DIY All-Natural Toning & Clarifying Foaming Facewash
DIY Skincare & Beauty Essential oils Natural Beauty
This DIY All-Natural Toning & Clarifying Foaming Facewash cleanses and keeps skin clear using just a few simple, natural ingredients! Some — like honey and tea tree oil — are tried-and-true natural remedies for acne and blemishes, making this homemade facewash recipe the perfect addition to your anti-acne and all-natural skincare routine.
Let’s take a closer look…
I made a lot of mistakes in my teens and early twenties…
I ate a lot of heavily-processed “health” food, skipped quite a few classes while nursing hangovers (sorry, Mom and Dad!), and spent a small fortune on harsh, chemical-laden skincare products that only contributed to my breakouts and my body burden. Oh, regrets!
Luckily, now I’m (a little) older and (a lot) wiser.
After struggling with breakouts for years, I finally achieved clear skin after totally overhauling my beauty routine.
(Ok AND my diet — check out my new book all about leveraging nutrition for skin health and to remedy the internal imbalances that trigger common skin issues!)
By simplifying to a few natural and gentle skincare products, I was finally able to get clear skin.
This foaming facial cleanser is an important part of my super-simple all-natural skincare and beauty routine. It includes ingredients that help clarify and tone the skin, as well as ingredients that are extra-gentle and help maintain skin’s natural balance.
DIY All-Natural Toning & Clarifying Foaming Facewash
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup filtered or previously boiled (now room temp) water
- 1/4 cup liquid castile soap: an all-natural, extremely concentrated soap made from 100% plant oils.
- 5 teaspoons jojoba oil or another facial oil of choice (check out The Best Face Oils By Skin Type for some alternatives)
- 2 tablespoons raw honey: a wonderful antibacterial that helps to gently eliminate breakout-causing bacterial, and also helps calm the skin. This gives the wash its honey color.
- 1 teaspoon tea tree oil: another great, all-natural antibacterial, antimicrobial, and anti-fungal that will not only keep acne-causing bacteria in check, but also help preserve the wash.
- 15 drops lavender essential oil: great for all skin types, it helps calm inflammation and eliminate bacteria.
- 10 drops rosemary essential oil: another great, all-natural antibacterial.
Note: this is the combination of ingredients that works well for my skin and the combination can be adjusted depending on your skin-type. For example, if you have drier skin, you may need less castile/more water and/or oil. Everybody is different and DIYs can sometimes be a game of trial and error. Luckily, once you have a base such as this one, you can easily add ingredients if necessary!
DIRECTIONS
Add the ingredients in the order listed (if you add the soap before the water, it will become a sudsy explosion!). Stir the mixture gently, mixing everything together. The castile soap and honey will cause the mixture to look cloudy. Put the mixture into your foaming soap dispenser and your facewash is complete!
1 or 2 pumps is all you need as the castile soap is very concentrated. Use once or twice daily (I use it once a day at night).
Discard the contents after a month or if you notice any unfavorable changes. The mixture will separate, so give it a little shake before each use!
Follow with toner and a moisturizer, like Body Unburdened Beauty Blend No.2 for oily and acne-prone skin.
P.S Like my homemade mason jar foaming soap dispenser? Check out how easy it is to make your own!
Are you a natural beauty junkie too!? Welcome and stay awhile, my friend!
Hang around a bit and check out some of these other goodies I know your sweet little natural-beauty-loving heart will definitely enjoy!
- My Super Simple All-Natural Skincare & Beauty Routine
- The Best Face Oils by Skin Type
- The Top 10 Essential Oils for Skincare
- DIY All-Natural Blackhead Busting Blackout Mask
Nadia, thanks for the recipe. I am going to try this on my sensitive skin. Just to clarify though… The tea tree oil used in this face wash is not an essential oil, right? I only have tea tree EO as of the moment, would 4 drops of it do the trick instead? Thanks.
Hmm yes, I’d say if you’re concerned and you spend a lot of time in the sun, to choose an alternative.
Hello! I live in a very sunny place. If I use the wash only at night is it ok with the lemon oil? Should replace it with something similar that doesn’t react to the sun?
Hey, Christie. Ugh I’m so sorry for my belated reply!!
If you notice any changes, don’t chance it and dump it out. Next time, maybe make half the batch and be sure to sterilize your jar beforehand to prevent bacteria growth.
Oh and the face wash!! If you notice any changes, don’t chance it — throw it out. And maybe next time try making half the batch, and always be sure to sterilize your jar beforehand to prevent bacteria growth.
