I’m loving this simple, glossy, honey-and-sunshine scented facial cleanser right now. It uses a new product that Windy Point has recently started carrying—a surfactant blend called Iselux Ultra Mild. Pre-blended surfactant products makes creating foamy/lathery things really easy, and I love the lather this particular blend produces (it’s really dense and fine—super luxurious!) so I thought we could make a few things with it. I’ve also provided plenty of alternatives later on in the post, but if you’re new to surfactants, a product like this is a fantastic place to start. We’re also continuing our sweetgrass theme using the stunning sweetgrass hydrosol from Plant’s Power, so you roll with the sweetgrass wonderfulness or easily make this cleanser differently (or un-) scented really easily.
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When working with surfactants we blend different charges (anionic/negative, non-ionic/no charge, and amphoteric/varying charge) to create a milder product. You’ll usually include at least two surfactants in any given product for this reason, and for anyone new to working with surfactants this can be a bit irksome as you need to buy at least two or three different surfactants to get started. This is where a pre-blended surfactant product like the one we’re using today can be super dang useful. Iselux Ultra Mild (INCI: Water, Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate, Cocamidoapropyl Betaine, Sodium Methyl Oleoyl Taurate, Lauryl Glucoside, Coco-Glucoside) is a blend of anionic, amphoteric, and non-ionic surfactants. It’s liquid, and it’s already nicely blended, so it’s crazy easy to work with. The recommended usage rate is 25–30%, but I’ve found it to be perfectly effective at lower usage rates.
If you don’t have Iselux Ultra Mild there are plenty of other pre-blended surfactant products available that you might want to look into if you’re new to working with surfactants but looking to dip a few toes into the sudsy fun. Two others are BSB Liquid Surfactant and Miracare Soft 313. What you’re looking for is, at a minimum, a combination of an anionic or non-ionic surfactant and an amphoteric surfactant. One (or more) of each is also great, but you want at least one amphoteric surfactant (usually Cocamidopropyl Betaine) and something else anionic or non-ionic. You’ll also want to look for products marketed as being mild.
If you’ve already gotten fully into surfactants and have a collection of your own you can use that, too! I would try a blend of anionic 2.5% Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI), 12.5% amphoteric Cocamidopropyl Betaine, and 5% non-ionic Coco Glucoside instead of 20% Iselux Extra Mild. That results in a total active surfactant matter of 8.6%, which I find to be reasonable for face washes. You’ll need to melt the Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) and Cocamidopropyl Betaine together first before adding the coco glucoside, and the whole mixture will need to be gently heated with the water and hydrosol to fully disperse. You can also look at creating your own blend based on your personal collection; I recommend checking out this table, this FAQ article, and this series of posts to learn more.
Once you know what you’re doing for the surfactant part this is incredibly easy to make. It’s a cold process stir-et-voila sort of thing. You will need to pH test and adjust, but that’s the only semi-tricky thing and it’s really not tricky at all—I promise. You’ll see in the video that it’s easy-peasy. I hope you love the luxurious lather and simplicity of this Sweetgrass Facial Cleanser as much as I do; happy making!
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Sweetgrass Facial Cleanser
6g | 10% vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada)
0.6g | 1% panthenol powder (vitamin B5) (USA / Canada)
12g | 20% Iselux Ultra Mild surfactant blend
1.2g | 2% hydrolyzed rice protein (USA / Canada)
0.3g | 0.5% Liquid Germall Plus™ (USA / Canada)21.9g | 36.5% distilled water
18g | 30% sweetgrass hydrosol50% citric acid solution, as needed
Crothix™ Liquid (USA / Canada), as neededWeigh the glycerine, panthenol, Iselux Ultra Mild, hydrolyzed rice protein, and liquid germall plus into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Stir to combine. Add the distilled water and hydrosol and stir gently until uniform.
Up next, let’s get set up to adjust the pH. As made I find the pH of this face wash is around 7, and we want it to be in the 5.5–6 range.
Be sure to read this great article on the importance of diluting solutions when pH testing them—we’re doing that here! Prepare at least two small bowls by weighing 9g of distilled water into them (you’re going to want a scale that’s accurate to 0.01g for this). To make your citric acid solution, weigh 5g of citric acid into a small beaker and add 5g of distilled water. Stir to combine; you’ll probably a couple quick microwave bursts are required to get the citric acid to dissolve as this is a pretty concentrated solution.
To test the pH, add 1g of product to one of the bowls containing 9g of water to create a 10% dilution, and pH check that. If necessary, add a drop of the citric acid solution to the parent batch, stir, and re-test. Continue until the pH is in the 5.5–6 range. Please watch the video to see this in action!
Once the pH is where we want it, thicken the face wash with Crothix™ liquid. For a 60g batch I’d add 1g at a time, stirring between additions and waiting five minutes or so before adding more. Crothix™ liquid can go very quickly from “hmm, not thick enough” to “whoops, just made sudsy flubber”, so err on the side of slower additions!
When you’re happy with the viscosity you’re done! Transfer to a container; I used a 60mL (2fl oz) squeezy bottle with a disc top. To use, lather up with a bit of water between your palms and use to wash your face.
