Raise your right hand if you’re guilty of sleeping with your makeup on. Yes, I’m looking at you.
Don’t lie to me. Remember that one time you were out with that one guy and you didn’t get home until that one hour and you were so utterly exhausted that you collapsed into bed without a thought of cleansing that mug of yours? Or maybe it crossed your mind, but you couldn’t bring yourself to wipe off something that those outrageously sweet lips had just kissed? See? You’re totally guilty.
But don’t worry, I’m guilty too. And for me, that one guy is my husband. Thankfully, our hours of sleep have grown since the days of late night pre-marriage dating, so my excuses for lacking in the facial washing department have dwindled. I think mostly I’m just lazy now.
I’ve always loved the idea and ease of facial cleansing wipes, but the cost has been a major damper. $8 for a months worth of wipes? Ain’t no room for that in this grocery budget.
Enter my recent discovery of a fabulous homemade version.
This cleansing recipe is soothing and invigorating and gentle and cleansing all at the same time. I’m seriously in love.
Ingredients for Homemade Cleansing Facial Wipes
2 cups distilled water*
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil or fractionated coconut oil
5 drops Malealuca essential oil
5 drops Grapefruit essential oil
Optional: Few drops of vitamin e or aloe*
Old, clean t shirt or towel
*Note: It is important to use distilled water to prevent bacteria growth. I did not use any optional add-ins because I didn’t have them at the time, so they are not included in my cost breakdown.
Directions for Making Homemade Cleansing Facial Wipes
Cut up an old clean t shirt or towel into small squares. I cut mine to be a bout 2”x 2”. Set aside. Pour the melted or fractionated coconut oil in a large bowl. Add essential oils and vitamin e/aloe if using, and stir to combine. Add distilled water and mix again.
Lay your cut squares in the bowl to soak up the solution and then transfer to a jar of choice to store. Pour any remaining solution over towels. Store at room temperature or in the refrigerator if you’d like a nice and cool little experience removing your makeup. Use like any other regular facial cleansing wipes.
Here are my cut towels soaking up the solution in the bowl, before putting them in my jar:
I really love the choice of essential oils in this recipe. The grapefruit oil fights acne and helps infuse aging skin with all sorts of anti-aging goodness, and the tea tree oil cleanses and soothes.
It’s super easy to throw the used wipes in a pillow case or other washable bag and wash like you would any other normal towels. That way, they’re easy to keep track of in the washer/dryer.
Cost Breakdown for Homemade Cleansing Facial Wipes:
Distilled Water: $0.11 (A gallon of distilled water at my local grocery store is $0.88.)
Coconut Oil: $0.14 (I buy my large container of coconut oil at Costco for about $22.)
Maleluca Oil: $0.38
Grapefruit Oil: $0.30
Total Cost: $1.23
My local Target sells Neutrogena Cleansing Pink Grapefruit Facial Wipes for $6.99, so that’s an 82% savings!!! Homemade for the win again!
Ingredients
- 2 cups distilled water*
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil or fractionated coconut oil
- 5 drops Malealuca essential oil
- 5 drops Grapefruit essential oil
- Optional: Few drops of vitamin e or aloe*
- Old clean t shirt or towel
Instructions
- Cut up an old clean t shirt or towel into small squares. I cut mine to be a bout 2”x 2”. Set aside. Pour the melted or fractionated coconut oil in a large bowl. Add essential oils and vitamin e/aloe if using, and stir to combine. Add distilled water and mix again.
- Lay your cut squares in the bowl to soak up the solution and then transfer to a jar of choice to store. Pour any remaining solution over towels. Store at room temperature or in the refrigerator if you’d like a nice and cool little experience removing your makeup. Use like any other regular facial cleansing wipes.
Notes
About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Karen says
I love the cleansing solution but did not like using towel squares. The toweling left little bits of fiber on my face so I thought I would use t-shirts but was afraid the edges would curl. I ended up knitting 14 2-inch squares using cotton yarn. Works great!!
Antonia Noel says
Hi there! I just tried this recipe, with a few tweaks. I used regular boiled water, for one, which is only because I was antsy and didn’t have distilled. Next time I do it, I plan to use distilled. This is a trial run to see if I even like it in the first place. I did, however, use vitamin E which should help a little for the distilled water issue. Also because I only had a 20% tea tree oil solution, and very little of it left, I just used the whole bit in the recipe. It was only somewhere between a teaspoon and a tablespoon of it left. Lastly, I used lavender essential oil which is also helps with acne. After cutting up a large white T-shirt (I like the fact that it’s white because I can actually see the dirt lift off), I soaked them and placed them all in a jar. Then I began to use them, and wow, they are wonderful for my kind of skin (combination). They cleanse while at the same time moisturizing, but not too much. My skin feels amazing after using it. After reading the comments, I see a bunch of people said the T-shirts started to stink after a few days. If that happens to me, I’ll likely do what others suggested and leave the solution in a separate bottle and apply to the wipes as needed. So far, I really like this though. I’ll update you in a few days with my experiences throughout the week.
