I love this fragrant, creamy stick of cleansing goodness. I took the first version with my to New Zealand, where I spent much of my time on the road, camping somewhere new each night, and this stick was brilliant. I was so happy to have something I could use quickly and easily, without worrying about spilling or leaking. If you’ve got some travels on your horizon, or are simply trying to streamline your skincare routine as much as possible, I highly recommend giving this stick form cleansing balm a go!
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The idea for this cleansing balm in stick form came about when I realized I felt like my fingers were unnecessarily complicating matters when I was using my Forest Cleansing Balm. I’d taken to picking up a small amount of it, massaging that into dry skin, and wiping it off with a damp microfibre cloth, and I got to thinking the whole process could be streamlined if I could just hold the cleansing balm straight up to my face and go from there.
I made several changes to my existing cleansing balm formulas—it wasn’t quite as simple as pouring a regular recipe straight into a tube, though that’s not too far off! My first change was making a slightly thicker, sturdier product. I wanted it to still melt readily on contact with the skin, but I didn’t want it to be finger-scoopable soft.
Change #2 was dropping clay. Clay isn’t a standard cleansing balm ingredient, but I sure like it. However, in order to pour this smoothly into a tube it has to be hot—hot enough that I found the clay didn’t stay in suspension well, and as I was using the balm in New Zealand I kept finding random streaks of clay throughout it.
The final change was the inclusion of a broad spectrum preservative. I couldn’t guarantee my skin would always be dry when using it, and it was easy enough to include 0.5% liquid germall plus. I chose liquid germall plus because this balm, while anhydrous, contains several emulsifiers (so it’ll blend in thoroughly despite being water soluble), and we want the preservative to take up residence in any water that might be introduced, rather than hang out in the oil part of the balm.
I chose the Ginger Oak Moss scent combination because I’ve been in love with it ever since making my Ginger Silk lotion last year. I’ve still got a bit left (I’ve been hoarding it next to my bed as my pre-sleep-treat) and I didn’t want to run out of gingery oak-mossy things in my life! You are certainly free to choose a different scent combination if you like, but I’m a massive fan of all things oak moss, and adding a touch of bright spice is divine. Swoon!
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Ginger Oak Moss Cleansing Balm Stick
Heated Phase
2.5g | 10% Polawax (USA / Canada))
2g | 8% Polysorbate 80 (USA / Canada)
10.6g | 42.5% safflower oil
2.75g | 11% castor oil (USA / Canada)
4.75g | 19% stearic acid (USA / Canada / UK)
2g | 8% cetyl alcohol (USA / Canada)Cool Down Phase
0.125g | 0.5% vitamin E oil
0.125g | 0.5% Liquid Germall Plus™ (USA / Canada) (or other broad spectrum preservative of choice at recommended usage rate [why?])
0.125g | 0.5% essential oils0.05g | 1 drop oak moss absolute
0.05g | 2 drops CO2 extracted ginger essential oil
0.025g | 1 drop michelia alba (white champaca) 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.
After about 20–30 minutes everything should be completely melted through. Remove the water bath from the heat, remove the measuring cup from the water bath, and dry it off with a dish towel. Stir with a flexible silicone spatula to incorporate.
Once the melted balm has cooled to below 50°C (122°F), stir in the cool down phase ingredients and pour the balm into a 30g (1oz) push-up tube (USA / Canada). Let it set up. Once it has fully solidified and is uniform in colour you’re ready to go!
Substitutions & Scaling
- 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 25g.
- You can use a different complete emulsifying wax instead of the Polawax. You cannot use beeswax!
- You can use Olivem300 (not 1000—it’s solid, not liquid!) instead of Polysorbate 80
- You can use a different inexpensive, relatively light oil instead of the safflower oil. This is also a good place to use up liquid oils that are nearing the end of their shelf lives.
- You can reduce the amount of castor oil and make it up with more safflower oil to slightly reduce the cleansing power.
- You can use a different blend of essential oils or leave the balm unscented
- Use a different recipe if you want to use wax instead of stearic acid and cetyl alcohol
- You can likely replace the cetyl alcohol with more stearic acid, but I wouldn’t try the reverse
Super apologizes, I watched the video and read through the blog and I can’t figure out where you got the plastic tube from.
It’s linked right in the instructions, directly after the mention of the tube 🙂
I don’t have michelia alba (white champaca) essential oil.. What else can I use
Thanks Angelina
Nothing, really—it’s extremely unique. You can just leave it out, though 🙂
What a great idea to use in a tube like lip balm. I need to find some of those large ones! Happy New Year!
