How to remove facial makeup gently and naturally without using chemical removers is a question I understandably get a lot.
One method that I have recommended in the past is using a very fine microfibre cloth such as the Jane Iredale Magic Mitt. All you do is wet the cloth and gently massage it around your face and it removes makeup with only water.
This isn’t a bad method and lots of people have loved it. I still think it’s a better option than chemical makeup removers. Magic Mitt lovers, if it works for you keep using it!
However, I’ve learned a lot about external skin care over the last year, and I no longer expressly recommend doing any mechanical exfoliation at all, particularly if your skin has an imbalance like acne or redness.
By mechanical exfoliation, I mean using any kind of rubbing or scrubbing action to remove the outermost layer of skin. And, well, Magic Mitting regretfully falls under this category, even if it is a gentle form of it.
This is because manual exfoliation thins and irritates the skin’s barrier (particularly daily manual exfoliation), which leads to dehydration. When your skin is dehydrated, it starts trapping dead skin cells and other junk in the pore, leading to more skin imbalance.
Instead, the best thing to do is exfoliate by enzyme exfoliation such as the papaya enzyme masks, and only ever third or fourth day… not every day.
This gently eats away the top layer of dead skin without that scrubbing action, and by not doing it every day, you are preventing the skin from thinning.
Anyway… back to removing makeup…
So How Do I Remove My Makeup Then?
So if I no longer recommend the Magic Mitt, what do I recommend then?
Well, if your face makeup isn’t too sticky, I’d recommend just washing it off with a gentle natural face wash such as raw, smooth honey.
If your makeup is stubborn though, then you’ll have to use oils to first dissolve it.
So, grab an oil of your choice. It doesn’t have to be the same one that you use to moisturize with after. Jojoba would be a good one for anyone to use as a makeup remover, but it’s up to you.
So just put a few drops of oil in your hand and wipe it onto your face, and also over your eyes if you’re wearing eye makeup. Allow it to sit for a minute or two to dissolve, and then use the honey to wash it all off.
If it’s still not off, wash with honey a second time to get any significant residue that remains. You may need a cotton pad (or you can use the Magic Mitt!) to help wipe away eye makeup.
And then before you dry your skin off, apply a bit more of your moisturizer or an oil that’s good for your skin type. And that’s that!
What are your tips on natural makeup removal? What works best for you?
12 Responses
I love to use honey on my face, and do a mask of raw honey about once a week in the am before I hop in the shower. But for me it doesn’t get the makeup off. I use oil…usually coconut oil. First I take a warm washcloth and gently get off as much makeup as I can. Next I take the coconut oil and rub all over my face. I’ll take another warm washcloth to remove the coconut oil. I’ve been doing this for years and have been thrilled with it. The makeup is off and my skin stays soft and balanced.
Awesome, thanks for sharing your makeup removal routine!
Hi Tracy, I started using coconut oil to remove my makeup over the summer and it works great! Washes way more thoroughly than soap-based facial cleansers and my face feels a lot more hydrated. I have a question about hyperpigmentation and residual redness from acne. I have been using MSM dissolved into aloe for about 3.5 months now and I’m seeing some results but not quite as fast as a I would like. I recently added frankincense with jojoba to my regiment so we maybe the combo will do the trick. How long does it typically take red leftover acne marks to fade away?
Thanks, I love your site!
Hi Emma, it does take a while, there’s no question about it. Keep at what you’re doing, and keep moisturizing with oils (and yes essential oils like frankincense are great), and consider using the papaya enzyme masks too and eventually they will go. But yeah you do need to be patient with it unfortunately!
I use natural mineral foundation and mascara. Sometimes I’ll dab a bit of organic concealer on spots, but my makeup routine is light. The only thing I use to wash my face is water. My skin loves it. Been doing it for over a year and my skin just gets better and better. If I happen to use a bit more eye makeup, like on special occasions, I’ll use a tiny bit of my organic shampoo to wash away the makeup. I don’t wash the rest of my face with it though. If I’ve got raccoon eyes when I get out of the shower, I take the rest of it off with shea butter. I have been using organic cold pressed shea butter as a mositurizer for a while now and it is so amazing for acne prone skin. I recently melted it down, added a couple drops of tea-tree oil and it’s so fantastic. If I do get a pimple now, the tea tree oil dries it right up. I tend to only break out around my mouth now when I eat/drink too much dairy. Also, estroblock and zinc picolinate have been a life saver.
Hey Shy – this is fantastic! Thanks for sharing your tips, and I’m super psyched that you’ve found so many things that are working for your skin
Hi Tracy!
I absolutely love using honey! I’ve been washing my face with it for a couple years now. Haven’t found anything better for a moisturizing face mask or taking off makeup. Definitely second this recommendation.
If you don’t mind my asking, what are the specific benefits of the honey being raw? I find the big open jars to get a bit messy, so sometimes I just use regular honey. Is it a pesticide thing?
Hi Kit 🙂 It doesn’t have the same active enzymes if it’s pasteurized. I mean it’ll still work to wash and take off makeup, but raw has more skin benefits
Hey. 🙂
Just wanted to say that removing makeup with a cloth/tissue is kinda tricky. There are ingredients in makeup (in a majority of it) that do not dissolve in water (for example types of sun screen) and, in the result, can’t be precisely removed only by massaging your face with a wet cloth. And that can lead to clogged pores etc.. So if someone uses the cloth and then doesn’t wash their face with some kind of product (for example charcoal sope, savon noir, eco, certified gels or “simple” drugstore washers if that’s what one likes) then it’s not enough. I’m speaking from my own experience and from what I’ve learned at school (I’m studying to be a cosmetologist/aesthetician). I personally love to use micellar water, then an ecological wash (one that is designed and made in my country :)) and then a DIY apple cider vinegar toner. 🙂
Oh, sorry, forgot something. 😉 When I use more heavy makeup I love to use oil (I prefere coconut but often run out of it :D) as a first step of cleansing my face. The well known fact is that oil dissolves oil and makeup mixed with sebum melts beautifully while massaging face (or body parts) with some kind of oil. But for me mineral oil (other names: paraffinum liquidum, isoparafin) is very very bad, it makes me break out so horribly… So I am always careful and check if for example the baby oil I want to use as makeup eraser really doesn’t contain it because even that brief of a contact with this ingredient causes me pimples.
Hi Tracy, awesome tips. I personally do not recommend any chemical makeup remover as well. We have a lot of natural and gentler alternatives around us so why choose chemical, right? I use coconut oil and honey, works great!
Nice!