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this face wash contains water, you must include a broad-spectrum preservative to ward off microbial growth. This is non-optional. Even with a preservative this project is likely to 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 60g.
- 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 propanediol instead of vegetable glycerin
- You could use more hydrolyzed protein instead of panthenol
- You can use a different mild surfactant blend instead of the Iselux Ultra Mild. Suggestions include BSB Liquid Surfactant and Miracare Soft 313. Read the post for more information, there’s lots!
- You could use a different hydrolyzed protein, like oat or quinoa, instead of hydrolyzed rice protein
- You can use a different hydrosol in place of the sweetgrass hydrosol, or simply use more water. This will alter (or eliminate) the scent.
- If you don’t want to thicken this face wash you can leave out the Crothix™ liquid and package it in a foamer bottle instead.
Gifting Disclosure
The Iselux Ultra Mild was gifted by Windy Point. The sweetgrass hydrosol was gifted by Plant’s Power.
Hi there. Could you substitute another thickener other than crothix in the iselux face wash. Would sepimax zen, aristoflex avc, emulthix , or Hyaluronic Acid be possible thickeners. Thanks
I wouldn’t use hyaluronic acid as a thickener in a wash-off product—it would be an extremely expensive way to thicken such a thing and you wouldn’t get any of the benefits of the HA.
Carbomers may work, but keep in mind many are quite sensitive to electrolytes—the hydrolyzed protein in here will definitely turn aristoflex into snot 🙁
I know something like xanthan gum around 1–2% will work, but you may not be a big fan of the consistency of gums. Happy making!
I LOVE your videos. I am new to DYI skincare and I want to learn more about body creams and lotions. Some of your recipes intimidate me but I’m going to give them a try. An acquaintance of mine makes her own body creams and lotions from local goats milk. I’ve purchased a few of her products and love them. Do you work with goats milk? What’s your opinion on this ingredient? The creams have been lovely.
Hello Sharon!
I’m not sure if you have seen this list? There are a whole slew of formulas and recipes that a newbie to DIY skincare might enjoy doing! AND there is also the free beginners course! Just to give you a wee handle on making some simple things and to get you feeling pretty confident! Goats milks is not something that I’ve used much of other than in soap making, and to be honest? I much prefer various silks to goats milk!
Hi there! I’ve been lurking about your site for a while. I’ve become intrigued with the DIY over the past year; I started using Korean skincare after taking several business trips there since 2014. 5.5 Ph cleansers have been great for my face, but at times I don’t relish the ‘shotgun’ approach by many manufacturers with the additional ‘beneficial’ ingredients. I dig hanbang/TCM herbal ingredients, and would like to formulate my own face cleanser.
I will certainly give this a try! Sweet grass scent sounds pretty interesting, and I like this formula because it’s not complex, and it’s a neutral Ph. Sometimes, less is better, yes?
Hello Christine!
If you are keen into the TCM part, have you checked out Marie’s Pine Pollen toner? And I agree! Sometimes less is better! Just not in buying ingredients. Then more is better! LOL!
Other than Crothix, what could you use to thicken this? Thanks
A gum like xanthan at ~1% whisked into the glycerin at the start would also work well, though the consistency may not be your favourite thing in the world 🙂
Could another hydrosol or even just plain distilled water be used in place of the sweetgrass hydrosol?
Have you read the substitutions list at the end of the formula? This is addressed there 😉
Hello Marie! Could this be used as a shampoo? I notice alot of the same ingredients as in sulfate free shampoos. I am specifically looking to make one for colored hair that will not fade the color. And also an extra conditioning one for bleached or damaged hair. I dont know the ingredient that would be used to make it not fade haircolor. Thanks!
In theory, yes, but I did try something similar as a shampoo (with the Iselux) and I wasn’t crazy about how it left my hair feeling. Your mileage may vary. I believe it’s the sulphates that cause fading due to their strength as cleansers 🙂
Hi Marie,
In the video you added the Crothix after PH testing. Why would you not do it after Crothix addition? Does the Crothix not change the PH of the solution?
Thanks!
Annie
Good question! In the sample formulations I’ve seen from Croda, Crothix is added before pH adjusting, so it would seem that’s the way to do it. I’m wondering if my thinking was that it’d be easier to dilute the sample pre-thickening? I doubt the pH would be meaningfully impacted by a 2–3% addition of Crothix as it doesn’t have an extreme pH value (it’s mostly PEGs), but I’d have to do a before and after check to really know. Thanks for bringing that to my attention!
Thanks so much! I’m trying to make your Sweetgrass series for my step daughter’s birthday! Love your work!
Oooh, that’ll be a great gift! Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
Hi Marie. Thanks for always share lots of information. Your encyclopedia helped me a lot to get know many ingredients. Please add more
My question, does the Crothix affect the final weight of the product?
Hi! Crothix has mass, so yes.
I just made this from scratch (SCI, amphosol and coco glucoside, as you suggested), thickened it a bit with konjac gum and used ~ 0,1 % blue tansy instead of hydrosol. It’s pretty, light blue, a bit more gelly and acts very nicely on skin. I’ve been day dreaming about this cleanser and your gentle milky jelly cleanser for ages. Super happy with the results. It’s so nice to have DIY party! 😀 xx