4 ouncesThis is a green duplicate of the famous and outrageously priced Eve Lom Cleanser, which is a
blend of mineral oil, lanolin, cocoa butter, essential oils, and a mighty dose of paraben
preservatives. Instead of hops oil, we will use tea tree oil that has additional antibacterial
properties.
- Melt the cocoa butter, olive oil, and soybean wax using the double-boiler method described
previously. Whisk until the mass becomes uniform without lumps. - Add the glycerin and whisk the mixture until it thickens.
- Add essential oils and set aside to cool.
- Pour into a glass jar. You can store this balm in the fridge for up to one month. If you want to
prolong the shelf life, add contents of one capsule of vitamin C to the balm while it’s still hot.
Quick Green Cleansers
Organic full-fat milk is the ultimate quickie cleanser. Just pour some milk on a cotton wool ball
and wipe off the eye makeup and refresh the skin. There is no need to wash off the milk. Top it off
with your regular moisturizer or leave it as it is and enjoy a mild exfoliation as milk sours and gives
your skin a natural glow. Plain Greek-style yogurt also yields excellent results, especially when left
on skin for a few minutes and then rinsed off with tepid water. Dried milk powder (or a baby
formula) and finely ground almond meal, mixed in equal proportions, make a great natural scrub. The
lactic acid in yogurt, especially when joined by the antibacterial properties of honey, makes an
excellent antibacterial cleanser. Simply blend two great natural foods with a fork or stick blender.
Oatmeal makes a wonderfully gentle buffing cleanser. You can use it plain with a few tablespoons
of hot water, but make sure not to scald your face! Hot water is needed just to soften the oatmeal. You
can mix cooked or steeped oatmeal with another great natural exfoliator: organic mayonnaise. If you
need an even stronger cleanser, mix one tablespoon of organic oatmeal with two tablespoons of plain
low-fat yogurt. Apply to dry skin, wait for five minutes, and rinse off.
When out of your regular eye makeup remover, saturate a cotton ball or a cotton wool disk with
virgin olive oil or grape seed oil and gently wipe off mascara and eye shadows.
Many baby cereals work as wonderfully gentle cleansers. Just mash the leftovers from your baby’s
breakfast with a few drops of olive or sweet almond oil and spread over your face, massage a little,
and rinse off.
When my skin feels like staging a riot over all those sleepless nights, I cannot find a better second-
step cleanser than milk of magnesia. Use the plain variety, without added sugar or strawberry flavors.
Apply milk of magnesia with a cotton ball after you’ve removed makeup with facial oil or soap.
Leave the liquid for a few minutes and rinse off.
Green Tip
When out of your regular eye makeup remover, saturate a cotton ball or a cotton wool disk with virgin olive oil or
grape seed oil and gently wipe off mascara and eye shadows.
When it comes to nonabrasive scrubs, nothing comes close to juicy, ripe papaya. Papaya skin
contains an enzyme called papain that helps to remove dead skin cells and impurities. With regular