Best Anti-fungal Bath Soap says
Thanks for sharing the idea.. Wash your face twice a day (no more) with warm water and a mild soap made for people with skin issues..If you can do that may be facial wipes of tea tree oil is best for you.
Michelle B says
This is such a great idea! I’m looking for a DIY after-workout wipe recipe. They have these great wipes you can use to freshen up after a lunch time workout before heading back to the office, but they are SO expensive! Would love ideas how to translate this kind of wipe into something for post-workout!
Michelle B
Alison says
A few comments in response to some of the above concerns.
1. If you get any redness, some Rosewater on a cottonball will soothe it. Plus, your not supposed to scrub your face with it.
2. It’s a facial cleanser the same way store bought face wipes are, it serves it’s purpose as a quick fix but not meant to be used as your morning and night face washing routine (tho it would still be better than store bought facial cleanser any day). And even for that I just use raw organic honey or an oatmeal mixture (a few other wet and dry ingredients that can be listed if anyone’s curious) and follow that, every other day or every 3 days, with a baking soda exfoliation.
3. And in regards to the rags, t-shirts or towels, cutting them up, to sew or not to sew, smelling like wet towels….you can make the solution and put it in any kind of bottle and just put it on a cottonball or whatever you want to use as needed. That way you wont have to worry about any bacteria from your hands getting into it from having to stick them in or any of the rag/towel/t-shirt “problems”.
This isn’t a strict science. You know what will and will not work with your skin and/or your routine. And if you don’t, you will after getting more involved with the wonderful world of natural beauty and cleaning recipes. If you’re really interested in this stuff it’s always a good idea to do your own research. If only for your own knowledge….plus it’s super fun and very interesting (and addictive) once you get into it. And use common sense. Before long, you’ll be comfortable enough to create your own recipes and use the ideas on this and other natural sites as a guideline and inspiration. Have fun with it, making this stuff is only half the fun. The other half is educating yourself on EO’s and other ingredients you can use, benefits to your skin, purposes they serve within the recipe, the numerous things you CAN use and knowing all of the symptoms they relieve, is the other half 🙂
mandi says
Hi there! I’m more and more looking for clean diy help with everything! I am a young living consultant and have been looking for recipes for facial cleansers as well as facial moisturizers. This seems to be a 2 in 1 kind of deal. My question is this: how is it a facial cleanser without the soap? Is it actually cleaning your face? I do hope so! Is this all you use for cleansing AND moisturizing? Thanks for the help. LOVE your blog!!
Happy.MoneySaver says
Hi, Mandi! Coconut oil is naturally antibacterial, antifungal, moisturizing and, according to research, great for atopic dermatitis. The grapefruit oil fights acne and the tea tree oil cleanses and soothes. So I wanted to try it out as a cleanser and it worked well for me! For the most part this is all I need but if my face is feeling dry occasionally I will add some extra moisturizer afterwards. 🙂
Jaime D says
Has anyone had issues with the towel smelling like an old wet towel after a few days?
Marilyn says
That’s because there is bacteria with out a preservative. Oil and water cause bacteria unless you add a preservative. It’s a bacteria you can’t see it’s the naked eye.
Sara says
I don’t like the Neutrogena Cleansing Pink Grapefruit Facial Wipes, do you think using Lavender EO will be a good alternative?
Happy.MoneySaver says
I think lavender oil could be a good substitute and that it can help with acne. But I recently read an article that I posted below that may give some more information!
http://www.thelavenderbuzz.com/2012/reader-question-can-i-safely-use-lavender-oil-on-my-face/
Kelly says
I’ve used a combination of tea tree and lavender on my face each night for years and I haven’t had any issues with it.
Dot Liverman says
I tried this recipe tonight adding a few drops of vitamin E. It took 7 swipes across my whole face before the white cloths no longer showed traces of the makeup I had put on 15 hours earlier. After this many time of wiping, my face was very red and irritated. Unfortunately, I had to throw the whole mixture out. Now I am trying to calm the redness and burning of my face before going to bed.
