How to Make a Cornflower and Clay Cleansing Bar

Even though this looks like some sort of frozen berry yoghurt dessert, it is indeed a face cleansing bar. The outrageously purple color is due to the violet clay I used – even though there is no such thing as violet clay. (It's actually white clay with added color and there's a link to the supplier below).

This bar is VERY soft, so you will definitely want to store it in the fridge. On the other hand, it goes on like a dream, cleanses and moisturizes beautifully, and looks good enough to eat – even while it's on your face.

Here's how I made this bar of 100gr (approx 3,5 oz)

Ingredients list

37 gr (1,3 oz) clay (white, purple or both)
22 gr (0,8 oz) cocoa butter
20 gr (0,7 oz) coconut butter
20 ml (0,6 fl oz) castor oil
20 ml (0,6 fl oz) almond oil
'small handful' dried cornflowers
lavender essential oil (optional)

Step 1:  crush the cornflowers.

I wrapped them in unbleached baking paper and rolled over them a few times with a rolling pin.

The result is a cornflower 'dust' that functions as a gentle exfoliant. (read a bit about the properties of cornflower here).

Not crazy about cornflower? No worries. You can substitute with
lavender.

Not crazy about the exfoliating action?
Then leave all manner of exfoliants out. This bar will still cleanse and moisturize your face and neck beautifully.

Shall we continue?

Step 2: Melt fats 

Melt the cocoa butter over LOW heat.  You only want just enough heat to melt the butter. Cocoa butter has the highest melting point, so as soon as it is melted, remove it from the heat and add the coconut butter. It will be the right temperature to melt the coconut butter without risk of overheating. Add the oils and stir.

Step 3: Add Clays

Add your clay (or clays). I mixed white with the purple clay just for fun (ok, in reality it was because I didn't have enough of the purple stuff).

Stir until you have an even mixture.

Add crushed cornflower (I ended up using less than I had prepared)

Add essential oil now if you so choose. For this bar I added 10 drops of lavender oil.

Step 4: Pour Up

Pour the mixture into a mold and let set overnight in the refrigerator. I sprinkled a bit of the leftover cornflower on top – just for decorative purposes.

To store: cut into single-application sized squares and store wrapped in a paper towel in an airtight bag in the fridge.

To use: moisten face and hands. Soften the bar between hands and apply to face and neck, massaging gently. Rinse thoroughly and finish with skin tonic.

Tip: If you do use purple clay (or another brightly colored clay), you may need an extra application of skin tonic to remove all traces of color.

Enjoy!

Where to Buy Violet Clay

I bought the violet clay from Aroma Zone. The site is in French, but if you use Google translate, it's pretty easy to find your way around the products and the ordering process.

More Cleansing Bars

Basic Cleansing Bar
French Clay Cleansing Bar
Rose and White Clay Cleansing Bar
Visit the Cleansing Bar FAQ and Tutorial Page