I am so in love with this simple, vibrantly orange cleansing oil. It smells wonderful, works beautifully, and is so dang easy to make that it feels a bit like cheating. Compared to my other cleansing oils I think you’ll find this one lighter, perhaps a bit more satiny in the skin-feel department, and faster to make than cleansing oils I’ve made that also include emulsifying wax. It also creates a fun bit of orange abstract art as you weigh everything into your beaker or bottle!
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The bulk of any cleansing oil is going to be inexpensive, light to medium weight oils (if you have some carrier oils that are on the verge of going rancid, cleansing oils are often a great place to use them up as you’ll motor through the product if you use it twice a day). I’ve used mostly lightweight, inexpensive fractionated coconut oil with some added castor oil to boost the cleansing power. I also decided to include some C12-15 alkyl benzoate, which makes this cleansing oil feel unbelievably light when you use it.
Our cleansing ingredient is Cromollient SCE. Cromollient SCE is a solubilizer, meaning its molecules have one end that loves water, and another that loves oil. That ability to get along well with both sides of the oil/water divide means Cromollient SCE gives this cleansing oil beautiful wash-off; after you massage it into your skin it will happily and easily rinse off when you introduce water (I like to do this in the form of a damp microfibre cloth).
A titch of impossibly orange sea buckthorn fruit oil gives this cleansing oil its colour (don’t worry, it won’t stain your skin!), and the delicious mango scent comes from a natural mango fragrance oil from Essential Wholesale. Because of the stunning colour I highly recommend packaging this in a clear or frosted bottle so you can really enjoy it; I used a 50mL (1.69fl oz) frosted glass bottle from New Directions Aromatics with a treatment pump top, and I think it looks amazing!
The little stirring rod in this photo is from Lotion Crafter.
You can make this by combining everything right in your bottle, capping, and shaking—that’s it! It’ll take you longer to take your ingredients out and put them away again (so you might as well make something else mango-y while the things are out, right?). I hope you love this Mango Mango Cleansing Oil as much as I do—happy making!
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Mango Mango Cleansing Oil
4.5g | 10% Cromollient SCE
4.5g | 10% castor oil (USA / Canada)
25.875g | 57.5% fractionated coconut oil (USA / Canada)
9g | 20% C12–15 alkyl benzoate
0.45g | 1% sea buckthorn fruit oil
0.225g | 0.5% Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)
0.45g | 1% natural mango fragrance oilWeigh all the ingredients into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup or beaker and stir to combine. Once everything is all mixed up, transfer your cleansing oil to a 50mL (1.69fl oz) bottle. I used a 50mL (1.69fl oz) Zelo Frosted Glass Bottle from New Directions Aromatics with a dispensing pump.
Alternatively, you could weigh everything right into the storage bottle, cap, and shake to combine. That’s it!
To use, dispense a nickel sized amount of cleansing oil into your palm, and work it up with a bit of warm water. Massage that into your face before wiping it off with a damp microfibre cloth.
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this cleansing oil does not contain any water, it does not require a broad-spectrum preservative (broad spectrum preservatives ward off microbial growth, and microbes require water to live—no water, no microbes!). Be sure to keep it dry to ensure it lasts as long as possible—don’t let any water get into the container and it should easily last a year.
Substitutions
As always, be aware that making substitutions will change the final product. While these swaps won’t break the recipe, you will get a different final product than I did.
- As I’ve provided this recipe in percentages as well as grams you can easily calculate it to any size using a simple spreadsheet as I’ve explained in this post. As written in grams this recipe will make 45g, which fills a 50mL (1.69fl oz) bottle nicely.
- To learn more about the ingredients used in this recipe, including why they’re included and what you can substitute them with, please visit the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia. It doesn’t have everything in it yet, but there’s lots of good information there! If I have not given a specific substitution suggestion in this list please look up the ingredient in the encyclopedia before asking.
- You can use Polysorbate 80 or Olivem 300 in place of the Cromollient SCE
- You can use a different inexpensive carrier oil in place of the fractionated coconut oil, C12-15 alkyl benzoate, and/or castor oil
- You can replace the sea buckthorn fruit oil with more fractionated coconut oil for a not-orange end product
- You can use a different essential oil or fragrance oil
Gifting Disclosure
The natural mango fragrance oil and C12–15 alkyl benzoate were gifted by Essential Wholesale. The sea buckthorn fruit oil was gifted by SIBU.
Hi Marie!
I love this! Have not made it yet but will soon. I have been using an oil cleanser (tropical enzyme) from Leahlani skincare and it is really amazing. Any way you can do a remake of that one? I live in South Africa and it is darn expensive to get it here so I was thinking of trying it out myself.
