Quite awhile ago I wrote about making your own make up remover wipes. It was killing me to pay the high price of the ones sold in the stores. Lately, however, a couple of other things have been bothering me about the whole taking makeup off thing!
First, since getting rid of paper towels in the kitchen…I feel a little hypocritical still using them in the bathroom. :-) Second, I feel like my face needs something richer, with more emollients, for taking off my makeup. Cuz I ain’t gettin’ any younger! :-/
So I spent much of today searching for and developing a slightly different make up removal system, that after using tonight I think I am going to like A LOT!
PART ONE:
First I made some REUSABLE make up remover pads similar to something I saw on The Sproutz Store Blog. When I saw these I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of them sooner. Now that we use cloth exclusively in the kitchen, this made perfect sense to me.
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| I thought a nice, soft flannel would be the best fabric to make them out of. I already had some of the fabric on the left, and the piece on the right is an old flannel pillow case I found at the thrift store. |
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| I figured a dozen pads should be enough, so I cut out 12 of the striped fabric and 24 of the white. |
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| Then I assembled little flannel “sandwiches”. The middle layer is just for added softness/absorbency. |
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| Right sides together…sew three of the sides… |
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| clip the corners…. |
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| …then turn right sides out. |
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| Now fold in the 4th edge like this…. |
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| And top stitch closed. Then continue topstitching around all four sides. |
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| Finished product! |
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| Less than perfectly shaped…but perfectly fine by me. :-) |
PART TWO:
Now I needed something to use ON the reusable pads. I searched and searched and searched for a homemade eye make up remover with the right ingredients for me. I finally decided on the following “recipe” adapted from one I saw at adelynStONE.com.
1 cup distilled water
1 1/2 Tablespoons baby shampoo (no tears)
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
A few drops of essential oil (optional)
I first heated the water for about a minute in the microwave…then added the shampoo and the solid coconut oil. The coconut oil became liquid in the warm water. I then added a couple of drops of essential oil.
After a quick stir, I put it in a little glass jar I had on hand and went to try it out. Not only did it work quickly and easily in taking off even my eye make up…it left my skin feeling so nice and moisturized! The original recipe called for only 1/8 teaspoon of coconut oil, so I increased it quite a bit for mine. You could easily adjust the amount of coconut oil to suit your own needs.
I have a small mesh washing bag with a zipper that I bought awhile back to put “delicates” in for washing. I am going to just toss the used pads in there and toss the bag in a drawer until I’m at the end of my “stash”, then throw the whole thing in the washing machine.
Improving on a good idea is today’s…..
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Jill: If you use hot water and a lil' bleach plus dry the pads in the dryer or line dry in the sun you should have no problems with bateria. The kinds of bad bugs that you'd worry about won't survive the hot water, the bleach, the detergent (even homemade) and the heat of the dryer, the dryness of the dryer or the heat, UV rays or dryness of being dried outdoors. Still nervouse? dampen them and microwave for 30 seconds, then let dry and store. It's all just pretty much a lethal combo for bacteria. They just aren't that hardy.
Now, under no circumstances should you pre-moisten the pads and let them sit OR should you keep that solution for more than a week or two. Also, do not dip a pad and re-dip a used or partially used pad. And make sure your hands, jar etc. are scrupulously clean before you mix up your cleaner and use clean hands before you apply. 'Cause otherwise that would be silly and you might introduce bad bugs into your solution. If you can tolerate tea tree oil a drop of that is a natural disinfectant and in small amounts has a nice "clean" smell. This is a really great recipie and I'll be making it up this weekend! Thanks Jill!
Awesome!
I am THRILLED with the idea of this … I don't much like J&J, but I will do like PP and alter a tad, perhaps glycerine? Also, I was thinking the pads could be done without needing to turnout the fabric, if you don't mind a bit of a raw edge. Flannel fray is very soft after a couple of washings.
I was wondering if washing the little eye pads transferred any oil residue to other clothes washed in the same load? Thanks!
thanks for a great tutorial! I've linked to your post here: http://dollarstoremom.com/2012/03/make-homemade-makeup-remover/
@thriftynut I was told by the eye doctor to use baby shampoo to clean eyelash base to prevent a sty from happening. @ Anonymous who said "how long before you get a infection" comment: You wash things you by from a thrift/goodwill store right? If you toss the fabric cloths into a bag and maybe wash with your jeans (dark colors)Your detergent should cleanse them as well as any other clothes. I bought washcloths for only eye make-up remover use and wash them NO problem. This was a great article and very useful information. Thank You Jillee!
After reading this post, I decided to try this out, but didn't have baby shampoo or distilled water – I used straight coconut oil – works like a charm and my old wrinkled skin is loving the extra moisture around the eyes
Luann…I like that idea. Flannel washes up so nicely!
daisykl….isn't coconut oil amazing!? I love it!
