Today we’re creating a gentle Lavender Facial Cleansing Bar—a solid foaming facial cleanser with a skin-happy pH, creamy lather, and a lovely lavender scent. Several bees have sent in requests for another solid facial cleanser, with references to products from Cerave and Drunk Elephant. I’ve been testing this one for a while now, and I’m really excited to share it with you!
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The inspiration for this Lavender Facial Cleansing Bar is Cerave’s Hydrating Cleansing Bar. It’s a solid white syndet bar comprised primarily of Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI), stearic acid, and cetearyl alcohol. It also contains an amphoteric surfactant (Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine), hyaluronic acid, ceramides, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, and quite a lot of other ingredients— find the full list here. I tried a sample of the Cerave bar last year and really enjoyed it; it had a lovely low, creamy lather and didn’t leave my skin feeling tight or squeaky.
When I’m looking at creating an inspired-by sort of formulation I’m always trying to strike a balance between keeping things accessible (this usually means reducing the original ingredient count, selecting for more easily available ingredients) and trying new things that are inspired by the original product. This project is no different. One of the biggest changes I opted to make was dropping the hyaluronic acid and ceramides from my version; these ingredients are pretty dang expensive. If you want to include them you certainly can, but I prefer to save ingredients like that for leave-on products. I also swapped the amphoteric surfactant they used (Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine) for the more readily available Cocamidopropyl Betaine.
In the “trying new things” camp we have two things. Thing #1—incorporating a gum into the bar. Xanthan gum is the last ingredient in the original, after carbomer, and I was really intrigued by the idea of using a gum in a syndet bar. Xanthan can be a bit slimy, but in a solid bar, it could offer some structure and added slip. Interesting! Thing #2 was the incorporation of some salt, which is something I’ve also been playing with as part of a shampoo bar formulation I’ve been working on and testing since December. Lush’s “Seanik” shampoo bar contains salt (and a plant-based gel!), and that’s where I first got the idea. This facial cleansing bar is structured pretty differently from the shampoo bar I’ve been playing with, and I was curious to see how it worked here. Lush claims the addition of salt brings gentle cleansing and can help moisturize the skin. I’m not convinced I notice a huge difference between a syndet bar that’s 2–3% salt and one that isn’t, but I enjoy trying new things, and I really like how this bar performs. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts if you’ve experimented with salt and syndets!
The bulk of the bar is Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI), at 50%, which is the maximum rinse-off usage rate. For this project, I used a finely powdered Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) from New Directions Aromatics that they’ve since discontinued in favour of a larger chip format. If your Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) is in larger bits you can grind it up to create a finer powder, just make sure you’re wearing a dust mask that seals really well! Inhaling airborne powdered surfactants is unbelievably unpleasant.
Our Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) powder is moistened with some Cocamidopropyl Betaine and a glycerin/xanthan gum slurry and then bound together with a melted mixture of stearic acid, cetearyl alcohol, and BTMS-50. All that comes together to create a fairly liquidy mixture that we can add our essential oil (calming lavender) and the preservative (Optiphen Plus, selected for its higher heat tolerance) to before quickly moulding. I froze my little 25g bars for thirty minutes before unmoulding and leaving to dry for a day.
The resulting cleansing bar offers a gentle, creamy lather that leaves the skin feeling clean, but not tight. It also lasts an incredibly long time—as of this writing I’ve been using the same 25g bar twice a day for six weeks and it has barely shrunk at all! When made as written the pH of this facial cleansing bar is right around 5, which is great. I hope you enjoy this bar as much as I do 🙂
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Lavender Facial Cleansing Bar
Heated surfactant phase
0.5g | 1% xanthan gum
1g | 2% vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada)7.5g | 15% Cocamidopropyl Betaine (USA / Canada)
25g | 50% Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) (USA / Canada)
1g | 2% saltHeated oil phase
1g | 2% BTMS-50 (USA / Canada)
10g | 20% stearic acid (USA / Canada / UK)
3.25g | 6.5% cetearyl alcohol (USA / Canada)Cool down phase
0.25g | 0.5% lavender essential oil
0.5g | 1% Optiphen™ Plus (USA / Canada)Prepare 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 glycerin and xanthan gum into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Whisk to combine. Add the Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI), and salt, and stir to combine. Place the measuring cup in your prepared water bath to heat the mixture through.
