Most face washes come in bottles filled with water, preservatives, and long ingredient lists. But cleansing your skin doesn’t always have to look like that.
This natural homemade face wash is something a little different, a powdered cleanser that transforms into a soft, creamy wash when mixed with water. It’s simple, effective, and surprisingly luxurious to use.
Because this formula is completely dry, it doesn’t require preservatives and will keep well for many months. Its also lightweight, beginner-friendly and easy to customize depending on your skin type.
Benefits Of This Homemade Face Wash
If you’ve been curious about how to make a DIY face wash for glowing skin, this powdered cleanser is a wonderful place to start.
- Powdered cleanser that activates with water for a nice fresh face wash.
- No water in the formula, which means no preservative is required.
- Creates a soft, creamy lather that cleanses without stripping skin.
- Gentle enough for all skin types including sensitive skin.
- Leaves skin feeling clean, calm, and naturally glowing.
- Easy beginner-friendly recipe, with simple ingredients.
- Lightweight and travel-friendly compared to the liquid cleansers.
- More environmentally friendly thanks to its minimal packaging and zero water content.
Key Ingredients & Why We’ve Used Them
SCI Powder (sodium cocoyl isethionate)
SCI is a coconut-derived surfactant that creates a soft, creamy lather when mixed with water.
We chose SCI powder because we wanted a mild and natural face wash that was suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin. SCI comes in many different forms: powder, noodles, flakes, granules and chips. You need to make sure that you use the powdered one for this recipe. To be honest I find it much easier to work with, however it can create airborne dust so always pop a face make on whilst working with it.
Kaolin Clay
Kaolin clay is one of the easiest clays to purchase, and one of the most economical clays available. It’s also one of the gentlest cosmetic clays you can use, which is exactly why we chose it for this recipe. It will help absorb excess oil and lift impurities without stripping or drying out the skin. When blended with the SCI powder, we feel it balances the recipe nicely, giving the cleanser a soft, creamy feel with good cleansing power.
Arrowroot Powder
Although a powdered face wash doesn’t particularly need a bulking agent such as arrowroot we feel it adds to the overall feel of the product. It gives the powder a lighter less heavy clay feeling and leaves the skin feeling more silky. We also found that after adding the arrowroot powder, the face wash rinsed off much easier, leaving no heavy residue that you often get when working with clay.
Colloidal Oatmeal or Oat Flour
Colloidal oatmeal is one of our favorite ingredients for using in every day cleansing wash. It helps calm & comfort the skin while you wash, which is important when you’re using any surfactant, even a mild one like SCI. Oats contain natural compounds that soothe irritations and support the skins barrier, leaving it feeling soft & nourished. They also add a lovely creamy quality when the powder is mixed with water, making the cleanser feel more nurturing and less like a traditional foaming wash. It’s also what makes this formula suitable for all skin types, including sensitive or easily irritated skin.
Vitamin E
I’ve included a small amount of vitamin E as an antioxidant to help keep the essential oil fresh and support overall formula stability of the face wash. Vitamin e also has some great skin benefits, however this is a wash off product so these benefits won’t necessarily transfer to the skin. If you choose not to use an essential oil you do not need to add it to the recipe.
Lavender Essential Oil
The essential oil is there mainly to give the cleanser a soft, natural scent. Because this is a powdered product, even a very small amount makes it feel more luxurious and enjoyable to use. I’ve kept it fairly low so it doesn’t overwhelm the skin or interfere with the gentle nature of the recipe.
We chose lavender essential oil because it’s one of the most versatile and skin-friendly essential oils. It’s known for its calming properties and is generally well tolerated, which makes it suitable for most skin types.
Substitutions
- Kaolin Clay, pink clay would be a good all-rounder but feel free to choose any clay that is suitable to your skin type
- SCI Powder, (sodium cocoyl isethionate) SLSA would be good substitute
- Arrowroot powder, tapioca, rice starch or cornstarch.
- Colloidal Oatmeal, oat Flour or you could go for something like milk powder
- Lavender Essential Oil, you could leave it out or choosea different one
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Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- 18 grams Kaolin Clay, 10 grams SCI Powder, 9.5 grams Arrowroot Powder, 12 grams Colloidal Ground OatsPut on your face mask, place a sieve over one of the bowls and Sift the clay into it. Then carefully sift the SCI powder into the same bowl. Being careful not to cause too much soap dust. Do the same with the arrowroot and the oatmeal.
- When all of the powders have been added, give the powders a good stir to make sure they are all combined. Once the powders are combined the SCI powder should be weighed down so there's less soapy powder dust.
- 0.3 grams Vitamin E Oil, 0.2 grams Lavender Essential OilRemove two or three scoops of the powder into a small container. Place the container on to the scales, press tare and weigh in the vitamin E and essential oil.
- Transfer back to the main batch and stir until the oils have been fully incorporated.
- Sieve the powders another couple of times to make sure all of the powers and oils are fully combined.
- 1 Small Mason Clip JarTransfer to a jar with a scoop ready for use.
Notes
Tips
- You can make your own oat flour. Simply blend plain rolled oats in a clean, dry blender or coffee grinder to a very fine powder, then sift to remove any larger bits remaining.
- Adding a small amount of powdered mica to match the chosen scent can give a quick interesting look.
- Use different clays to target different skin types.
- You can make this a mini face mask. Just leave the creamy paste on for 1–2 minutes before rinsing. The kaolin and oats get a little more time to calm and balance the skin.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know How It Was!
Tips
How to use
Shake or scoop about ½ teaspoon of powder into dry hands.
Add a few drops of water and rub your hands together to form a soft, creamy paste. Don’t expect lots of big bubbles, this is a gentle cleanse with a light, creamy lather.
Massage onto the face using gentle circular movements for 30–60 seconds, then rinse thoroughly with warm water. Pat dry and follow with your usual moisturiser.
Always keep the jar tightly closed and avoid getting water inside.
How to store
This face wash should keep for 12 months if stored and used correctly.
Store in a damp proof container or shaker. If storing in a mason jar like we have, use a spoon to scoop out the required amount. Never use wet or damp hands and replace the lid straight away.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes the simplest beauty recipes are the most satisfying. This powdered DIY face wash proves that cleansing doesn’t have to be at all complicated to be effective.
The gentle SCI cleanser provides a soft creamy lather, while kaolin clay helps lift away impurities and excess oil. Arrowroot keeps the texture light and silky, and the oats bring a calming touch that leaves skin feeling soft and comfortable after washing.
Because the formula is completely dry, it’s naturally long-lasting and very low maintenance, no preservative, no refrigeration and very little packaging required.
Once you’ve made it, you’ll also realise how easy it is to customize. Swap clays, change the essential oil, or leave the scent out entirely to suit your skin perfectly.
