There are many types of cleansers out there. The common ones are either gel cleanser or cream cleanser that lathers up when water is added to them. More often than not, you may get a squeaky clean face feel and the facial skin will feel tight or tout. This happens as most of the commercialised facial cleanser contains detergent base such as SLS, SLES and the likes. It is too harsh for our skin as it strips off all the oil of the surface of the skin. Those with oily skin would love to use this type of cleanser, however they will also find that their facial skin will become oily just after an hour or so. Sometimes it can become oilier. This makes it a vicious cycle of wanting to wash the face more often which makes it even worse. So how to combat this cycle? Here is the answer…
The type of cleanser that I want to talk about today is a Gel to Milk Cleanser. It is an oil base cleanser. Whoa what? Oil? Yes, oil base. I know, i know, why would anyone want to use oil base cleanser if their face is already oily? That is the beauty of how our skin actually functions. Our body only produces sebum, an oily secretion from the sebaceous glands. This helps to create a barrier on the skin, what we call an occlusive layer on the skin to protect the skin from dehydration. There are many reasons how our skin dehydrates, both internally and externally. Low moisture in the air can cause our skin to lose water at a faster rate. Our dietary also determines if our body is getting enough water as our body consists of more than 70% water.
What happens when the skin gets dehydrated? Our body mechanism gets a signal to produce more sebum as a defence mechanism to protect the skin. So when you keep on washing by stripping off all the oils on your skin, the body will produce more automatically. If you have an oily face and have been practising that routine, you will agree with me that you have been finding it difficult to manage your oily face. The more you wash your face the oilier it gets. Ok you get the idea, great!!
Let’s get to the formulating part now, which is far more exciting isn’t it?! In this formula, it is kept at a very simple level as at times, less is more. Here we will be using Sucragel XL, which is a cold process emulsifier. It has a built in heat stabiliser so you don’t need to add in Sucrablend SP V2. For other types of Sucragel such as Sucragel CF and Sucragel AOF, you will need to add in Sucrablend SP V2 as a stabiliser. If not, you will encounter separation in the oil gel after a few months. If you are making this for your own use that will be used up within a month, then it is rather safe to use Sucragel CF or AOF without the Sucrablend.
We will need oil, emulsifier, antioxidant and essential oil. Remember this is rinse off product. It will not be on your skin for hours so it is not recommended to use expensive ingredients. (you can if you want to).
Measure the phase A and phase B in separate beakers. Agitate the sucragel by stirring it first with a mini whisk. While still stirring, add a few drops (3-4 drops) of oil from phase A. You will need to add the drops of oil in stages very slowly in the beginning (at least 1/5 of the total weight). If you have an overhead stirrer with propeller blades to do this will be easier on you. After the initial stage of mixing (ever so slowly), you can start adding the oils more while still stirring. For a small batch of less than 200g, it should take you about 10 – 15 minutes of hand stirring (about 5-7 mins with overhead stirrer). Add your essential oils last. I usually do this as essential oils are quite volatile. I would add it straight from the bottle with orifice on.
What happens if too much oil is added in the beginning? You will get oil floating on top of the emulsifier and quite a mess actually. Can it be saved? More often than not, yes. Remove the excess oil from the mixture. Then start the process all over again. Be careful when you add them this time.
The gel is opaque as you can see in the photo which is what I’m aiming for. You can experiment with different type of carrier and essential oils. Some oils will give you a clear transparent gel. Sometimes adding essential oils can make it opaque thereafter as well.
These oils combination were chosen as they have anti-inflammatory properties, helps prevent acne and dryness (amongst others). Vitamin E is added as an antioxidant to prolong the shelf life of the oils as well as nutrition for the skin. Lemon essential oil is astringent and has detoxifying properties. Love this combination!
How to use this gel? Take about the size of a penny (or more) depending on the surface of the facial skin. Apply directly to dry skin. It will feel like applying a thick gel-like oil, massage slowly in upwards circular motion. Then add water to the skin and the gel will start to emulsify into milky cleanser. Wash it off with water. Personally I like to double cleanse my skin after using this oil cleanser with a foam cleanser. It leaves a less occlusive layer feel on my skin.
In this photo, the product is packaged in a jar so that you can see the product itself. However, practical wise, I find it difficult to scoop up the product unless I use a clean, dry scoop or mini spoon, to avoid introducing any water into the jar since I will be wanting to use this in a bathroom. I would prefer to package this in a tube or a bottle with a pump which is big enough to pump out the product as it is thick.
Now it’s your turn. Try it out and you replace the oils to what you have. I would love to see your creations! Do tag me @conscious.formulation on IG and facebook. Have fun!
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