Weigh the heated oil phase into a small saucepan and melt over low, direct heat.
Once the oil phase has melted, add it to the hot surfactant paste and stir to combine—it won’t be particularly inclined to at first, and that’s ok. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir/mash as it cools. As the mixture cools the oils will integrate.
When the mixture has cooled noticeably (it should be less than 80°C) and has thickened but is still somewhat pliable, mash in the cool down phase ingredients and pack the paste into your mould. Freeze for at least half an hour before unmoulding and leaving to dry for about 24 hours before using. I find they lose ~1% of their weight in about 20 hours, and a further 0.1–0.2% after 48 hours. If left for two weeks the bar can lose up to 3% of its weight, but considering the first third of that is achieved in the first 6% of those two weeks… roughly 24 hours seems to be more than enough.
To use, simply rub the bar between wet palms as you would with a bar of soap, and wash your face as usual. Be sure to let the bar dry between uses; it will start to soften and melt if left to sit in a puddle. Enjoy!
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this cleanser both contains and will regularly come into contact with water, you need to include a broad-spectrum preservative to ward off microbial growth. This is non-optional. Even with a preservative this project may eventually spoil as our kitchens are not sterile laboratories, so in the event you notice any change in colour, scent, or texture, chuck it out and make a fresh batch.
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 50g.
- 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 could try guar gum instead of xanthan gum
- Propanediol would work instead of vegetable glycerine
- You could replace the salt with more stearic acid or cetearyl alcohol
- I don’t recommend substituting the Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI)
- You could try a different liquid amphoteric surfactant instead of the Cocamidopropyl Betaine
- If you’d like to learn more about the surfactants used and compare them to ones you might already have so you can make substitutions, check out this page.
- You could replace the BTMS-50 with BTMS-25; I would use 4% BTMS-25 and 4.5% cetearyl alcohol. If you wish to eliminate the cationic element, replace the BTMS-50 with more cetearyl alcohol.
- I don’t recommend swapping out the stearic acid or cetearyl alochol; if you do, be prepared to re-develop the formula.
- You can use a different essential oil or fragrance.
- If you’re like to use a different preservative, please review this page.
I have gotten used to double washing in the evening to remove makeup. So would I use this bar first or as the second wash?
I haven’t tried this specific syndet bar, but I use Drunk Elephant syndet bar and I use it for second wash. I use Camelia seed oil as my first wash and Drunk Elephant bar as my second. I think the syndet bar would take makeup off though. The only reason I use camelia oil as first wash is that I like to take makeup off before I jump in the shower. But if you are just washing your face, you most likely can just wash your face with a syndet bar and skip the second wash.
I would confirm that this specific syndet bar can be used around eyes. Drunk Elephant bar can be used around eye area. If Lavender Facial Cleaning Bar can, than you can use it to remove makeup (including around eyes).
I’d say this bar is just as eye-compatible as the DE bar would be—both are primarily anionic surfactants, so you wouldn’t want to get either one *in* your eyes 🙂
This would be your second (foaming) wash—first wash is usually an oil cleanser 🙂 Happy making!
I would like to add colloidal oatmeal to this recipe, what do you suggest I take away to do so? Also, if I want to leave it unscented, what would I change?
Could this be used as both a facial bar and a shampoo bar? The ph is about right….
In theory, yes, but I think you might find it a bit soft for a shampoo bar. Try it and see what you think 🙂
Thank you Marie, I couldn’t remember if it was 2:1 or not, that’s great. I wasn’t going to use it for this project 🙂 but I do like having it handy in the freezer.
