Mild and Gentle Facial Cleansing Gel

I have been working very intensively with Yucca extract and mild natural surfactants during the past 9 months. It was partly due to preparing texts and formulations for the video tutorials we've prepared at Formula Botanica and partly for the upcoming hair care course which would be online probably from this fall.

Anyway, this is one of the recipes that I want to shar ewith you. This is a very nice and gentle facial cleanser. I've even tried it as a shower gel and it works very well, however the lather volume is rather low.

It is a very simple and easy to make formulation. I personally do not apply loads of extracts and hydrosols in rinse-off products but you're free to apply as much hydrosols and extracts as you like. The key is to get the right consistency for the product and to blend the gum without building any lumps.

I prepared this cleanser with nettle infusion because I love nettle in hair, bath & body products (and I love drinking nettle tea as well). It is excellent for problematic skin (eczema, acne, blemishes) and application of mild and natural surfactants in the formulation allows you to apply this facial cleanser for all types of sensitive skin specially skin that reacts adversely to soap.

Before we start I want to recommend you to read our older posts: hygienic manufacturing practice in cosmetic lab and introduction to Basic equipments and utensils for a cosmetic lab.

For 100 gr gel you'll need:

Phase A:

Freshly boiled distilled water or an infusion of your choice to 100 gr

(I prepared a 10% nettle infusion)

Panthenol                                    0.5%

Green tea hydroglyceric extract   1.0%

Yarrow hydroglyceric extract       1.0%

Sodium lactate                            1.0%

Na-PCA                                          1.0%

Phase B:

Symbio®solv XC                         4.0%

Patchouli essential oil                    0.1%

Mandarine essential oil                 0.3%

Euxyl K 903                                 0.9%

Phase C:

Glycerine (99.5%)                        4.0%

Tara gum                                       1.5%

Sclerotium                                   0.5%

Phase D:

Yucca extract                               3.0%

Di-Sodium/Sodium cocoyl glutamate  5.0%

Coco-glucoside                            3.0%

Phase E:

Lactic acid      to adjust the pH (ca. 0.5-1.0%)

Instruction:

1- prepare your infusion in advance (if you're going to use any infusion). Add freshly boiled distilled (or deionized) water to your herbs. Let the herbs steep for about 10 minutes. Filter through a suitable filter.

2- Add all ingredients in phase A to the infusion and blend gently

3- In another beaker, blend all ingredients of phase B. Add this gently to the phase A

4- In a small beaker blend the gums and glycerine into a paste/slurry. Under agitation add the gum blend to phase [A+B]

5- Stir for a while untill the gum is dispersed and the viscosity of the blend is increased.

5- Mix the surfactants in another beaker (Phase D). Very slowly add this blend to the high viscosity blend (A+B+C)

6- Adjust the pH between 5.0-5.5 (if you're using another prepservative, adjust the pH according to your preservative demands)

7- Fill in a suitable bottle anjoy

Thank you for being here and for sending me your comments and photos. I really enjoy your participation in our Facebook discussions. And in the next post I'm going to share a body wash submitted by Teresa from the Balm Kitchen.

Be Happy and have fun