It makes the balm so much easier and faster to use—I’m sold! The tubes are linked in the instructions, too 🙂
What a great idea! I gotta make this and I actually have been holding onto that same little plastic stick that you use.
Don’t have the oak moss, still. The only place I’ve seen it is Piping Rock and I won’t buy from that company.
You make me want oak moss :'(
Update…. I just ordered Oakmoss and am so excited. With my Christmas gift card money, I’ve been buying the more expensive oils. I feel like, “this must be how the wealthy folk feel, all the time.”. I got it from Bio Source Naturals, if anyone else is looking for it. And reads this comment.
Love ya, Marie!
WOOHOO! I hope you love it to bits 😀
The stick is a total game changer for me—so easy for travel and removes at least one hand washing from my nightly routine (which typically has at least 5 haha)!
I love the idea of a stick cleanser but don’t really understand where the cleansing comes in as there aren’t any surfactants. does it work like a cleansing oil in that case?
A cleansing balm is a blend of oils and butters that includes oil-soluble emulsifiers. Emulsifiers are surfactants, but the ones we’re using here don’t lather up into the fluffy bubbles you might think of when you think about surfactants. These emulsifiers allow us to easily combine the oil cleanser with the water we’re washing our faces with. The oil and the oil-loving end of the emulsifiers will dissolve the gunk on our face, and the water-loving end of the emulsifiers will carry it all down the drain all nice and non-greasy like. This gives us an effective cleanser with a clean rinse-off—double win!” 🙂
Hi Marie:
This looks like a beautiful recipe and I would love to try it.
I do not have Polysorbate 80 nor Olivem300, what can I use to substitute it? I have read though your FAQ and Encyclopedia for answer first but my search was fruitless. Thanks for your many inspiring tutorials.
Emily
You should be able to use Cromollient SCE or water soluble shea butter, but I’m not sure you’ll have either of those things, either. If you’re interested in DIYing I would recommend getting a solubilizer type ingredient like Polysorbate 80, they’re very useful and versatile!
Thanks for your suggestion, I do not have SCE nor water soluble shea butte, I will get Polysorbate 80 from windy point with my next order. Just curious, will the recipe fail without it or its still work but not as good? since Polysorbate 80 is an emulsifier, can I increase polawax to compensate?
Emily
It won’t rinse off or cleanse as well; I don’t ever recommend using something solid in place of something liquid as it will make for a harder end product and raise the melting point, which we don’t want to do here 🙂
Dear Marie, yesterday I’ve made your Cleansing Balm Stick – just like in your recipe – and I have to say: this stuff is AMAZING!!! First I thought this balm will never ever harden up…but than…it was…like magic and suddenly it hardened up 🙂 After cleansing, my face was soooooooo super soft, like a baby bottom!!! This balm is a bit like the oil cleansing method – but your balm is a hundred times better, because you don’t have sticky oil everywhere on your face and hands. I’m so glad that I found your website. Last year I bought your book and was so happy to find it here in Germany where I live. It’s beautifully designed and the recipes are fantastic! I want to thank you for your effort, your time, your research and that you share all your recipes with all of us :))))
And yes of course I have a question 😉
What amount of castor oil in percent do you recommend for very very dry skin?
YAY, I am so glad! I have definitely been enjoying being a bit lazier, and not having to get my hands involved as much 😀 Thank you so much for reading, buying my book, and DIYing with me! 🙂
If you have super dry skin I’d probably replace all the castor oil with more safflower oil; the emulsifiers do the majority of the cleansing so you don’t need any castor oil 🙂
this recipe is perfect for my skin, but the next balm is a gift for my sister who has very dry skin… so thank you very much Marie :*
What a lucky lady! 🙂
Hi, Marie! I love oak moss too, so I decided to try this scent blend as a beard oil. I’m not sure I’m smelling the ginger enough, though. Your recipe specifies CO2 Ginger. Is a CO2 going to be stronger than a typical steam distilled EO? If so, how much more ginger EO should I use with the 1 drop of oak moss to get the scent you arrived at using the CO2? I’m using NOW Ginger Essential Oil, which is steam distilled from dried rhizome. Thank you.
CO2 ginger just smells way more like ginger. I find steam distilled ginger is rather muddy and limp in comparison, whilst CO2 is punchy and spicy and far more authentic. It’s not a matter of just using more—the scents are very different, and I do think the CO2 version is far superior.
