My Favourite DIY Micellar-ish Makeup Remover





As you might know I am a huge fan of micellar cleansers. Micellar cleansers are basically tiny oil droplets suspended in water, they are free from detergents and a effective yet gentle cleansers. Since a while I was looking for a cheaper alternative to my favourites, which is not easy because I'm picky and don't want anything with alcohol and unnecessary chemicals.

The past weeks I have been testing a home-made Micellar cleanser and I'm pretty happy with the results! I feel like it is even more effective that the store-bought ones. I use the same amount of tinted sunscreen everyday and where before when cleansing my third cotton pad would be almost clean, now I need to use five ! So I feel that every last trace of product is gone, plus my skin is very clear. This diy cleanser feels oilier that store bought micellar cleansers which have the consistency of water, however it does not leave my skin greasy at all, only lightly moisturised. If you want you can remove all traces of oil with a gel cleanser, I prefer to leave it on my skin and am rewarded with a well moisturised face.



 

DIY Micellar Cleanser:

1 part water or hydrolate or herbal tea:  hydrolates keep longest, however you can use plain water or make a tea out of herbs (rosemary, salvia or  peppermint for oily skin, lavender for dry skin).
1 part oil: I use sesame oil because at the moment my skin is rather dry, however it might be too heavy for some. If you're not sure what to use jojoba oil is a really light and neutral oil.
pinch (1-2%) xanathan gum or lecithin or another emulsifier of your choice. This will keep the water and oil from separating.
optional: a drop of essential oil
optional: squirt of cleansing gel or castille soap of you need something stronger

Disinfect all your containers with alcohol or boiling water! Mix all the ingredients together and shake well. 
Play with proportions! If you tend to use waterproof make-up, use 2 parts oil to one part water. If you don't like oily formulas, try 2:1 water:oil. Pour into your container. If you want to make pre-soaked make-up remover pads, put some into a jar and pour the diy micellar cleanser over them and let them soak it all up. If you used water or tea, the cleanser will keep for ca 3 weeks. Store it in the fridge if possible. A micellar cleanser made with store-bought hydrolates will keep for several months.

To use, simply squirt onto a cotton pad and wipe your face. If you wish you can cleanse off any oil residue with a warm, wet wash-cloth. I leave the oil residue on my face and feel that my skin likes it.


You might wonder what the difference between this home made micellar cleanser and oil-cleansing is. I find that it is much easier to remove make-up with pads soaked in this diy micellar solution than to do it with pure oils. Oil mixed with water is usually much more effective both at cleansing and at moisturising than oil on its own. The diy micellar clenaser also leaves only a slight layer oil oil on my face, so I don't have to use a hot wash cloth on my face (which I'm wary of since I have fragile capillaries) or any other cleanser. Also it's more convenient.

Let me know how this works for you. Or maybe you have a favourite cleansing product that you swear by? Let me know in the comments.



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