This simple solid face wash is a great easy syndet recipe, perfect for a morning cleanser. It can be fragranced with your choice of essential oils or fragrance oils, as well as your choice of colour (or if you prefer a botanical extract) of mica.
I have coloured mine with rose mica and scented it with geranium essential oil.
Since our bar comes into contact with water, as usual, we will use a broad spectrum preservative to protect it from any yeast, bad bacteria and mould or fungus build up.
The ingredients
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate or SCI is a anionic surfactant, commonly known as Babyfoam due to its gentle and mild nature. It is a sodium salt ester of coconut fatty acid and comes in either powder, chips or prills. It melts down nicely into a thick paste when mixed with a liquid surfactant, and adds a soft velvetly lather to our formulations. It has a PH of 4-6.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine or CAPB for short, is a liquid amphoteric surfactant, It is usually derived from Coconut Oil, and despite the name, contains no actual betaine. It is a medium strength foam booster, and helps to make the overall formula milder. It has a PH of 4.5-5.5
Cetyl Alcohol Is a binding agent and fatty alcohol derived from plant oils, it is used to help thicken and harden the bar. It can also help with slip and skin feel.
Stearic Acid is a saturated fatty acid with an 18 carbon chain. It is derived from plant oils and can help thicken and harden the bar and add a pearl effect to the end product.
Coconut Oil - Coconut oil which is derived from the wick, meat and milk of the Coconut palm fruit, it is an incredibly cleansing oil, so is perfect addition to any face wash.
Mango Butter - Mango Butter is a fat that originates from Mango seeds, it can help moisturise and often the skin, as well as helping retain moisture within the skin by creating a layer that stops TEWL (Trans Epidermal Water Loss).
Beeswax - Beewax is a natural wax produced from honey bees, it has antiviral, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, can help with TEWL, and helps to harden the bar.
Kaolin Clay - Kaolin Clay is a clay that has minerals, including Kaolinite, it has soothing and cleansing effects on the skin.
Essential Oil - This is where you can put your own special twist, for whichever fragrance or hair benefits you personally prefer. I have chosen to use Pelargonium Graveolens Oil or Geranium Essential oil, it has been known to naturally firm up facial skin due to its astringent properties.
Preservative - I personally use Geogard 221 (also known as Cosgard), but you can also use an alternative, like Geogard Ultra, or Preservative Eco. We use a broad spectrum preservative because our bar comes into contact with water.
Mica - Micas are a group of minerals with outstanding physical characteristics, in skincare they are used due to their sheer, light reflecting and colour properties. It is sometimes refered to as "Nature's Glitter".
Ingredient Alternatives
For the Mango Butter you could actually replace this with any other butter, Shea Butter is a similar consistency to Mango Butter, but you could also use Cocoa or Kokum Butter as well which would add to the hardness of the bar.
Beeswax can be replaced with Candelilla or Carnauba Wax or even Rose wax for a vegan alternative.
PhaseTrade NameINCI NameW/W%
FunctionASCISodium Cocoyl Isethionate 45%
Surfactant
ACAPBCocamidopropyl Betaine 7.5%Secondary SurfactantBCetyl AlcoholCetyl Alcohol15%Emollient, ThickenerBStearic AcidStearic Acid10%Thickener, HardenerBCoconut OilCocos Nucifera Oil5%EmollientBMango Butter Mangifera Indica Seed Butter5%Emollient, thickenerBBeeswaxCera Alba5%Emollient, thickenerCKaolin ClayKaolin5%Absorber, CleanserCEssential Oil/Fragrance Oil of choice Pelargonium Graveolens Oil 1%FragranceCPreservativeDehydroacetic Acid (and) Benzyl Alcohol1%PreservativeCMicaMica CI 770190.5%Colour
We will make a 200g batch to start with, which can make two 100g bars, or four 50g bars
(You can see in our pictures we made a few little bars, they're about 35-40g each)
Phase A
SCI 90g
CAPB 15g
Phase B
Cetyl Alcohol 30g
Stearic Acid 20g
Coconut Oil 10g
Mango Butter 10g
Beeswax 10g
Phase C
Kaolin 10g
Fragrance/Essential Oil 2g
Preservative 2g
Mica 1g
Method
Weigh out your Phase A (SCI and CAPB) and Phase B ingredients into two separate beakers, then put them on the double boilers (you can even use a trivet or a jar lid in the bottom of a pot to act as a double boiler of sorts), and allow the ingredients to melt down.
The Phase A ingredients will melt down into a paste, and the Phase B ingredients will be completely liquid.
While these are melting, get two small beakers and add your Phase C ingredients into these, one with your Clay and Mica, and the other smaller beaker with your preservative and essential or fragrance oils.
Once the Phase A and Phase B ingredients are melted down, then turn off the heat, and pour your Phase B ingredients into you Phase A beaker.
Stir well so they become a homogenised state, then add in your Clay and Mica, stir well, until the colour if evenly dispersed within the mixture, once this as occurred, add in your essential/fragrance oil and preservative and mix once again.
Once mixed well, pour your ingredients into silicone moulds and pop in the freezer for a few hours.
Once out of the freezer let them sit for 24-48 hours, then they're ready to use.
Make sure you don't leave the bar in a puddle of water, otherwise they will break down very quickly, let them dry inbetween uses.
If you enjoyed this, want to support what we are doing and love to make more solid skincare or haircare products, check out our eBooks Syndet Bars for Beginners (There is a great face wash that is also a fantastic make up remover in this one). and Summer Essentials Skincare.
Let me know how you get on, And please send us photos of your bars for us to feature on our instagram page to [email protected] or tag us on instagram @laecovita.
© Created by Anna Castellani 2021, All Rights reserved. For personal use only, if you would like to use it for commercial use, please contact us at [email protected]