I have never been one to spend up big on makeup or makeup removal so when I started making my own personal care products I was very pleased to find that I could keep it cheap, simple and safe! I have been making a makeup removal mixture for about 2 years now to be used with disposable pads. I add the mixture to a jar that has been stacked full of the pads. You can store the pads in the jar (with a tight fitting lid) for up to 2-3 weeks. So each pad is soaked with the mixture and ready to go!

But, using the disposable cotton pads has been bothering me because it is wasteful. So recently I started making reusable pads from scraps of material and toweling material. Check the details on how to make these pads here.

Of course it was also necessary to rethink the cleaning mixture. My thinking was that I would like to be able to drop or spray the mixture onto the pad just before use. So I looked for recipes and did some comparisons. I found three recipes to be tested and I used two different types of reusable pads.

Recipes

The three recipes are outlined below.

Recipe 1:

• 3 tablespoons of cooled, boiled water
• 2 teaspoons Witch Hazel
• 1 teaspoon vegetable glycerin
• 3 drops of Fractionated Coconut Oil
• 5 drops each of Lavender and Frankincense Essential Oils

Recipe 2:

• 1 teaspoon Castile Soap
• 1 tablespoon Fractionated Coconut Oil
• 5 drops each of Lavender and Frankincense Essential Oils.
• 1/4 cup hot water

Recipe 3:

• 1 tablespoon Aloe Vera
• 3 teaspoons Witch Hazel
• 1 teaspoon Castile Soap
• 1 teaspoon Fractionated Coconut Oil
• 5 drops each of Lavender and Frankincense Essential Oils

Method

The Makeup Removers

I mixed each one up and placed them in old Lavender Essential Oil Bottles labelled 1-3. I used two controls: water that was added to an old Lavender Essential Oil Bottle (4) and plain water (5). So in total I had 5 test liquids.

Note: I did not use a commercial makeup remover as a control because I am already convinced that I don’t need to use one!

The Test Medium

To test makeup removal I used my forearm as the medium. I wrote the numbers 1,2,3,4,5 on sections of my forearm with eyeliner pencil and under each number I smeared a dot of foundation cream.

The Pads and the Preparation

• Prior to the test I washed and dried my forearm.
• For the first test run -I used the toweling pads.
• For the second test run I used the material pads.
• My arm was washed and dried in between test runs.
• Once the arm was dry I rewrote the numbers 1-5 and reapplied the foundation.

Makeup Removal

To be consistent, for each test I wiped from the number down to the foundation. This ‘swipe’ movement was repeated 3 times.

Results

First Test Run – Using the Towelling Pads

I started the removal process with the water i.e. Liquid number 5. I then progressed to Liquid 4,3,2 and finally 1.

The pictures below show the result of each removal.

There appears to be little difference between the 3 Recipes for removing the makeup. Recipe 3 was slightly more effective than the others – although it is hard to see this in the photos. For me that is great, as Recipe 3 is essentially the same as I have been using with the disposable pads with one slight difference. I have been using an Aloe Vera Gel – for this experiment I used an Aloe Vera Juice.

Second Test Run – Using the Material Pads

I won’t bore you with more photos of this second run.  I did prefer the material pads to the towel pads though and will probably use these in the future. The wipe off process was smooth and took slightly less effort to remove the makeup. As in the first run though, the water and the water from the Lavender Bottle were not particularly effective. Once again, my preference is for Recipe 3.

Recommendations

My recommendation to you is to keep it simple. If you do this you will be keeping it both cheap and safe! Either of the 3 recipes I used can work and I would suggest that you use the ingredients you have available to you. However, it is definitely worth investing in some Castile Soap because it can be used in a number of DIY products.

I recommend that you also explore the idea of making your own make up pads. You can put them into a little mesh bag and wash them in your machine. You will not be able to remove all the stains but they will be clean and ready to use again and again.

Give it a try and let us know how you go!

What Next?

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Until next time,

 

 

Gillian (and Andrew)