Cleansing balm: wipe-off and rinse-off formulas, and the emulsifier that decides which
Two full cleansing balm formulas with percentages and grams, plus which emulsifiers rinse clean at 8 to 15%, and why beeswax and borax will not.
A cleansing balm is the only product in this family that is designed to fail. Everything else is engineered to hold its structure on the skin. A cleansing balm has to collapse into oil the moment a warm finger touches it, dissolve makeup and sunscreen, and then, if it is a rinse-off type, disappear down the sink. That last requirement is what makes it the hardest anhydrous formula to get right, because oil does not rinse.
A cleansing balm is a soft anhydrous blend of butters, oils and 3 to 8% wax that melts on contact and dissolves oil-soluble grime. To rinse off with water rather than being wiped away, it needs an oil-soluble emulsifier at 8 to 15% of the total, such as polysorbate 80. Beeswax alone cannot do this.
Two families, and you must choose one
Every cleansing balm on the market is one of two things, and the difference is a single ingredient class.
A wipe-off balm is oils, butters and a little wax. You massage it in, it dissolves makeup, and you remove it with a warm damp cloth or a flannel. It leaves a light oil film behind, which some people want and some do not. It is simple, it is cheap, and nothing about it can go wrong except texture.
A self-emulsifying balm contains an emulsifier. Add water and massage, and instead of beading and sliding around it turns into a thin white milk that carries the oil and the dissolved grime away down the drain. This is what most commercial cleansing balms do and what most people mean when they search for the recipe. It requires a specific type of ingredient in a specific quantity, and there is no natural substitute for it. If you are still deciding between formats, cleansing balm versus oil versus micellar water compares them on residue, cost and skin feel.
What "emulsifying" means here, and why beeswax and borax is not it
An emulsifier is a molecule with an oil-loving end and a water-loving end. In a cleansing balm it does not hold a stable emulsion in the jar, because there is no water in the jar. It sits inertly in the fat until you add water at the sink, and then it sits at the oil-water boundary and lets the oil break into droplets small enough to be carried away. The milky white flash you see is those droplets scattering light. That is the whole mechanism, and it is why the product is anhydrous right up until the moment it is used.
The beeswax and borax combination that appears in old cold cream recipes is a different thing entirely. Borax reacts with the free fatty acids in beeswax to make a sodium soap that stabilises water dispersed in oil. That produces a cold cream: a water-containing emulsion that wipes off, needs a preservative and has a real spoilage risk. It does not make an anhydrous balm rinse. Beeswax on its own is a structurant, nothing more, as covered in beeswax in balms.
Choosing an emulsifier
You need one that is oil-soluble, works cold at the sink, and is skin-safe on the face. Water-phase emulsifiers such as emulsifying wax NF or cetearyl olivate will not disperse an oil into water from a solid balm.
| Emulsifier | Typical level | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polysorbate 80 | 8-15% | Cheap, widely available, liquid so it is easy to weigh, reliably strong rinse | Ethoxylated, so unacceptable to some buyers. Slight odour and a faintly sticky feel at higher levels |
| PEG-20 glyceryl stearate | 10-15% | Silkier skin feel than polysorbate, good milky flash, solid so it helps body | Also PEG-based. Needs melting in, and thickens the balm noticeably |
| Sucrose laurate or sucrose stearate | 8-12% | Sugar-derived, mild, acceptable to natural-positioned brands | Weaker rinse, often needs a co-emulsifier or a lighter oil phase. Can be gritty if not fully dissolved |
| Polyglyceryl-4 or -10 esters | 10-15% | Polyglycerol-based, no ethoxylation, mild | Rinse is less complete, grade-dependent, and each supplier's version behaves differently |
Test the rinse before you jar the batch. Put a pea of the warm melt on your palm, add a few drops of water and rub. A working formula turns opaque white within two or three seconds. If it beads, slides and stays clear, add 1% more emulsifier and test again. Heavier oil phases with a lot of butter need more emulsifier than light ester-based ones.