Going to try this at the weekend along with your Grounding Ointment. I love Patchouli, Lavender and Benzoin, my sister could use some de-stressing and calming at the moment, so will make a tin for her too. Hopefully it will work with cerabelina, as I can’t find any fruit wax here.
Thanks again for your help Marie:-)
Happy making! 😀
Hi Mary, this its the second time i made this cleanser and im not sure if im doing something worg but the soap its not as hard as a bar, i mean its like a bit soft, soft enough to press it with you hands and smash it, when its dry for about 2 weeks, its this the way the cleanser should be??,
No, that’s much softer than it should be. Do you live somewhere really hot?
yes, i live in a really hot area, a tropical place with about 70% Rh an 29 °C the lowest temp
I’m so envious! We are currently having a lovely “warm spell” here… the high is 7°C for today and I am far too happy about that! I think the high humidity and heat in your area is likely what is causing these to be soft; I’d recommend referring to this FAQ for some ideas on re-formulating for a harder bar. Happy making!
Love, love, love this! That’s lot of love.
Having just tried Ethique, new brand into UK…keen to experiment and now I have a guide ☺
Happy experimenting! 😀
This is wonderful! I’m currently purchasing lavender cleansing bars from a lady who makes them in a small shop in rural Virginia. And I LOVE them. My skin has never been better.
I’m fully convinced that commercial products add harmful additives so that your skin constantly needs what they’re selling. It means more profit for them. How do they profit if their product actually fixes what it claims?
After reading this, I might have to consider making our own right here at home. Thank you so much! ♥ Many blessings to you & yours.
Thanks, and happy making!
I’m not sure I agree that “commercial products add harmful additives so that your skin constantly needs what they’re selling”. There are a lot of products out there, so it’s hard to make blanket statements, but for a lot of skin-care things, your skin continually has those needs—for cleansing, moisturizing, etc. For needs like that, it’s a lot like eating; it’s normal that you get hungry again after eating, just like it’s normal that your skin will get dirty or dry again. That said—there are also plenty of things out there that one shouldn’t be putting on their skin, and those things absolutely WILL make it worse (this is an awesome resource to learn more, especially about high pH products)! On that side of things, though, I’m not sure that would increase sales unless the user couldn’t identify where the problem was coming from… though of course, that is totally possible. Something that seems to help at the moment of application but eventually leads to long-term irritation or dryness could definitely cause a problematic loop. This wouldn’t necessarily be poor or malicious formulating, though; I know I can’t use certain fermented ingredients without my skin breaking out, but for other people, they’re absolute miracle-workers! My face is perfectly fine with fragrance and essential oils while I know they are complete deal-breakers for other people. In cases like that, it’s best to know what you’re sensitive to so you can specifically avoid those things. I suppose I don’t think such things would be an intentional/malicious sales strategy—just more about either poorly formulated products (like high pH cleansers or overly aggressive physical scrubs) or personal sensitivities to things. I may be too optimistic, though 🙂
From a regulation/categorization standpoint, skincare products can’t “fix things” in the permanent sense. In that case, they’d be drugs, not skincare products/cosmetics. Accutane, for instance, can cure acne over the long-term, but it’s a pretty serious drug that dramatically changes the way your body functions. Skincare doesn’t change the way your body/skin functions, so it cannot permanently fix/change anything. If your body is predisposed to produce large amounts of sebum, that’s just how your body works, and no skincare product, homemade or otherwise, is going to permanently change that 🙂 I hope that makes sense! For further reading I’d recommend The Eco Well, Lab Muffin, and Cosmetics Info.
I made this last week and have been using it for a few days now – my skin absolutely loves it! Yesterday I used it to double-cleanse and my skin felt comfortable after, and did not feel stripped of moisture. I was once told by a colleague that it’s a custom in Japan to occasionally not apply moisturiser after cleansing as they believe in allowing the skin to do it’s work naturally. I’ve woken up this morning with fresh supple skin.