I've started using something similar to this to wash my face on the nights I'm too lazy to do the oil cleansing method (which I love, by the way…who would have thought that the best way to get my INCREDIBLY oily skin under control would be to wash my face with oil?!) I start with about a cup of distilled water, then add a couple squirts each of sweet almond oil, castor oil, vegetable glycerin and castile soap. I also add a few drop of tea tree oil and vitamin E oil and store it all in a mason jar. When it comes time to wash my face, I just dip my flannel wash cloth into the solution, swipe it around my face a few times and voila…clean and moisturized!
I love this blog! It's become my first read in the morning as well :) I have been wanting to make my own makeup remover and face wash as I find store bought ones are either too expensive or full of chemicals. But I had been wary about bacteria until I researched and found that using lavender oil is a great way to make it antibacterial as I found an antibacterial solution to clean cutting boards and it uses just water and lavender (http://www.care2.com/greenliving/antibacterial-spray.html). Can't wait to try this!! THANK YOU, JILL, FOR ALL YOUR IDEAS!!! Please keep them coming :)
this is just genius!!! I was just about to go out and buy some eye makeup remover then I saw this pinned on pinterest!! thank you for this tutorial :)
I stumbled across your blog yesterday and I love it!! I was having trouble with my eyes burning, itching, watering, etc. so I went for a check up at the eye doctor. He told me I had blepharatis and a mild infection. Along with an antibiotic I was to wash my eyes 2x daily with an eye cleanser. His suggestion over the expensive store bought wash was to simply use Johnson's baby shampoo. Your wash is right in line with the professional!
When you make the makeup remover pads, what about leaving one of the sides open? You could put your fingers inside & it would help with holding the pad. You would have to seam the open ends, but that’s an easy fix. Just an idea.
ummm….Hello! That’s a GREAT idea! Thanks Laura! You get a gold star for that one! :-)
Hi, I did the recipe just as you have it here. My solution is mostly liquid, but after it got back to room temperature, the coconut oil went back to a solid/semi-solid form. Did I do something wrong? How do I avoid this? Is it true that I should only use this solution for a week as mentioned above? Thanks!
where do you get the coconut oil? Ive seen it in the baking isle, is this what everyone is using?
Trisha…the first time I bought coconut oil I just bought the stuff at the grocery store in the baking aisle. Worked just fine. Since then I have been buying organic coconut oil on Amazon.com. But there are lots of other online resources for it too. Hope this helps. :-)
Loved this while it was warm, but at room temp the coconut oil went back to solid form. How did you prevent this?
I was wondering the same thing!! : )
Love this idea, but does this remove waterproof mascara?
Hi I found your blog a short while ago on Pinterest! I love your ideas!!! Thank you!!!! I was wondering if an all natural baby (or adult) soap would work. I’m trying to switch over!! Thanks!!
One tip I’ll offer for this recipe: If you don’t have baby shampoo on hand don’t substitute peppermint castille soap. It may be gentle and organic but your eyes will not like the peppermint. hahaha (In my defense, it seemed like a good substitute at the time.) So for now, it is a nice hand soap until I can buy some baby shampoo. Can’t wait to try this recipe PROPERLY. Thank you for sharing!
I like this recipe. My tip is I cut up an old T-shirt into squares. I made 4×4 inch squares. Since T-shirt fabric does not ravel you don’t have to sew them. You could cut them as large or small as you like. You could even use pinking shears for a more decorative edge and the fabric is soft and gentle on the delicate skin around your eyes. Thanks Jillee! I love all of your recipes and ideas.
Saw this on pinterest, pinned it, and finally made it! This is awesome, and I look forward to using it every night from now on! I hate purchasing makeup remover, and I know that olive oil works well, but its just a tad too oily to just use straight. Thankfully, I had coconut oil on hand, some no-tears baby shampoo,…. and an empty container! I will, hopefully soon, make those reuseable pads, too! I’m all about re-using things like that, instead of dumping money into paper towels and cotton rounds, etc. It’s so wasteful! THANK YOU for ALL of your wonderful ideas! (I also made a small batch of homemade body wash! that’s awesome, too!)
Some direct-sales eye makeup remover is $15 a bottle and barely lasts a month. Also, it doesn’t always get all of the gunk, especially eye liner, off of my eyes! Thanks for this great recipe :)
I LOVE you!!! I can’t get enough of your blog! You are awesome!! Keep it up! Just when I think you couldnt possibly think of anything more brilliant, you amaze me! And your blog is saving me thousands! Thank YOU! Did I say I LOVE you because I do! :-)
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