Separate Face Soap?

MsHarryWinston · Jan 17, 2016

I was just wondering if any of you make separate soaps specifically for the face. I think that the recipes I've drawn up are gentle enough to use on the face (time will tell), I superfat at 7.5%. But I'm wondering if I should try something like a 15% superfat with colloidal oats and ricebran oil or something crazy like that.

traderbren · Jan 17, 2016

I make a dedicated face soap. I don't really mess with superfat for it, but I use very little coconut oil so it doesn't dry my face.

My SF is 5 or 6%, IIRC.

Seawolfe · Jan 17, 2016

My face likes a plain old 100% OO 5% SF castille. I have a boring face...

shunt2011 · Jan 17, 2016

I do make a separate face soap but I use my salt bars 4 days a week.

cmzaha · Jan 17, 2016

I make face soaps with 0-10% coconut oil and my normal 2-3% superfat. You simple do not need high superfat if you balance out your fatty acids. But some here will remember I do not like high superfat soaps and neither does my plumbing. We went from having to clean out our under the house section from 4-5 x's a year to 1-2 x's a year when I quit with the high superfat.

Judiraz · Jan 17, 2016

I make a face soap that is low on CO, has olive oil, rice bran, and goat's milk. I use no FO, EO, or colorants in it. My skin loves it, even tho it is very plain.

IrishLass · Jan 17, 2016

I recently made my first 'facial soap' at the request of a friend....for her face, not mine (I only use water and a terry cloth on my face).

Anyway, the recipe I used was our Genny's Shampoo Bar recipe: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=30946&highlight=Lindy

Several of our members here on the forum have used it as a facial bar and have given it glowing praise for that, so I gave it a go and gave a bar to my friend (who has not reported back to me yet).

Anyway, although I don't use it on my face (nor my hair), I found that it doubles (or rather triples) wonderfully as a very gentle body bar with lovely lathering abilities. I like it so much that I have decided to forthwith cease making my normal 100% Castile bars and make Genny's formula for my go-to gentle bar instead.

IrishLass

cmzaha · Jan 17, 2016

I finally found someone that does that same as me other than I do not even use a wash cloth. Very seldom in over 60 yrs has my face known soap...

MsHarryWinston · Jan 17, 2016

Thanks guys! I'll be sure to check out the link.

I mentioned the really high superfat because I read about it somewhere in relationship to facial soaps earlier today in my internet wandering. I would think that with a SF that high the bar would melt pretty quickly, but maybe the usage balance was that it was only being used for face not body? Anyway, if it's not needed then I'm more than cool with that.

Right now my soap is 16.5% CO, has 20% OO, plus Palm, sweet almond oil, cocoa butter, and Shea butter. 100% water replaced with Aloe Juice, powdered goat milk added and silk.

My other bar swaps sweet almond oil for apricot kernel, adds honey and colloidal oatmeal. The oil will be infused with calendula petals.

So yeah, with these soaps I'm just not sure if I REALLY need to make a face specific soap. Arg! That's the one thing that kills me about soap over other bath and beauty products. It takes AGES before you can learn what you may or may not need to change.

Obsidian · Jan 17, 2016

Unless you have extra sensitive/dry facial skin, your regular soap should be fine with that amount of coconut. I have dry skin and tend to use whatever bar I'm using on my body. Salt bars are my favorite but if my face is acting up, I use genny's shampoo bar.

paillo · Jan 17, 2016

I can't use anything on my face except salt bars without horrible breakouts -- even at 62!

I make a gentle one with Pink Himalayan salt, 80 percent coconut oil, apricot and castor oils, French Pink & kaolin clays, essential oils of Lavender, Rosemary, Frankincense, Rose Geranium.

And another hard-core one with black salt, activated charcoal, dead sea mud, black clay, tea tree, lavender, a tad of peppermint.

Both with coconut milk and the usual additives, sugar, silk, superfatted 20 percent. I alternate the two depending on season and how my face is doing...

MsHarryWinston · Jan 17, 2016

Obsidian said:
Unless you have extra sensitive/dry facial skin, your regular soap should be fine with that amount of coconut. I have dry skin and tend to use whatever bar I'm using on my body. Salt bars are my favorite but if my face is acting up, I use genny's shampoo bar.

I have incredibly dry skin, body and face. I also live in a desert climate here in Canada, which means super dry summers and dry cold winters. It's always been really hard for me to find truly moistizing and hydrating products for my skin type (I'm also West Indian). That's why all my products focus on being ultra moisturizing.

I don't use bar soap on my face so this will be a whole new thing for me. I love love looooove the Korean products I use (chosen specifically for their ingredients in relationship to my skin needs). Part of me doesn't believe I'll ever give up my face wash for bar soap, but if I can figure out a formula that makes me happily switch I'll know I've nailed it.

MsHarryWinston · Jan 17, 2016

paillo said:
I can't use anything on my face except salt bars without horrible breakouts -- even at 62!

I make a gentle one with Pink Himalayan salt, 80 percent coconut oil, apricot and castor oils, French Pink & kaolin clays, essential oils of Lavender, Rosemary, Frankincense, Rose Geranium.

And another hard-core one with black salt, activated charcoal, dead sea mud, black clay, tea tree, lavender, a tad of peppermint.

Both with coconut milk and the usual additives, sugar, silk, superfatted 20 percent. I alternate the two depending on season and how my face is doing...

These sound awesome! I have a soap I've yet to make that I call the Ultimate Detox soap, that has Dead Sea mud, Fuller's earth, activated charcoal, and tea tree oil.

rosche · Feb 9, 2016

would transparent/glycerin soap bar gentler/milder on the face? (since transparent soap is X% true soap and X% solvent which also act as moisturizer/humectant)

I ask this bcoz my mom used to use pears soap to wash her face when she was young. Any insight? thank you

penelopejane · Feb 9, 2016

The pears soap recipe has changed since your mother used it on her face. [emoji26]

Soapsense · Feb 9, 2016

I have oily skin, so I use my regular bar with 20% coconut oil. I don't want to wish for dry skin, but sometimes the other way is just as bad

BlackDog · Feb 9, 2016

I haven't made a bar specifically for my face, but my favorite one to use on my face so far has been a really gentle one with lots of lard and olive oil (15% coconut, SF 5%) that has kaolin clay in it. I have very dry skin so a nightly wash with this combined with a little leave-on coconut oil works great.

MsHarryWinston · Feb 9, 2016

In the end I decided to just stick with making the type of facial cleansers I like to use, so cream cleansers etc.

rosche · Feb 10, 2016

I mean transparent soap in general. Oils, lye, solvents. Doesn't necessarily similar to pears. Maybe like simple combination of CO, PO and OO but make it transparent so it will be milder to the face?

penelopejane · Feb 10, 2016

rosche said:
I mean transparent soap in general. Oils, lye, solvents. Doesn't necessarily similar to pears. Maybe like simple combination of CO, PO and OO but make it transparent so it will be milder to the face?

I don't think solvents and alcohol make a soap milder for the face.
I, personally, think CP soap is milder than transparent soap but you would have to eliminate all or most of the CO to make it gentle enough for my skin. But as everyone's skin is different this may not suit you at all.

Separate Face Soap?

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