Extra Gentle Cleanser (aka Cetaphil knock-off)

My sister is a huge fan of Cetaphil.  For those who have never used this face cleanser before, it's basically a non-foaming, very gentle cleanser for nearly every skin type except very oily.  It's unscented, contains no dyes. But it does have SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) which is a widely used surfactant/cleanser that's a little on the harsh side (at least on my skin).  I swapped the SLS for LSB (a gentle surfactant blend) simply because of all the bad things I've been reading about SLS lately.  I also added just a few drops of a special essential oil blend (mixed 50/50 with Polysorbate 20 to make it disperse in water) as I really wanted a pick-me-up in the morning.

I should mention that I used Swift's post on re-creating Cetaphil as a starter point for this recipe, with a few minor changes due to what I had, or didn't have on hand.

The finished product is pretty much identical (at least to me) to the appearance, feel, and thickness of Cetaphil. I did two variations- one without additional thickener for a basic face wash.  A second with extra thickener, a dash of colour, and 5 grams of Jojoba beads to make a gentle face exfoliant scrub.  Both are winners, and cost me a fraction of what a bottle of Cetaphil costs at the drug store.

This cleanser is essentially thickened water with a very small amount of surfactant- around 5%.  The cetyl alcohol conditions, and the humectant draws moisture to the skin.  It's a very inexpensive, basic and easy to make product.

Extra Gentle Cleanser
This made almost exactly 8 ounces.

Heated Phase:
200g Water
10g Cetyl Alcohol
10g Surfactant of choice - I used LSB here
10g Humectant of choice - I used Glycerin

Cool Phase:
0.5% Liquid Germall Plus
9 drops Valor EO blend, mixed with 9 drops Polysorbate 20

Heat and melt the Cetyl Alcohol.  Add the water (hot) and the surfactants and mix gently with a spoon or fork.  It will emulsify a bit, just like a lotion would at this stage.  Gently mix until thoroughly blended.  Add the Glycerin, continue to stir.  Once cooled to 45*C or lower, go ahead and add the fragrance and preservative.  This will be fine in a pump bottle.  If you use a different surfactant that isn't as thick as LSB, then you may want to add a bit of Crothix (1%) or salt to thicken the mixture up.  Only do this once it's reached room temp. though, or you might end up with a mixture that is way too thick.

Extra Gentle Jojoba Face Scrub
This made almost exactly 8 ounces.

Follow all directions above.  I used ALeS as my surfactant here, mostly because I wanted to see what it felt like.  Turns out I like it!  Haha.  Also, at the very end I decided that I needed the Crothix to thicken my scrub up.  I didn't want my Jojoba beads (5grams) to sink or float, but stay suspended.  So I added that at 1%.  I added a bit more fragrance, about 1g of Mango/Polysorbate blend.  Not a heavy scent by any means, but just a little somethin extra.

The end result for the face scrub- it's thick, perfectly thick to put in a jar and scoop out what you need.  It's so gentle, doesn't dry your skin out but leaves it very soft.

Photos to come soon!

Rose-Lavender-Chamomile Toner

This toner smells wonderful!  A great second step to cleansing, or for a pick me up during the day.  I bottled these in spritz bottles, as well as flip-top ones and both work great!

Gentle Floral Toner 
For all skin types -makes about 14oz
Heated Water Phase:
30% Rose Hydrosol (150g)
25% Lavender Hydrosol (125g)
25% Purified Water (125g)
10% Aloe (50g)
2% Sodium Lactate (10g)
2% Cromoist - Hydrolyzed Oat Protein (10g)

Cool Phase:
3% Honeyquat (15g)
2% Panthenol (10g)
0.5% Chamomile Extract (2.5g)
0.5% Liquid Germall Plus (2.5g)


A non-drying clean feeling toner. A soft honey colour, and the smell is like honey and roses.  Very nice all around. I've been using this to remove a bit of eye makeup left behind after cleansing, as well as a pick-me-up in the evening when I get home from work.  I love the smell- it's wonderful.  Honestly there's nothing I would change about this recipe.