A Green Tea Face Soap that Finally Reduced Puffiness

I’m really excited to be able to share another great face soap recipe. This green tea face bar is made with vegan ingredients that nourish, reduce inflammation, cleanse, detox, and speed healing from acne.

A natural face soap recipe is so important today when so many cleansing bars or liquids are full of questionable or outright horrific ingredients. I went to the store recently and looked through shampoos and cleansers and saw that the word “clean” is definitely the popular advertising gimmick. “Clean” or “Natural” were on at least 60% of the bottles! Yet, not one of those bottles were pure and healthy.

Making your own soap and shampoos and other cosmetic and body products puts YOU in charge. Learn more about making your own bath and beauty products by clicking here.

If you’ve never made your own soap, then learn how by starting here: Lye Soap Step by Step. Or you can buy my book, Natural Soap Making Book for Beginners.

Why Use Green Tea?

Green tea has a lot of well established benefits that have been studied when taken internally. But what about for the skin?

Green tea is not fermented, so it retains a great amount of nutrients. 30% of its dry weight is antioxidants like polyphenols and catechins (1), as well as linoleic acid, quercetin, aginenin, trace minerals, and chlorophyll. It also contains a small amount of caffeine.

One of the chief benefits of green tea for the skin is the reduction of inflammation. This, along with the many trace minerals and flavonoids, creates an anti-aging effect.

Green tea is also cleansing. The anti-inflammation benefits help to reduce redness from acne, cleanse, and speed healing.

As you can see, green tea is a great addition to a face soap bar.

Adding other great ingredients to nourish the skin, add moisture, and condition, makes this an all around great bar!

Ingredients Used and Why

I’ve chosen some great oils, essential oils, and a clay for this recipe.

I’ve chosen frankincense and clary sage essential oils for scent. Feel free to switch the essential oils to something you prefer. I love the woodsy scent of clary sage and frankincense and they both have great benefits for the skin, but so do many other essential oils. Frankincense is a wonderful anti-inflammatory. Clary sage is also an anti-inflammatory. It is also an anti-bacterial, soothes the skin, and is an uplifting scent.

Avocado oil, apricot kernel oil, cocoa butter, and coconut oil are rich in antioxidants like vitamins A, E, and C, and are moisturizing and nourishing to the skin. Castor oil adds great bubbles.

French green clay is a great cleanser by drawing impurities from pores and detoxifying. It also soothes and speeds healing, making it a great choice for face soap.

Green Tea Face Soap Recipe

This recipe makes 2 pounds of soap, or eight 4-ounce bars.

Superfat – 10%

Ingredients:

• 5 ounces cocoa butter
• 5 ounces coconut oil
• 4 ounces avocado oil
• 4 ounces apricot kernel oil
• 4 ounces castor oil
• 7.7 ounces water
• 2 Tablespoons green tea or contents of 2 green tea bags
• 2.9 ounces lye
• 0.35 ounces clary sage essential oil
• 0.35 ounce frankincense essential oil
• 2 Tablespoons French green clay

Directions:

1. Prepare mold by lining if necessary.
2. Combine Coconut oil, cocoa butter, avocado oil, apricot kernel oil, and castor oil in a stainless steel pot and melt over medium-low heat. Allow to cool to about 90F.
3. Weigh lye in a plastic zip-top bag. Set aside.
4. Bring water to boil and weigh into a plastic container. Add tea and brew for 5 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature and then place in the freezer to cool. You don’t need to freeze solid. Just make very cold.
5. While outside and wearing safety goggles, charcoal mask, and gloves, pour lye into tea water. Allow to cool to about 90F.
6. When both lye water and oils are between 80-90 degrees F, pour lye water into oils and blend on and off until light trace.
7. Add essential oils and clay and blend.
8. Pour into prepared mold, cover, and allow to sit for 24 hours. Remove from mold and cut and cure for 3-6 weeks until hard.

Feel free to switch the essential oils to something you prefer. I love the woodsy scent of clary sage and frankincense and they both have great benefits for the skin, but so do many other essential oils.

If you don’t have French green clay, add spirulina, nettle powder, or omit.

If you have any questions, let me know. I hope you enjoy the recipe.