Formula 1: wipe-off cleansing balm, 120 g
All percentages are weight percent of the finished batch and total exactly 100. A 120 g batch fills two 2 oz (60 mL) jars at 54 g each (108 g), leaving 12 g of overage (10%). Multiply any percentage by 1.2 for grams. Both formulas carry mixed tocopherols at 0.1%, which reads low next to most craft recipes and is meant to: the measured optimum for alpha-tocopherol in an oil is about 100 parts per million, and above that it can act as a pro-oxidant, so more is not better. The working range is 0.05 to 0.2% of a mixed concentrate, and the evidence is in vitamin E and antioxidants.
| Ingredient | % | g in 120 g | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| High-oleic sunflower oil | 28.4 | 34.08 | Bulk solvent for makeup, stable at one to two years |
| Caprylic/capric triglyceride | 20.0 | 24.0 | Light, dry, odourless. Stops the balm feeling heavy |
| Shea butter | 24.0 | 28.8 | Body and cushion, so it stays where you put it during the massage |
| Virgin coconut oil | 15.0 | 18.0 | Melts at 24 to 26 C, which gives the melt-on-contact behaviour |
| Castor oil | 6.0 | 7.2 | Grabs pigment and helps lift long-wear colour |
| Beeswax | 6.0 | 7.2 | Just enough structure to keep it scoopable rather than pourable |
| Mixed tocopherols | 0.1 | 0.12 | Antioxidant for the oil phase |
| Essential oil (optional) | 0.5 | 0.6 | Best left out on a face product. Put the 0.5% into the sunflower instead |
| Total | 100.0 | 120.0 |
Formula 2: self-emulsifying rinse-off balm, 120 g
| Ingredient | % | g in 120 g | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caprylic/capric triglyceride | 24.4 | 29.28 | Light carrier that emulsifies easily, so the rinse works at a lower dose |
| Shea butter | 22.0 | 26.4 | Structure and slip during the massage phase |
| High-oleic sunflower oil | 18.0 | 21.6 | Bulk emollient and makeup solvent |
| Polysorbate 80 | 12.0 | 14.4 | The rinse. Disperses the whole oil phase into water |
| Virgin coconut oil | 12.0 | 14.4 | Melt-on-contact behaviour and fast collapse |
| Castor oil | 6.0 | 7.2 | Pigment lifting, mascara and lip colour |
| Beeswax | 5.0 | 6.0 | Lower than formula 1 because the emulsifier adds body |
| Mixed tocopherols | 0.1 | 0.12 | Antioxidant |
| Fragrance (optional) | 0.5 | 0.6 | Omit for eye-area use |
| Total | 100.0 | 120.0 |
Method
- Weigh the fat phase. Beeswax, shea, coconut oil and the liquid oils into a heatproof jug on a scale reading to 0.1 g. Hold back the emulsifier, the tocopherol and any fragrance.
- Melt at 75 to 80 C. In a water bath. Because there is shea in both formulas, hold at 75 to 80 C (167 to 176 F) for five minutes after the wax has gone, so every fat crystal is melted and the balm does not go gritty a week later.
- Stir in the emulsifier at 65 to 70 C. Off the heat. Mix for a full minute. Polysorbate 80 is a thick liquid and it will streak if you rush this. Streaks mean patches of the balm will not rinse.
- Run the rinse test. A pea of melt on a palm, a few drops of water, rub. Milky white in two seconds means it works. Clear and beading means add 1% more emulsifier and repeat.
- Add tocopherol and fragrance at 55 to 60 C. Then pour into dry, wide-mouth jars on a level surface.
- Cool fast. A cold water bath or twenty minutes in the fridge, not the freezer. Slow cooling from a partly melted state is what makes shea grainy. Cap only when fully cool, or condensation will form inside the lid.