I swapped out the glycerin for a rose hip and hibiscus glycerite that I made. I want to include more herbs next time I make it.
It’s very solid too, so I can see it lasting some time.
I’m so thrilled to hear in, Kachie! Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
Interesting product! Two questions:
1) When replacing BTMS-50 how much Cetearyl alcohol would you use?
2) Would you add a bit of oil/butter to make it more moisturising?
I often wonder about moisturizers in soap and face washes. It seems that there would be no time for them to soak into my skin since I soap-up for 30 seconds and down the drain they go. It also seems that when extra moisturizers are added, there appear extra ingredients on the list that probably help to bind and preserve, etc. And I’d rather not use what is not necessary. I am curious to hear other feedback, but I’d save moisturizing ingredients for serums or lotions.
I tend to agree 🙂 When creating a cleanser I usually aim to ensure it is as gentle/not-drying as possible, but I leave true moisturizing up to leave-on things 🙂
Hi Marie
I am a little confused with mixing different charged surfactants
with conditioningg emulsifiers.
I thought one cannot mix anionic surfactants (eg slsa, sci…etc) with cationic emulsifiers/surfactants (eg btms, polyquat 7… etc), because they will separate? Have I got this right? How would one then benefit from the cationic conditioning properties while maintaining the cleansing power of anionic surfactants especially when making bars requires some form of powdered surfactant (which is usually anionic right?)
So is it true that they can’t be mixed? And if so what in your formula here is making them play well together? Or is it a different trick that makes that two opposite charges live happily in a formula?
1) I’d use a 1:1 replacement, especially since the amount is quite low
2) No. In addition to Valentina’s point, both stearic acid and cetearyl alcohol are quite emollient (stearic acid is present in high amounts in many butters), and with the swap you want to make this bar is already 28.5% skin-softening things 🙂
Ooh, I love lavender, and really want to try this. Would you consider it good for all skin types please Marie?
In the past, you made a paste of SCI and Amphosol CG to keep in the freezer, and scoop out for recipes. It did save time. Could you please tell me what the percentages were (I made it but have lost my notes, and would like to make more)?
Thanks Marie, I look forward to Monday and Thursday purely to see what you have come up with. Love the sound of this one 🙂
Thanks, Pauline! I believe that paste was 2 parts Cocamidopropyl Betaine to 1 part Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI)—not suitable (or necessary) for this project 🙂 Given this cleanser is gentle and pH balanced I’d think it would work for all types of skin, but of course, everyone’s skin is different, and nothing is likely to work for everyone 🙂 Happy making!
Hi Marie and thank you so very much for the wonderful work that you do, very inspiring to my creative mind.
I make my own shampoo bars which I use as a facial wash as well, which are just perfect for the skin. I used to use the surfactant Cocamidopropyl Betaine until I read the MSDS on the one that I bought and it said that it was toxic to marine life as it did not breakdown and continued to steal the oxygen in the water.
I was not happy about that so I switched it out for Coco Glucoside and what a wonderful difference! For some reason it was way more bubbly, my hair was a lot softer and a lot less of my hair fell out when washing, which I did notice switching to shampoo bars and it was also just as nice on the skin.
I did have to adjust the pH with Citric Acid. FYI, my shampoo bars are syndet with SCI and SLSA as the other surfactants.
Thank you again for your inspiring work which is admired by many, you Goddess you 🙂
Hello Ms Julie Cole!
I love learning about ingredients! Thank you for letting me know. Can you provide the links for where you found this information? I’m always keen to find ways to reduce my carbon footprint and reduce my impact on the environment but want to make sure the information is factual!