Thank you for your awesomeness!
I’ll keep it in mind—thanks for the suggestion and happy making!
This looks so beautiful. It is allways inspirational to see you constantly improving your cosmetic formulas in terms off better performance, wash off, velvety skinfeel, gentlyness and many others. I know I really don’t need a new oil cleanser but.. I was instantly thinking of making something like this. 😀 Like some caprylic/capric triglycerides with liquid shea butter and polyglyceryl-4 oleate together with cartenoids. And like you have said, this is a good way to use those a bit older oils. I’d propably choose cromollient sce here too If I where you. Thank you again, Marie!
Hello Johanna!
I love it how all over the world, people are reading other people’s mind in the DIY world!
Hi Barb, that is right!
Thank you so much miss and you’re recipe was amazing
Hi Marie,
Would this be a good place to add some glycolic acid or fruit acid complex for someone fighting acne? Or would it be ok in a leave on cream/moisturizer? My daughter has trouble with sensitive skin that seems to break out more than it should for a 30 year old! She wants me to make her something to help. On that note I think the only acne cream you have is one from a few years back that’s pretty chewy, maybe it’s time for a new one with some pharmaceuticals!? Pretty please?
Hey Val! I’d include glycolic acid in leave-on things rather than rinse-off for improved impact.
Many of the formulations I’ve shared lately have had great anti-acne benefits for me, I just haven’t called them anti-acne (though I probably could’ve!). The soothing series, for instance, has loads of awesome goodies in it that should really help with acne by moisturizing the skin & strengthening the acid mantle/barrier. I’ve also found niacinamide to be the bomb-diggety for my acne! I will definitely work on something more specific as well 🙂
Hi Marie. A few questions: Is olive oil glycereth-8 esters = olive oil peg-7 esters? I only have glycereth-8 esters of olive oil and shea butter…hlb is around 11. And some durosoft sf and durosoft pk sg (medium and low hlb).
None of these doesn’t seem to boost rinse off as well as I expected, even at 15 %. Could you please suggest any other cleansing oil recipe I could start from, something with e-waxes? I’m doing some testing and calculating anyway, so I’m not looking for any easy answers.
Hi Marie,
I’m going to do a simple side by
comparison side test with these emulsifiers (olive oil glycereth-8 esters and polyglyceryl-4 oleate/durosoft sf first) to figure this out. If possible, I’ll share my results with pictures online. Just thought I should mention if anyone in Europe has similar problems and wants more options for polysorbates! I usually combine these emulsifiers in a cleansing oil (which makes things more complicated) so this simple test should be usefull. 😛
I also strated using second cleanser of some kind (again) every once in a while.
With many thanks,
Johanna
Thanks so much, Johanna! It will be brilliant to have some more information for those emulsifiers—I haven’t seen either for sale in Canada 🙂 I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Ok Johanna… this answer is soooooo simple.
Two words for you… cleansing…. balms.
I have been in epic love and nothing else even comes close to my skins love affair with them.Here is a link for all the cleansing balms Marie has posted here.
Let me know if these work for you!
Happy making!
Barb
PS- my favourites are the ones with orange wax… ohhhh orange wax!
Thanks so much, Barb! Orange wax sounds delicious. I think I was making things too complicated so I went back to cleansing oils and oil gels I’ve shared on IG. I love Marie’s creamy clay cleanser (with btms50 or Xyliance, from the book) and creamy french green clay mask (with xyliance and some bamboo powder, tecnically not cleanser but I like it as scrub + mask). I’ve used several batches of them – they never fail me no matter how my skin feels. I’m so happy that I found them.
Btw, 2 new cleansing creams are beautifull! I couldn’t help adding some blue tansy eo to lavender aloe variety.
Whenever I use cromollient or polysorbate 80 it always ends up separating and sinking to the bottom. Any tips for preventing this?
That’s strange! What is the storage temperature like?
Help, in the uk we cannot get the cromollient at all. What would be the best substitute for it
Please read the substitutions list in the post 🙂
Late to the cromollient party, but WOW–the rinse off on this is absolutely unreal. This is the only cleansing oil I’ve ever used that literally did just rinse right off. I also love the light, silky feel and plenty of play time with no skin drag. I just made this to motor through some um, ‘mature’ grapseseed oil and I’m completely obsessed. Thank you!!
I’m so glad you’re loving it! I do think the C12-15 alkyl benzoate also plays a big role in the rinse-off; that stuff is looooooovely ❤️ Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
Is MCT coconut oil a good substitute for fractionated coconut oil?