Dear Marie, I’ve ordered a new broad spectrum preservative which is only available in Germany. The description says 2% preservative on 25 g product. In your recipe is only 0,5% preservative, so I have to change your recipe a bit.
My question is now: where do I have to take the difference of 1,5% from?
Can I take it away from the safflower or castor oil?
Is the preservative oil soluble or water soluble? In most recipes you would remove it from the largest component of whatever part it is soluble in, but in this recipe it would have to be the safflower oil 🙂
yes it’s oil soluble 🙂
thank you Marie, you’re the best!!!
Happy making!
Super dumb question, do I rub this balm onto dry face then add water or do I wet my face first and the rub it on?
I apply it to dry skin and wipe it off with a damp cloth 🙂
Hello!
Thank you for sharing this recipe, can’t wait to try this recipe! I have a couple questions:
What effect would leaving out the cetyl alcohol and stearic acid have on the end results?
Also can the Safflower and castor oils be replaced by something else like a jojoba oil for example?
Can Emulsimulse be use instead of Polawax?
Thank you in advance!
Hey! If you leave out the cetyl alcohol and stearic acid you will be making a cleansing glop instead of a cleansing balm stick—please don’t! Have you read the bulleted list of substitutions at the end of the recipe? Pretty much everything you have asked is covered there already 🙂
In the post, you mentioned that you didn’t use clay in this cleansing balm stick because you had difficulty suspending it. I was wondering if using colloidal kaolin clay would solve that issue- it binds with wetting agents and doesn’t sink to the bottom according to the supplier.
How interesting! That does look like it would probably work, and I really want some to play with 😛
I love this recipe! I love oil cleansing as my mature skin doesn’t like detergent or soap based cleansers. I hated using liquid oils as they ran in between my fingers and made a mess, plus they were hard to use when I travel. I love this stick version. It actually makes me want to clean my face at night. I did substitute some of the liquid oils for ones that I prefer, and I use lavender EO to scent it. I now have 3 tubes of it so that I never run out. Thank you!!!!!
Hello Merryn!
I KNOW! I hated the liquid oil cleansing stuff that everyone was on about, and when I first made Cold Snap, I was so hooked on cleansing balms! Then I discovered orange wax. And then I discovered adding clay balms. And nothing else has ever comes close to what my skin likes! My skin is on the mature end as well and I can’t get enough of the clay stuff! The tactile sensation and the lather is heavenly!
I absolutely love this cleanser. The first time I made it, it turned out perfect. The second time I made it, the top had an ashy, chalky finish on the top after it cooled. Do you know what would cause this reaction? Did it get too hot, or was it cooled too quickly?
Ohhh Brooke! That’s one fancy question you’ve got going on there!
I used to get the same results when I worked with stearic acid and cetyl alcohol in my emulsified sugar/salt scrubs. It turned out I was pouring them too hot! Continue to stir your product until it reaches a very light trace before pouring. Don’t forget to share your results on #humblebeeandme on Instagram!
Thank you Marie for sharing your knowledge! I know this is an old post, but I just found it! I have been trying to find a recipe for a stick face mask and I see on the top of this post, you used to have clay in the original recipe. Can you PLEASE share your original face mask recipe so I can make the cleaner AND the mask? Thank you so much.
Hi Sherry! You have misinterpreted the post—there is no face mask and there is no “original recipe” that is a face mask in a stick. Perhaps give it another read? 🙂
Hey Marie. Could I sub the stearic for beeswax?
I don’t recommend it—I find beeswax doesn’t wash off well in products like this, leaving a sticky, skiddy coating behind on the skin 🙁
Hi Marie, In a bid to reduce packaging, I was wondering if this would work as a stand alone bar/cleansing nugget or is it too soft? If that is the case and I wanted to make it a little more robust which ingredients would I need to increase?
Not sure if you ever tried this, but I can answer in case anyone else comes upon this post and has the same question!
I tried this to see if I liked the product enough to buy the packaging. It worked out, and the balm is lovely. But it is just a bit too soft to be ideal as a package-free nugget; it doesn’t squish or anything, it’s fully solid, but it feels slightly delicate rather than robust. I feel like I need to hold it very gently or I’ll get a lot of product on my hands.
I ended up buying a couple of tubes for my next batch.
To make it a bit harder, I’d probably try subbing a few percent of safflower oil for more stearic acid and cetyl alcohol. But you could get there by using a bit more of any of the solid ingredients and a bit less of either of the carrier oils. It already cleanses very well, so I wouldn’t increase the polysorbate 80.
Thanks, Rachel! I’d agree that more fatty thickeners would be the way to go 🙂