Happy making
Barb
The timing of this is absolutely perfect – I’ve been comparing facial cleansing bars online (including the cerave one) and debating whether or not to buy one… Now I can make my own! Thanks so much 🙂
I was wondering about your note on substituting the cetearyl alcohol. In other recipes and the encyclopedia you recommend using cetyl alcohol and/or a blend of cetyl alcohol and stearic acid. I don’t have cetearyl Alcohol, but do have the other two.
Is there a certain reason you recommend not swapping the cetearyl alcohol in this recipe?
Hmm. From where I’m sitting now, I’m not really sure, ha. I’m thinking it’s because it could impact the solid-ness, and that’s important, but I wouldn’t think it’d be a dealbreaker. *Shrug*, I guess? Give it a go and let me know!
Thank you for sharing.
I made a batch yesterday and they are slightly slimy and attracting moisture. Also, my face feels a bit tight after using , almost like it has a film on it.
Any tips on how to make the bars harder and less sweaty?
Thank you x
How… novel! Hmm. Did you make any substitutions? Do you live somewhere very humid? How long did you let them dry before use?
Hi,
i love these bars except for the fact that they are so soft. I have made several small batches following your recipe exactly and the bars just aren’t hard enough. Can you advise what i could add/amend to make this a hard bar please.
I’d check out this formulation as an alternative, it’s much harder 🙂
I use the liquid version of this cleanser from cerave so when I saw this, I had to give it a try. Very nice recipe! Leaves my face clean feeling without any irritation. I have some ridiculously sensitive skin too. I added lavandin EO and the whole thing is just lovely! Thank you so much for this formula.
I’m so thrilled to hear it! Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
Thank you for your very clear instructions and definitions. Trying this out today for the first time, would love to know if you have some type of calculator available for bigger batches. If successful I’d really like to gift them to my girlfriends over the holidays 🙂
Hey Lori! Please read the first point in the substitutions list at the end of the formulation 🙂 Happy making!
Could you use JEEQUAT NDCS-POWDER (INCI Name: Cetyl alcohol, behentrimonium chloride, cocamidopropyl betaine, sorbitan laurate) instead of BTMS-50?
If so, would we reduced the cocamidopropyl betaine?
Thanks!
You could try it; I wouldn’t reduce the Cocamidopropyl Betaine given it is just a tiny element of this possible alternative 🙂
I made a batch of these for myself and liked them so much I immediately made another batch (and quadrupled the batch). I didn’t have cetearyl alcohol, and used cetyl alcohol instead. They were very hard and came out great. I gave one to my super-picky 25-year-old daughter who usually doesn’t like my hand-made products and she loved it and asked for me! That is a huge compliment!
I’m so thrilled to hear it! Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
Hi Marie. This is so cool and convenient as body wash! I need to melt it again and use more heat to get uniform texture. I allready know by experience that my skin (oily, psoriasis and acne) typically loves these ingredients in a cleanser!
I’m currently testing other cream cleansers/ shower creams as well. So I’ll report back as usuall!
Ooooh, fun! I’ve been using the dregs of mine to clean makeup brushes and it works beautifully for that, too 😀 Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
Great tip, thanks Marie! Right now I like this more than some other creamy body washes: more slip, more lather, much easier to use and inexpencive. Otherwise it feels similar.
I’ve also used this as a single step facial cleanser lately – it’s simply amazing. It’s great to have something like this on hand when I have bad skin days quite often. I noticed that my acne areas heal more quickly than usually when I use this – propably because it’s so slippy/ non abrasive and I don’t need double cleasing step thanks to fatty acids? Obviously I need to use this longer to fully see how it’s like.
Btw, after tweaking it’s solid enough to be stored in shower. And much prettier, not crumbly texture. Making process was a mess, so I’m glad that this bar lasts so long time.
face & body cleasing bar, acne prone skin
1 g HEC (I hydrated it in glycerin + amphosol mix)
2 g glycerin
7,5 g amphosol
25 g sci
1 g salt
2 g btms 25
1,5 g cetearyl alcohol
10 g stearic acid (+ 1-2 grams added afterwards)
0,25 g lavender eo
0,5 g geogard cosgard 221
1 g (2 %) active decalact sebum
Finally ran out of my face wash so making these tonight. I’m thinking of substituting the salt for activated charcoal.
