# Basic Face Bar recipe



## PurpleFlamingo (Dec 18, 2012)

Hello everyone, I realize that sharing recipes can be a touchy subject but if someone could help point me int he right direction that would be so appreciated.   
I am extremely new to creating CP soap but already love it. I really want to create a face bar but am actually more nervous about this than working with lye. LIKE THIS IS SOMEONES FACE YOU COULD BREAKOUT HERE!! (little person on my shoulder tells me) I have bought a couple books but love hearing from other experienced people about what they use or what they aim for? 


I am up for learning anything and everything. Recommendations for books is great too  :mrgreen:


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## AlchemyandAshes (Dec 18, 2012)

My suggestion is to keep the cleansing factor low and keep additives and fragrance to a minimum. If you run your recipe thru SoapCalc, you can refigure your ingredients and proportions until you get an acceptable formula. For example, most people consider Castille soap (100% Olive Oil) to be the mildest soap you can make. The downside is a slimier lather and a loooooong curing time.  I would suggest a recipe with 50% Olive, and the remainder being oils of your choice that bring the properties you're looking for. You can't account for every allergy that anyone could possibly ever have, but the less ingredients, the less chance for allergens. It's very rare to have an Olive Oil allergy, but its possible. Lots of tree nut or peanut allergies. Many fragrances can be irritants or allergens, whether natural or synthetic.
Maybe make a soap or your own face, then build fom there. That way, you are our own guinea pig and can judge from personal experience.
That being said, I like Carrot Seed oil, Rosehip Seed Oil, Jojoba, and Rosewood for my dry and sensitive facial skin. It smells a bit medicinal (from the Carrot Seed) but it works great.


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## PurpleFlamingo (Dec 19, 2012)

thank you  :mrgreen:


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## lizflowers42 (Dec 31, 2012)

I was interested in making a facial soap for my oily skin (and breakouts like I am still 15!)  I know that Castor Oil is recommended for the Oil Cleansing Method, but I am just not ready to try that.  I have plenty of tea tree oil, that I make mud masks with bentonite clay and would love to incorporate these into a bar. What percent of these additives would you recommend putting into a facial soap?  I know it's all about trial and error, but what's a good starting point?


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## lizflowers42 (Dec 31, 2012)

Nevermind! I am going to give this a try! http://teachsoap.com/gentle-acne-soap/


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## Hazel (Dec 31, 2012)

I've only made few facial soap batches. The bars last forever since I only use them for my face. I prefer babassu oil because I found it opened pores better after I did a comparison with coconut oil. The downside is babassu is more expensive. Babassu's properties are the same as coconut so I recommend using it at a lower percentage to make the soap less drying. You don't have to use babassu to make a great facial bar. I just wanted to mention what I used for my batches. 

A&A gave some good advice. Decide what you want for your own face and choose ingredients for those properties. For example, I have dry, sensitive skin so I keep the cleansing value low and pick oils which are known for being conditioning like olive, apricot kernel oil (although I have switched to high oleic sunflower oil), castor, hazelnut (some people may be allergic), safflower, etc. I also use a higher superfat in facial bars. However, what I like in a facial soap isn't the same as what other people like.


Some sites that have information on oil properties.

http://summerbeemeadow.com/content/properties-soapmaking-oils
http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/soapmakingoils/tp/qualitiesofsoapmakingoils.htm

Soap Characteristics/Oil Properties Chart
http://candleandsoap.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=candleandsoap&cdn=homegarden&tm=3&f=10&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.soapnuts.com/indexoils.html

We can help you come up with a recipe if you want to let us know your skin type and what oils you have.


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## lizflowers42 (Jan 1, 2013)

Hazel said:


> I've only made few facial soap batches. The bars last forever since I only use them for my face. I prefer babassu oil because I found it opened pores better after I did a comparison with coconut oil. The downside is babassu is more expensive. Babassu's properties are the same as coconut so I recommend using it at a lower percentage to make the soap less drying. You don't have to use babassu to make a great facial bar. I just wanted to mention what I used for my batches.
> 
> A&A gave some good advice. Decide what you want for your own face and choose ingredients for those properties. For example, I have dry, sensitive skin so I keep the cleansing value low and pick oils which are known for being conditioning like olive, apricot kernel oil (although I have switched to high oleic sunflower oil), castor, hazelnut (some people may be allergic), safflower, etc. I also use a higher superfat in facial bars. However, what I like in a facial soap isn't the same as what other people like.
> 
> ...



You are so helpful! As I mentioned above I have greasy acne prone skin. I am in my late 20's and I am so tired of people telling me that "at least you won't get wrinkles!" Ugh seriously I have to blot my face like 5 times a work day!

I have an order coming with palm, pomace, sweet almond, and grapeseed oils.  I already have cocoa butter, castor oil, olive, soybean, and coconut oils. Already have bentonite clay and a plethora of EO (love EO!). I know grapefruit, lemon, tea tree, and lavender all have excellent healing properties for acne. Since this is just fo me I would like to make a small batch. 

I know a stripping soap just causes more oil production so I need something gentle plus the healing properties to balance my skin.

Thanks Hazel!


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## Hazel (Jan 1, 2013)

You're welcome. Unfortunately, acne is genetic/hormonal and what works for one person may not work for another person. Off topic - have you gone to a dermatologist?

This is just a suggestion but several people have mentioned salt bars helped clear up their acne so you might want to consider trying a batch. However, you said you're new to CP so I'm not sure if you want to attempt one. Salt batches can be tricky because they set up so fast you have to cut them within a couple of hours. I've mainly switched to using silicone molds with individual cavities to eliminate having to cut. (We can discuss this later if you decide you'd like to try a batch.)

