Cleansing Bars


It all started in 2011 with this formula for a soap-free facial cleansing bar. It didn't take long for the concept to catch on, and now, people are making their own cleansing bars all over the world! I am thrilled to present these wonderful cleansing bar crafters.

THANK YOU ALL for being so fabulous!

CLEANSING BAR LOVE FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Let's start with the lady who was the inspiration for putting together this catalog: The lovely Jana from Slovenia!



Jana's blog, Small Bits of Loveliness has a step by step how to on these fabulous bars with Green Clay, Green Tea and Cocoa Butter right here.


And the recipe for Jana's gorgeous flowers with Marigold, Turmeric and Green clay can be found right here.
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Learn how to make these fabulous looking  Magnetic Blue Clay and Lavender Cleansing Bars with Laura, The Floral Mixtress in New Zealand




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Zan in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has made 2 versions. Here are his recipes:



Green clay oatmeal cleansing bar
60% cocoa butter
26% shea butter
3% beeswax
10% oils (mix of sunflower and castor oil)
1% Vitamin E
I then add about 30% clay and 10% oat powder.

Notes: The weather in Malaysia is generally very warm throughout the year, about 30 to 35 degree celsius with high humidity. Thus, I have to tweak the recipe to make it harder and stay solid, therefore I added beeswax for that purpose. I like this first recipe, but after receiving comments from my friends who tried this, they don't quite like it as it is very hard to rinse. This version is also quite soft and can melt easily if left in warm spot for too long. Hence, I tried tweaking the recipe to create the second batch.



Green and white clay creamsicle bar
60% cocoa butter
5% shea butter
20% E-wax
 3% beeswax
10% oils (mix of sunflower and castor oil)
1% fragrance/essential oil (I use vanilla and orange oil)
1% Vitamin E 

I then add about 25% of white clay and 25% of green clay

"This second batch is easier to rinse and leaves a very nice clean and super moisturized feeling. This bar also stays solid longer compared to the first recipe. This formula is definitely a keeper!" 
Zan, Malaysia
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Nina in California USA sent several gorgeous-looking versions:



Nina's Rhassoul Clay with Turmeric and Bergamot 
makes 6.14 ounces
31 grams cocoa butter 
28 grams shea butter 
22 grams almond oil 
31 grams castor oil 
61 grams Rhassoul Clay 
1 gram turmeric 
20 drops bergamot EO




Nina's White Kaolin Clay and Oatmeal with Lavender EO and dried Lavender Buds

The color is lent from some alkanet-root infused olive oil I added (about 2 grams total, it doesn't need much!)
makes 5.82 ounces

28 grams cocoa butter 
26 grams shea butter 
30 grams almond oil 
22 grams castor oil 
39 grams white clay 
20 grams oats finely ground 
20 drops lavender EO
a few grams of alkanet-root infused olive oil just for color
lavender buds sprinkled on top to decorate




Nina's Heart-shaped bar with artistic clay swirl and lavender buds
makes 5.85 ounces

33 gr cocoa butter 
30 gr shea butter 
52.5 gr grapeseed oil 
45 gr Green Illite clay
5.25 gr spirulina powder 
40 drops bergamot EO
lavender buds sprinkled on top to decorate



Nina's Rhassoul and Gold Mica Nuggets
Nina's notes: 
"This is just a straight (no modifications) implementation of the Chamomile and Yellow Clay Bar recipe. I used 'Rhassoul' for the yellow clay, formed it in a silicone ice cube tray, and covered with gold mica."

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Chrissy in Minnesota USA 
made both a rosebud cleanser and a lavender cleanser!




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Kirppu in Finland made these lovely pink flowers with yellow clay and chamomile. 





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La Tía Maruja in Spain put together these hearts with green clay, cocoa butter and rice bran oil.



















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Signe in Finland
 has a blog called Signaturelli where she shares a full 3 recipes.





Find the recipe for these bars with white clay and oats right here.







There's Room For More!

If you have a cleansing bar version you'd like to add to this collection, please visit this post for details. Need a starting point? Try making your own version based on any of my cleansing bars on the How To page

Comments

Anamaria said…
Hi Lise, wonderful cleansing bars posts, first of all I tried your non coconut oil bar, but as I live in a very hot country, the bar was extremely soft, and found these recipes from around the world, and especially the one from Zan (Kuala Lumpur) so I made her second one with two waxes and Voila! It's what I needed, the bar holds wonderfully well, thank you for letting me learn so much, I'm really grateful.
LisaLise said…
Hi Anamaria ! I'm so glad you found a cleansing bar that works well for you. Climate really does make a difference with these bars
Anonymous said…
Hello Lisa!
I was wondering what you would suggest for someone who has a bad reaction with cocoa butter. It always seem to make me break out. Would you suggest using twice the shea butter? or subbing a wax?
LisaLise said…
Hey there Anon- You can easily replace cocoa butter with any butter you prefer. Mango, Sal or Kpangnan would do well - although you may experience a softer result. If you do a search on this blog about butter melting points, you'll find a post about which butters you could replace the cocoa butter with, Best of luck with it!
Veena said…
Hi Lise,
I just stumbled upon your blog and it gave me a lot of insights.I am really excited to try out these cleanser bars at my place.However my concern is it necessary that to make a cleanser two butters are required it's because we don't get Shea or cocoa butters here..I thought of making a cleansing butter only with coconut butter.is that possible.
LisaLise said…
HI Veena - If you want to make this with coconut oil only it will not set into a bar form.

However - you could still use it of you pour the picture into a jar. Be aware unless you want to add a preservative, you will need to dip into the mixture with a scoop of some type. You do NOT want to introduce moisture to the jar. Best of luck with it!
Hi Lise, won't these cleansing bars need a preservative since they are to be used in the shower or is there some other way to use these without introducing moisture to them?
LisaLise said…
Hi Utkarshini - If you want to use these in the shower they will indeed need a preservative. If you check the How to page on this blog you'll find several links to cleansing bars along with a link about storage and use of these bars.

I usually section the bar into single portion pieces and only keep a couple at a time in a bathroom cupboard away from moisture. The remainder of the bar should is stored dry and cool.
KMY said…
These look/sound great! I'm exploring all the recipes; however the link to the "Blue Magnetic..." one doesn't go to a recipe. Perhaps you can update the link when you have time.
LisaLise said…
Thanks KMY! I'll check that link right away :)