have a product that is gentle to the skin. Is there something more natural that can be substituted? Thanks!
In this formulation, yes, you can drop it and replace it with more liquid oil 🙂 Happy making!
I love this! On my second try I tried to double this recipe and I think too much emulsifying waxed was used so my product turned solid. Is there anyway to reverse that or have it turn into liquid again?
Actually in reading comments above I’m wondering if the PS 80 was the issue as I did not have Olivem
Hello Marie!
I wanted to ask can i wash my face with running water instead of using microfibre cloth after using the cleansing oil?
Try it 🙂
Huh, mine set up as it cooled into a slightly grainy, very cloudy substance that’s about as thick as hand lotion. I used sweet almond oil that was close to expiring and didn’t infuse it. I used a drop of fragrance oil as well. I heated it in the microwave and removed it just before the ewax finished melting, like I always do when using the microwave. No other changes. It’s early September in Kentucky, so it’s not like it’s cold out or anything. It works; it turns to milk when rinsed off the skin. It’s just a weird appearance and consistency.
Responses/results like this are part of the reason I’ve moved away from using e-wax in cleansing oil formulations; check out this post for something a bit easier and also better 🙂
Hello Marie!
for the substitutions, is the amount the same? for example 5grams of polysorbate 80 in substitution for 5grams of olivem? does ordinary vitamin e suffice as well or does it have to be specifically the one you listed? also, what is the formulation? is the oil 85% and the other 15% the emulsifiers?