How to adjust it
- Does not rinse clean: raise polysorbate 80 from 12% to 14 or 15%, taking it out of the sunflower oil. Reduce shea by 4% at the same time if the film still feels heavy.
- Stings or feels stripping: drop the emulsifier to 9 or 10% and put the difference back into caprylic/capric triglyceride. Remove all fragrance.
- Too firm to scoop: cut beeswax from 5% to 3% and add the 2% to the liquid oil. In a cold bathroom, also cut coconut oil by 4% in favour of sunflower.
- Too soft in summer: raise beeswax to 7 or 8%, or move 5% from liquid oil into shea butter.
- Not dissolving long-wear makeup: take castor from 6% to 10%, out of the sunflower. Castor is the best pigment wetter in the list.
- Feels heavy on oily skin: cut coconut oil to 6% and shea to 16%, and put the whole 12% into caprylic/capric triglyceride and jojoba oil.
The preservative question, precisely
Both formulas are anhydrous, so their water activity is far below the roughly 0.6 that even osmotolerant moulds need, and no preservative is required for the product as made. That is the correct technical answer and it is also incomplete, because a cleansing balm is used at a basin with wet hands, in a humid room, several times a week. It is the one balm in regular contact with water.
So treat contamination as a use problem rather than a formula problem. Keep the jar off the shower shelf and off the edge of the bath. Take product out with a dry spatula or scoop, never with wet fingers. Cap it tightly, since a warm bathroom will condense water onto a cold lid. Use a small jar so it is finished within three months rather than a large one that lives open for a year. If you cannot control any of that, or you are selling to people who will not, then add a broad-spectrum oil-compatible preservative and have the product properly assessed. The general rule is set out in do balms need preservatives, and jar and tool discipline in workshop hygiene.
Removing makeup and sunscreen, and the double cleanse
The technique matters as much as the formula. Apply to dry skin and dry hands, because water added at the start stops the oil dissolving anything. Massage for 30 to 60 seconds, which is long enough for the balm to reach skin temperature and for the oil to dissolve the waxes, silicones and film formers in long-wear makeup and water-resistant sunscreen. Only then add water, a little at a time, and keep massaging until the balm turns white and thin. Rinse with lukewarm water.
Oils dissolve oil-soluble soil: sebum, mineral and organic sunscreen filters, silicones, pigment binders. They do not remove sweat salts, water-soluble dirt or the residue of the emulsifier itself. That is the entire argument for the double cleanse: an oil-phase cleanser first, then a short wash with a mild surfactant cleanser. It is not an obligation. If your skin is dry and your makeup is light, one pass with a rinse-off balm is enough. If you use heavy sunscreen daily, the second wash does real work. Choice of oils matters here too, since heavier fats left on the skin are what people mean when they blame a balm for congestion: see comedogenic ratings for how little those numbers actually tell you, and coconut oil in balms for the ingredient that attracts most of the blame.
Hot fat burns: melt in a water bath, keep the jug below 85 C and dry your hands before handling it. Emulsifiers are surfactants and will sting eyes, so keep fragrance out of any product used around the eye area and rinse thoroughly. Patch test a new formula on the jawline for several nights. This is a cosmetic cleanser: it does not treat acne, dermatitis or any other condition, and it should not be described as doing so.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Beads on wet skin, never goes white | Emulsifier too low, or stirred in badly and streaked | Remelt to 70 C, stir a full minute, raise to 14 to 15% |
| Rinses but leaves a squeaky, tight feel | Emulsifier too high for the oil phase | Drop to 9 to 10% and add back light ester oil |
| Gritty or sandy after a week | Shea recrystallising after slow cooling | Remelt to 80 C and chill fast. See grainy shea butter |
| Too hard to scoop from the jar | Wax or butter fraction too high for the room | Move 2% from wax to liquid oil. See balm too hard or too soft |
| Stings the eyes or the skin | Surfactant level, fragrance, or oxidised oil | Cut emulsifier and remove fragrance. See balm stings or burns |
| Smells of old nuts or crayons | Oxidised oil phase, usually a high-linoleic oil | Rebase on oleic oils and esters. See rancid balm |
Where to start
Make the wipe-off version first, in a 120 g batch, and use it for a week. It tells you whether the oil phase and the melt behaviour suit your skin, with only one variable to get wrong. Then add the emulsifier at 12% and make the same formula again, and you will be testing exactly one thing. The most common mistake is going straight to a rinse-off formula with an unfamiliar oil blend, so that when it neither rinses nor feels right you have no way of knowing which of the two problems you are looking at. For the choice of oils in the base, the butter comparison is the place to start.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a cleansing balm that rinses off without an emulsifier?