Jessica says
Isn’t tea tree oil naturally antibacterial? Coconut oil is too, I believe. I think as long as you use them up quickly, wash your hands before you dig in, not make a humongous batch and not have them sitting around for months and months then you shouldn’t have a problem. Karrie-thanks for the blog, fun to read even if I may never may be a homesteader 😉 maybe one day-sigh…thanks for info, even if I don’t actually try all of your ideas and live vicariously thru you, ie…making your own lye, 500 freezer meals in one day ;-), making a coat or something? for the chickens to wear?, etc…surely things to be admired and tried! Love it all and LOVE reading your adventures!
Happy.MoneySaver says
Thanks so much! You made my day!
Kimberly says
Love this! been looking for a more natural alternative to the chemicals and even though I wear little to no makeup its still nice to have something moisturizing to swipe on my face for a bit of extra moisturizing
Terri says
Simply using distilled water is not going to prevent bacterial growth. After you add the other products, put your hands in and out to get the cloths and open to the air, you will have bacteria in there…..
Barbara McKinley says
Tea Tree essential oil is antibacterial……
Sherry Caley says
I agree with Terri. First let me say, I’m not a scientist, but I do make my own lotions and I sell handmade soap. Please do your research before you make a product that’s absorbed into you skin.
You need to add Optiphen Plus or Optiphen to any water based product. (I haven’t made this, so I don’t know the PH). Tea Tree oil is antibacterial, and can reduce the amount of preservative, but not replace it unless you have the correct percentages. For Tea Tree to be effective it needs to be at least 5% or more.
Also, there’s nothing in the instructions about spraying your bowl, hands, equipment, etc with alcohol to sanitize everything before you start.
ana says
Great idea! I’m wondering if you had any issues with the coconut oil hardening however. Thanks!
Alysha says
The tea tree and grapefruit oil dilute the coconut. As long as you keep it at room temp it won’t harden!
Melissa says
You can buy packs of very small, soft washcloths in the baby section if you want to use inexpensive pre-made cloths. A pack of four is usually around $1.
Michele Service says
That’s a good idea, thanks! I commented above to Karrie (our hostess here) that I’m not a fan of using t-shirts for face cloths–I prefer the texture of a washcloth.
Lori says
Thanks for the recipe. I may tweak it for my own skin problems, but that is why using essential oils is so great. There are so many to choose from!
Sarah says
Fantastic idea!!! Are these makeup cleanser pads safe and able to remove eye makeup? TY!
Elizabeth says
Wouldn’t the grapefruit burn your skin?
Michele Service says
I’m ordering my oils today so I can make some according to the recipe above (will try to let you know how they turn out), but my thought is that 5 drops of grapefruit oil will be diluted because of the 2 cups of distilled water and the tablespoon of coconut oil. I’m looking forward to having a jar of these sitting on my counter–always ready to be used! 🙂
Micki says
Be careful using citrus oils on skin that is exposed to sunlight. It can cause phototoxicity which makes your skin super sensitive to UV and burn. I use alot of grapefruit oils in my lotions because it helps so well with cellulite but once summer is here and my skin is exposed ill have to stop using it for a while. Im a medium skinned readhead…
Marsha says
I love how you’re always coming up with something and sharing it with all of us. I love Burts Bees facial cleansers but they’re pricey and the grapefruit ones do NOT remove all my eye makeup like their original scent do, but I’d love not to spend $7-8 a month on them! Thanks!
Kelly Madden says
Such a great post!! Does it need to be grapefruit oil or can you use a different oil in place of it?
Michele Service says
Love the idea of making the Facial Cloths! Thank you so much. (Yes, I have been known to leave my make-up on overnight…oops!) Since I have just signed up as a doTerra Essential Oils consultant, I appreciate the opportunity to learn about all of the recipes for homemade cleaners, cleansers, etc. My ONLY suggestion to your Facial Cloths post would be to zig-zag or serge stitch the edges of the toweling pieces once they are cut into squares; otherwise they will fall apart in your washer and make quite a mess in the dryer (or inside of your pillowcase).
Melissa says
I’m a seamstress with 25+ years under my belt and wanted to chime in to say if you’re using knit fabric (which is what a t-shirt is), then they won’t fall apart. Only woven fabrics fray, tho serging the edges wouldn’t cause harm, the cloths just won’t be as soft as they are without serging.
Michele Service says
Very true–thanks. I was thinking about cutting up old towels or washcloths because I prefer that texture over washing with knit fabric. I’m ordering my oils today and already have everything else ready to go! Thank you again! Love your site! 🙂