Mr. Dig usually isn’t so enthused about trying out my extra-crunchy adventures with me. So I know I’ve made something pretty good when he starts incorporating one of my products into his routine. This face wash is one that made the cut! It’s fairly heavy-duty in its cleansing power without being overly drying. It has helped minimize our dry skin throughout this gnarly winter we’ve been having…without the usual obligatory increase in the number of breakouts.
The bee pollen is chalk full of amazing enzymes that help exfoliate the skin, while providing a powerful pack of vitamins and minerals that soothe it. The castile soap gently cleanses the skin while the vegetable glycerin acts as a humectant to make sure it stays well moisturized. The grapefruit seed extract is antifungal and antibacterial which keeps you pimple-free but also acts to increase the shelf life of your face wash so that you can store it in the shower. All in all, it’s a fantastic blend for feeling like your face is squeaky clean without the actually “squeaky” face feeling.
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Ingredients:
- 1.5 tbsp bee pollen
granules (pretty easy to find locally, check a health food store nearby)
- 5 tbsp witch hazel
or aloe vera juice
(this is to dissolve the bee pollen granules in).
- If you can’t find witch hazel or aloe juice, you can use lemon juice. It’s not the very best option given you’ll also be adding castile soap to the mixture…here’s an explanation for why…but I’ve used it in a pinch and it worked well enough to hold me over until I got the witch hazel.
- 1/2 cup vegetable glycerin
- 3 tbsp raw honey
(also fairly easy to find a local supply)
- 15 drops grapefruit seed extract
- 1/2 cup liquid castile soap
(I used Dr. Bronner’s tea tree scented soap)
Steps:
1. Place the 2 tbsp of bee pollen granules into a small jar (I used a small mason jar, see below) along with the 5 tbsp of witch hazel (or aloe vera or lemon juice).
2. Stir the bee pollen and witch hazel mixture until the bee pollen granules have mostly dissolved. (It’s ok if there are some left, they’ll get blended away.)
3. Add the bee pollen and witch hazel mixture to your blender.
4. Add the 1/2 cup vegetable glycerin, 2 tbsp raw honey, and 15 drops grapefruit seed extract and blend on low for a minute.
5. Add in the 1/2 cup castile soap and blend for just a few seconds, until it’s mixed in. Don’t blend too long because it foams up and will leak all over the place (and is really hard to clean up because it foams like crazy when it gets wet. I totally didn’t go through all this on an earlier attempt.)
6. Decant into a storage container. I used an old VO5 shampoo bottle that holds about 500 mL or so (I didn’t check the label before I tossed it so I’m guessing here.)
This recipe is completely modifiable according to skin type. If you’re having problems with oily skin, bump up the honey and castile soap (only change on at a time). For dry skin, try adding more glycerin and less castile soap. If your skin is dull, try increasing the amount of bee pollen. If you want a more viscous gel, try increasing the honey or mixing the bee pollen in less witch hazel.
Even though the original idea was to just use this as face wash, I actually use this mix as face wash, body wash, and shave gel. It foams a lot so it does well on a loofah but it’s also quite slippery straight out of the container which helps make shaving a nick-free/razor-bump-free experience. How’s that for a multi-tasking cleanser?
Hi! Just wondering what is your daily face care routine? I would love to make everything but I think I’ll just start with the basic for now! Thanks!
Thats a great approach!
I end up experimenting a lot since I’m always trying out new recipes and such but when I first started, I just washed my face twice a day with diluted castile soap (Dr. Bronner’s) and followed it up with some argan oil…pretty simple! Then as I built up my supply of goodies, I made this Bee Clean Face Wash and I usually end up coming back to it.
I now mix several oils together with the argan oil, such as rose hip oil, avocado oil, emu oil, and some essential oils (one example is the Super Smooth Face Serum recipe I have). But I’ve just been slowly adding to things as I build my collection! But its still really just cleanse with mild cleanser and oil after.
I do the different kinds of masks I’ve shared on here pretty routinely as well, about every one to two weeks. I started out with just a simple bentonite clay mask which is nice (and cheap!). And I make a honey and baking soda mask/scrub which most folks already have those things in the kitchen so that’s a good starting one as well!
Sorry, that wasn’t probably as straightforward as you were hoping for! If I can answer any other questions or clarify anything, please let me know!
If you don’t have grapefruit seed extract, could you use grapefruit seed essential oil?
They’re not quite the same but I’d say that’s a pretty good swap nonetheless. The essential oil also has some germ fighting properties but not quite as much. I love how it smells though so I’ll never turn down adding grapefruit essential oil to my stuff:-)
Oh okay! If I swap them, should I adjust anything else? Do you think the soap will work as well without the extract?
It will definitely work the same way but I would be more vigilant about making sure it doesn’t sit out for too long at warm temperatures…I’s guess shelf life would be a few weeks.
Oh, and no, you don’t need to adjust anything else 🙂