I can make suggestions but you'll probably have to experiment to see what works for you. Also, just because I like the look of a recipe doesn't mean it's going to be a good recipe.  I don't like to use a lot of olive in facial bars for acneic skin but this is just personal preference. I know some people recommend a higher percentage of olive in facial bars for all skin types. 

After looking at what oils you have, I came up with a simple recipe that you could start with if you like the look of it. It looks like it will make a mild soap with a little conditioning and creamier lather. 

 35% Olive Oil pomace 
35% Palm Oil 
20% Coconut Oil
10% Grapeseed Oil

Hardness 40
Cleansing 14
Conditioning 57
Bubbly 14
Creamy 27
Iodine 63
INS 145

You add castor oil if you'd prefer a little more conditioning.

 35% Olive Oil pomace 
30% Palm Oil 
20% Coconut Oil
10% Grapeseed Oil
5% Castor Oil

Hardness 38
Cleansing 14
Conditioning 59
Bubbly 18
Creamy 29
Iodine 65
INS 143

eta: I forgot to mention I use a higher superfat for myself. You might want to consider only using 5% SF so there will be a little less free oils left on your face. Also, several members have mentioned using witch hazel to swab their faces after cleansing. I think it's Dickinson's which makes an alcohol free version if you prefer a more gentle toner.


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## danahuff (Jan 1, 2013)

lizflowers42, I have combination skin—oily T-zone—and I have found that lemongrass eo is great in my face soap. I made soap with this recipe:


38% olive oil
30% coconut oil
17% palm oil
10% shea butter
5% castor oil
I add lemongrass eo at 5% and some dried sage. It makes a really nice, cleansing bar that isn't too drying, and I'm convinced the lemongrass eo made my large pores shrink. 



Just thought I'd throw lemongrass eo in there as an option.


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## lizflowers42 (Jan 1, 2013)

Thanks Hazel and Dana! I have been and I was on prescription antibiotics and many prescriptions throughout my teens. The topicals have always dried my skin terribly and the antibiotics interfere with my lady-prescription effectiveness and I never felt like they did much for my face. I have been trying to cut out chemicals from my life ( especially those that are absorbed in my skin! 
I know people swear by the oil cleansing method to clean the dirty oils from your face with healthy and clean oil, but I don't like the thought of washing so many greasy washcloths each week. (I am horribly picky and a huge tree hugger which is going to become evident to you guys in my posts!)


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## Hazel (Jan 2, 2013)

I hope making your own soap will help. Just remember that you may have to experiment to find a recipe which you like. 

I want to mention again that I found babassu better than coconut oil for opening pores. A couple of summers ago, I was working for a nursery company so I was outside most of the day. Because I'm so fair, I would slather the heaviest sunscreen on me to prevent getting burnt. I started getting acne which was the worse I'd ever had. I started thinking I would have to buy something from a store to help get rid of it. Then I started to use a bar with babassu in it and found it really helped to clear up my face.

However, this may not work for you. As I said earlier, what works for one person may not work for another person.


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## judymoody (Jan 2, 2013)

lizflowers42 said:


> Nevermind! I am going to give this a try! http://teachsoap.com/gentle-acne-soap/



I've used that one.  It's great!  I gave a bar to a friend who has deep cystic acne and had tried every prescription medicine out there.  For her, it really worked.


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## lizflowers42 (Jan 2, 2013)

judymoody said:


> I've used that one.  It's great!  I gave a bar to a friend who has deep cystic acne and had tried every prescription medicine out there.  For her, it really worked.



Great! I am excited to try this!


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## sweetcindylou (Feb 9, 2013)

Growing up I never had acne, not in my teens. But, when I was in my mid twenties I started getting acne, the only thing that would cure it for me was a cream and that did help. I didn't like all the chemicals in it so switched to birth control. I am now 31 and have stopped the birth control and have simply just been doing the OCM or a cream cleanser.  I was totally skeptical at first and worried sick that I would have a huge break out. I read that the transition can be hard on your skin and it is not the acutal cleaner making you break out, that you acutally need to give your skin a couple of weeks.  I use both and oil cleanser and a cream cleanser. The oil cleanser is made with castor oil and jojoba oil I aso added lavender for their healing properties and tea tree oil becuase it is great for acne.   The cream cleanser I use is made with; shea butter, cocoa butter, beeswax, almond oil and Sweet orange EO. If you want my recipes just send me a pm.


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## lizflowers42 (Feb 10, 2013)

sweetcindylou said:


> Growing up I never had acne, not in my teens. But, when I was in my mid twenties I started getting acne, the only thing that would cure it for me was a cream and that did help. I didn't like all the chemicals in it so switched to birth control. I am now 31 and have stopped the birth control and have simply just been doing the OCM or a cream cleanser.



Thanks!!


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## Amybell (Feb 10, 2013)

I have PCOS and the adult acne that comes with it.  I had clear skin until about 24, and then it started and eventually became cystic.  I tried for years to get rid of it and probably tried every OTC medicine there was.  I changed my diet a few years ago, and it helped tremendously (I know that some say diet doesn't play role, but for me, it helped dramatically).  To help with the residual that's left, I've been using soap with tea tree oil and green clay ( it's actually BB melt and pour base with the clay and tea tree added).  I will be experimenting with making my own one from scratch soon.  I also use an egg yolk mask 2x a week for gentle exfoliation and vitamin A.  Between the two, I'm breaking out a lot less (even when I don't eat the way I should), and the ones I do have generally aren't cystic and heal SO much faster.  I'm also considering trying some Dead Sea mud as a mask with a little essential oil. I've heard good things about that too.


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