Hey, Breanna! Sorry for the belated reply — and I wonder if anything has changed since you first commented?
Do you ever exfoliate? Some gentle exfoliation to clear the dead cells will help the oil penetrate more deeply. And if you’re using it to clear your skin, this can also help prevent breakouts since dead cells can clog pores. Also, I really love shea butter for extra dry skin — it’s noncomedogenic (doesn’t clog pores), super-moisturizing, and filled with skin-loving vitamins and antioxidants. I apply it to dry patches over my oil blend (I also have trouble with my chin!!). Just be sure to buy a quality, raw shea butter like this one.
Hey, Tina. Great question and I should really update this post to address this issue. Honestly, it’s really up to you. Washing your face with a mix that includes lemon EO is very different than applying that EO to your face (diluted of course) so I do still use it in the wash. But I also practice safe sun exposure through diet and my day cream which has SPF, which I would advise if you use lemon EO.
Hi, you mentioned in another post that I read earlier that you stopped using lemon oil due to photo-sensitivity issues. Does this apply to the wash recipe?
Hi Nadia! I’m very new to essential oils and the DIY facial skin routine, but I’ve been using your DIY face wash and moisturizer for a couple weeks now. I haven’t noticed too much change, but there seem to be no ill effects. I was wondering if you could suggest anything to get rid of the dry, flaky areas. My chin is one, and no matter how much I moisturize the area looks very dry. Also, having only made the face wash approximately two weeks ago, it is now starting to look strange. When I shake it, the sudsy part leaves a residue on the sides, and the mixture is lighter than it was originally. I’m also noticing a few dark brown specks that have appeared in the bottom. I’m going to toss it and make a new batch, but could you offer some insight into why this has happened, since you said the mixture should last a month?
This worked well for me! I love the lightness of it. But how long should this last? This recipe made a lot of face wash and I have only been using a few weeks but found it’s turning a weird color. Normal?
Thanks so much! I think I’ll do what’s most gentle as far as the soap. One more question! Does this recipe yield enough to fill up a whole pint mason jar!? I’m doing a couple different variations for myself and mom and sister so just wanted to see!
Hey, Danielle. Either is fine! You can also purchase one with a scent (they use EOs). I just like the baby one and then use my own scent 🙂 Totally up to you.
Nadia,
I am working on making this, but I know your link for the castile soap takes me to the baby soap, which is fine, but I wanted to make sure that I should purchase the baby soap and not the regular unscented? Thanks!
Thanks for sharing, Katherine! I love hearing about how others modify these recipes for their skin needs. So glad it’s working for you!
I just made this for the second time! I love this face wash – it is great for the winter for me because I have fairly oily skin, but it also gets very dry. This face wash lets me clean my face without drying it out & also helps keep my skin moisturized.
I used sunflower oil and left out the lemon essential oil – I have heard that citrus essential oils can make your skin more sensitive to the sun. Last time I added lavender essential oil, and this time, I added a blend.
Thanks for posting!
Hey, Sophia! YAY I hope it works our well for you 🙂
I use face oils! This is my favorite blend: DIY all-natural face oil for acne-prone & oily skin. And if you scroll to the bottom, you’ll find links to other posts about face oils.
And I talk about my whole skincare routine here (since I’m clearly obsessed with natural skincare/beauty and will blab on about it forever!): My Super-Simple All-Natural Skincare & Beauty Routine
Hi Nadia! I’m so excited to try out this face wash, I just made my first batch. I was wondering what you use to moisturize after or throughout the day?
Hi,
Would it be possible to skip the castille soap or replace it with something else? It drys out my face a little bit too much, but I would love to try out this recipe.
Hi, Yamini! Have you tried shea or cocoa butter? Shea is my go-to in the winter months when my skin is more dry and needs some extra moisture.
I love that you encourage people to make this face wash their own, as we all know that everyone’s face is different! I am trying to patiently wait for my foaming soap pump to arrive that I ordered so I can make this, but in the meantime I’ve switched out my chemical-laden face wash and have been washing with just honey and Castile soap with a few drops of tea tree and lavender essential oils! It’s only been two washes and it’s crazy the change I’ve noticed already! I used to wake up every morning with tiny whiteheads on my chin area! Now I wash my face in the evening with the honey/Castile soap wash and then lightly dab on some jojoba oil (I see why you love it so much!) and voila I’m finished and my face looks and feels a lot better! My pores appear smaller, my tone is smoother, and when I put makeup on it seems to stay put better and look better! Thank you for sharing this recipe, I can’t wait to try it and continue to see awesome results!