Selfecary How-to: Facial Cleansing Powders
Facial cleansing powders. What are they? WHY would anyone want to use a more complicated product? And HOW do you actually use them effectively? Hopefully, I can answer some of these burning questions you may have and maybe even some you didn’t even know you had. I’ll be honest, I didn’t give facial cleansing powders the time of day for the longest time. I found the idea of them cumbersome and archaic. With all the science and chemistry out there that has domineered the skincare world, why would ANYONE want to use something that required MORE effort than opening a bottle?
It's 100% okay if you don’t enjoy complicated. In fact, if that’s you, I urge you to embrace it and run with it. What I want to do here in this article is help show you that complicated doesn’t have to equal long or hard. That’s a common misconception. That complicated equals hard. It doesn’t. And much like other complicated things we do every day, like drive a car, cook a meal, or even wash our own face, once you figure out how it works for you, complicated becomes muscle memory and second nature, much like driving.
But facial cleansing powders don’t HAVE to be complicated, in fact, I would argue that they are easier in some cases than your typical drug store routine. By their nature, facial cleansing powders are controlled ENTIRELY by you and what you want. You control how much product is being used, in what ways, and it’s customizable to your skin’s needs THAT VERY MOMENT. No need to change things up if your feeling extra dry that day, or need a little more TLC. With facial powder cleansing, you can add or subtract as needed. Like I said, YOU are in control here, not the ‘manufacturer’s recommended usage’.
So, what exactly are facial cleaning powders? Well, they are a product that cleanses your skin, in a powder form. You add a liquid of your choice to the powder and voila! You’ve created your own cleanser. Now, for the purposes of this article, I’m focusing on facial powders that are made up of natural ingredients. Many great products are out there, that are designed to mimic a foaming cleanser or a cream cleaner that we’re used to, but those have specific additives that MAKE them feel like what we’re used to. I want to take you back a bit farther.
Cleansing powders go back farther than recorded history. They have been acknowledged in Aryuvedic practices, the Ancient Egyptians, and even before then. They are probably one of oldest known ways to clean our faces since we started wanting to do something more than splash water on and rub. Common ingredients used to cleanse the skin would include things like fine sand, ash, and – you know it – plants! But did you also know that our ancestors also used things like bones to scrap clean their skin? Exfoliation is a huge aspect of keeping our skin clean; one we undervalue. Over the counter products focused on exfoliation are typically chemically based and advised to be used once, maybe twice a week. But our skin is constantly renewing itself. That’s where a facial powder can come in. It’s my belief that a gentle, constant exfoliation process on the skin helps keep it cleaner, healthier and glowing. Not a once or twice a week or once a month chemical peeling of the skin.
Facial powders made up of finely ground materials lend themselves to a whole world of customizable exfoliation. Here’s your big takeaway: the more liquid you add to a facial cleansing powder, the less exfoliation occurs. In other words, want a more exfoliating experience? Use less liquid. You can even use a facial cleansing powder bone-dry if you’d like. It’s a bit reminiscent of using fine beach sand to rub all over when you’re on holiday.
Now that we’ve covered the What and the Why, here’s some tips on the How. I just want to remind you, dear reader, that this guide is for powder cleansers using all natural ingredients. You will (probably) not a get a lather or a foam or a ‘soapy’ feeling with natural ingredients. Very few things found in the natural world actually do that on their own. I’m not discounting products that are created in a lab aren’t beneficial to some, but for our purposes, I’m only working with ingredients I can pronounce and source myself. I just want to make sure expectations are clear when you set out on your own journey with facial cleansing powders.
First, start with less of the powder than you think you need. Much like baking, you can always add more dry ingredients than you can liquid – and you can never take away liquid. I typically use maybe a ¼ tsp on my face – if that.
Next, if I want a gentle exfoliation along with a feeling of cleansing, I will add 4 times as much liquid as dry powder. So, continuing with the ¼ tsp example, I would add a full teaspoon of water or oil or whatever liquid I want that day to the powder and mix until it is fully saturated. That’s it! Apply to my face in firm, circular motions until I decide it’s enough, and rinse! Or maybe I’ll let it set for a little while. It doesn’t really matter – it’s all about what makes you and your skin feel good.
And here’s the best part – if 4 times the liquid isn’t working for you, adjust it! Play around! Do a 1:1 ratio, or a 1:5 (that’s 1 part dry to 5 parts liquid), experiment to find your perfect balance for daily use. I promise, it’s not nearly as difficult as it sounds. You just want to make sure it’s a consistency that is more liquid than gluey or dough-like.
But that’s not all facial cleansing powders can be. Maybe you’ve had a really rough week, or your skin has taken a beating, and you want to treat yourself. Facial cleansing powders typically ALWAYS can be used as a mask as well – for extra oomph and just general overall goodness. Mixing up facial powders as a mask are a little trickier, because I’ve found that the secret is it the set – once you’ve mixed the powder and liquid, you want to let it ‘set up’ for a few minutes. That means leaving it alone to gel.
Typically, you want to use at least double the amount of powder, if not three times that you’d use for mixing your daily cleansing. So, going back to our ¼ tsp example, for a mask I’d want to have ½ tsp to ¾ tsp of powder to start. Remember! You can always add more powder or liquid – but you can’t take it away! Now, for liquids here, you want to add based on the type of mask feel your looking to get. If you want a ‘wet’ mask – one that stays pretty damp and doesn’t dry and crack – start with double the amount of liquid versus powder. If you want a mask that dries and sucks up impurities in the pores, use a 1:1 ratio of liquid.
Once your liquid has been added and mixed thoroughly with your powder, you want to let it set for a few minutes. The consistency may change slightly, and you will get a better sense of what kind of mask you’ve created. This is where you can add a bit more powder or liquid as needed, stir it up again, let it set and then apply. I like to use a mask applicator and pretend I’m ‘painting’ my face but I’m bougie like that, your fingers work just as well.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t speak about what kind of liquid you can use with facial cleansing powders. But that’s part of their beauty – anything you’d put on your face, you can use! I even know some people who will add it to their existing cleanser for a little added exfoliation or boost! So, here’s a rundown.
Water: Probably the most basic and most used liquid. This is my go-to for a daily cleansing, unless I’m feeling particularly dry. Then, I grab the next liquid.
Oil: We’re talking olive oil, sunflower, jojoba – pretty much any naturally derived plant oil here. NOT the oil you use for your car or anything synthetically made or Essential Oils. My personal favorite is Jojoba Oil for my skin, but each oil has it’s own benefits as well.
I do want to take a moment here and say that I do NOT advise using any sort of essential oil on your skin undiluted. Essential oils are HIGHLY concentrated and can cause adverse effects with even the tiniest bit of use. I don’t care what you’ve heard or read elsewhere on the internet – THERE IS NO SAFE USE FOR ESSENTIAL OILS UNDILUTED ON YOUR SKIN OR INJESTED. Just don’t. Smell them, diffuse them, add them (sparingly) to a carrier oil or a handmade soap/scrub, just don’t eat them. Please.
Honey: I grab the honey when I’m feeling particularly like I need a hydration boost – or if I’m experiencing signs of acne. While I usually use honey as the liquid when I’m doing a mask, you can dilute it with a bit of water to create a more liquid texture for daily cleansing. Honey is skin’s best friend! It locks in moisture, it’s anti-microbial/bacterial, and it smells wonderful! Please don’t use it though, if you’re allergic. Just because we want to use something, doesn’t mean we should.
And there you have it – facial powder cleansers de-mystified and explained! It’s not nearly as daunting as they seem, now do they?