No. Without an emulsifier the oil has no way to disperse into rinse water, so it either stays on the skin as a film or has to be wiped away with a cloth. That is a perfectly good product, it is just a wipe-off balm. Rinsing clean requires an oil-soluble emulsifier at roughly 8 to 15% of the formula.
Is beeswax and borax an emulsifier for a cleansing balm?
Not for this purpose. Borax reacts with free fatty acids in beeswax to form a weak soap that stabilises a water-in-oil cold cream, which still has a water phase and still needs a preservative. It does not make an anhydrous balm disperse in rinse water. If you want a rinse-off balm you need a proper oil-soluble emulsifier.
Does a cleansing balm need a preservative?
An anhydrous cleansing balm does not, because there is no free water for microbes to grow in. The complication is use: this is the one balm that meets water at the sink every day. Keep the jar out of the shower, scoop with a dry spatula rather than wet fingers, and if you insist on wet fingers, formulate with a broad-spectrum preservative that works in oil.
Will a cleansing balm remove sunscreen?
Oil-based cleansers remove oil-soluble material well, which covers most mineral and organic sunscreen filters, silicones and long-wear makeup. Massage on dry skin for 30 to 60 seconds before adding water, because water added too early stops the oil dissolving anything further. Very heavy or water-resistant sunscreens usually need a follow-up wash.
How much emulsifier does a cleansing balm need?
Between 8 and 15% of the total weight for most oil phases. Start at 10%, test by rubbing a drop between wet fingers, and increase by 1% at a time until it turns milky white rather than beading. Heavier and more occlusive oil phases need more. Above about 15% you gain little and start to feel stripping and stinging.
Why does my cleansing balm sting my eyes?
Usually the emulsifier level, any added fragrance, or both. Emulsifiers are surfactants and surfactants irritate mucous membranes. Drop the emulsifier to the lowest level that still rinses, remove essential oils entirely from an eye-area product, and make sure you emulsify with water before it can migrate into the eye.
Is a cleansing balm comedogenic?
It depends on the oils and on how completely you remove it. Highly occlusive fats left on the skin are the risk, not the balm concept. A rinse-off version removes most of the residue. If you are prone to congestion, favour lighter esters such as caprylic/capric triglyceride and keep coconut oil low.
Sources and further reading
- US Food and Drug Administration, Is It a Cosmetic, a Drug, or Both? (Or Is It Soap?), FDA.
- European Commission, CosIng cosmetic ingredient database, European Commission.
- Cosmetic Ingredient Review, Final report on the safety assessment of Polysorbates 20, 21, 40, 60, 61, 65, 80, 81 and 85, Journal of the American College of Toxicology, 1984.
- Ananthapadmanabhan KP, Moore DJ, Subramanyan K, Misra M and Meyer F, Cleansing without compromise: the impact of cleansers on the skin barrier and the technology of mild cleansing, Dermatologic Therapy, 2004.
- US Food and Drug Administration, Sunscreen: How to Help Protect Your Skin from the Sun, FDA.
Reviewed and updated 6 September 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will fix and log it.