Oooh let me know how it turns out! Happy making 🙂
Ok Marie, read the whole blog & didnt find so here it goes; if I wanted to add the ceramides & HLA, how would I? Would I use the powder or solution HLA? Finally. I want to color these with rosehip powder. Any suggestions? Many Thanks as usual!
I honestly wouldn’t; I think it would be a waste of the ceramides & the HLA, and the rosehip powder will turn brown on you in a matter of days or weeks—something more stable (like mica) would be a better choice. If you still really want to, read this 🙂 Happy making!
I actually made this with rosehip powder and the bars were lavender and stayed that way. Pretty true to the theme!!!
Hooray! 😀
Hi Marie! This is the first facial bar of yours that I’ve made. I absolutely love the way it makes my skin feel, but I broke out after starting to use it. Clearly that’s not a common reaction, but I was wondering do you have any inklings on what might be a likely candidate for causing it? I’m going to continue to experiment and try to narrow it down, but was hoping to cut a few experiments out with some educated guesses! Thanks so much for all the great tutorials! I’m absolutely loving making my own products!
This has to be my favorite recipe on your entiralye blog. I actually just made them again adding 10 grams of coco glucoside and increasing the vegetable glycerin to 10 grams to make room for 2 grams of carrot powder I added. I then used a blend of benzoin, carrot, ginger co2 and bergamot e.o.’s and these smell HEAVENLY. The only thing I would wish for is that they have more lather and a bit more silkiness to them. They tend to come out a bit lumpy and do leave my skin a tinch dry – perhaps the addition of some butter? I do love them though and in my hello kitty molds they are adorable. Anymore cleansing bar recipes on the horizon?
Hi Marie—do you have any tips on refining the texture of the bar itself? So it comes out a bit smoother? Thanks!
Not yet, though I will be sharing a similar-ish bar in the near future that comes out looking more polished 🙂
I’ve been wondering how to incorporate goat milk powder into a bar recipe to make a creamy cleansing bar but realize there may be solubility issues. Have you posted something like this? Do you plan to?
My concern with milk powder is more around shelf life than solubility; it should dissolve fairly easily with the water used to work up a lather.
I made this bar to use in the shower. It works fine there too. The stearic acid ensures that it is solid enough and does not melt too quickly. So great. Thank you Marie!
Thanks so much for sharing, Greet!
I really love the recipe! Would it work using a push up tube? Thanks!!
You’d have to try it and find out 🙂 Happy making!
Hello!
Any special type of salt is used or is the one used for cooking?
Plain ol’ NaCl—table salt 🙂
Hey Marie!
I’m rying to formulate a face cleansing bar with Yucca Powder. I checked out your Yucca & Clay wash which seemed amazing, but I really want a face bar. This is the closest I’ve found to ingredients I like!
Could I substitute these surfactants with Yucca Powder (around 50%???)
I don’t recommend it, in large part because yucca smells gross. I also think you’d encounter quite a lot of structural and stability challenges. You can certainly try it, but you’ll be fully in re-development territory!
Hello Marie,
I want to ask if we can add oils or butters to this recipe to make it and give good moisture to the skin while cleansing , what do u suggest ?
If you want a cleanser with lots of fat in it, I recommend something like this 🙂 Trying to take this formulation and change it in that way is a bit like starting with a recipe for a steak and then trying to make it vegan—the fundamental end goal is so different that you are better off starting with that in mind 🙂 Happy making!
I prefer the texture f melt and pour syndics to pressed syndics. Would love to see you do a melt and pour version of this.
You have so much information here I am able to start formulating my own version of male grooming products for my home use.
Thank you.
Sorry – syndets not syndics.