| I remember watching my mother take off her waterproof mascara with baby oil when I was a child. I got to experience it when I started wearing waterproof mascara from time to time in high school. It was very oily and stayed on the skin even after trying to wipe it off with a warm washcloth. It was effective in removing makeup but not very pleasant. Now we both use high-end, very expensive oil-free eye makeup removers, but I am very fed up with what I am paying for it! Time to raid the blog kitchen and see what I can find!
I took home samples of several different (much more pleasant) oils to try for a week. I tried Sesame Oil, Coconut Oil Fractions, Sweet Almond Oil, Peach Kernel Oil, and Colorless Jojoba Oil. I first tried Sweet Almond Oil. It worked fairly well. It got off all of my eye shadow and most of my mascara. It also soaked into my skin quick so it did not leave an oily residue on my eye lids. I found Peach Kernel Oil to be pretty much the same result. It did the job well enough and it did not give me a case of the icks afterwards. Next I tried Coconut Oil Fractions. I would never use this on my eye again. Let me try to explain why. Using Coconut Oil Fractions on my eye is like wearing contacts on a windy day. You can risk doing it but why when there is a better alternative? My eyes felt mildly irritated with this oil. It got the job done but since there are so many other oils to choose from I would not recommend this one because of the discomfort it brings to the eye. When I tried Colorless Jojoba Oil I felt that it left my eye dry. It too did the job but I did not like the after effect. The winner for me was definitely Sesame Oil. I felt like it got all of my makeup off and it did not irritate my eye. It does leave some oil on the eyelid, but a warm washcloth will take it off. I liked the slickness of the oil and that I didn’t have to scrub at my eyelashes to get off my mascara. There are many more oils out there to try and I only sampled 5 of them. Which oils would you try? Does climate effect your choice of oil (humid or dry)? I live in Utah where it is really dry. If you live in a more humid climate would you choose an oil that soaks in quicker? Have fun doing your own experiment!
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 Samples of oils. |
Timely choice of subject! I have been pondering a homemade cold cream for just such a thing.
I would do grapeseed for it’s ability to be easily absorbed and try avocado too for super moisture for the delicate eye skin.
What a fun experiment! Thanks for sharing your results. We also live where it is really dry (high desert) and it has been a challenge to learn what works here after growing up on the coast where it is wet ALL the time. Our family has used olive oil to get our eye make-up removed. It works pretty good but definitely is heavier and leaves a residue. I tried to console myself with the healthful benefits 🙂
I am VERY interested in this! I too am tired of paying top dollar for water proof removers, and then some of them don’t work well on top of it. Tonight I need to rummage through my oil collection!
If you added a little polysorbate 80 (as a solubilizer), this would solve or at least reduce the oily residue problem. There was a discussion a while back on the forum about a makeup remover, and they used squalane (or subbed olive oil) and polysorbate 80 in a 50/50 mix. Apply and then rinse with water.
Well I am liking the ideas and feedback I am getting here. I only tried a few oils, but there are so many others you could try. Thank you for the wonderful tips on different oils to try. I am also intrigued by the idea of adding Polysorbate 80 to reduce the oily residue. You could really use any oil if it works well, whatever you happen to have on hand that doesn’t burn your eyeball (no Coconut Oil Fractions for me!).
I am going to try Sesame oil soon- I have never had the chance to try it but this use alone would be worth it! 🙂
Olive oil works well. Try adding 50/50 Polysorbate 80 to olive, avocado, sunflower or oil of choice. Rinses clean and leaves skin moisturized.
I use macadamia nut oil sometimes as well. I agree- sesame oil is nice, but the macadamia nut oil doesn’t leave a greasy feeling or residue to be a problem hours later AND it is good for aging skin right/makes my under eye area nice and soft.
Hi Joy! Welcome to the team!
I know this blog is about using an oil for makeup removal, but after reading your Rose Otto Body Butter blog, I thought that would make a wonderful makeup removal.
Your Body Butter Base is loaded with wonderful oils and butters – PLUS paraben free! And since it’s so thick – it wouldn’t take much to remove makeup. The only thing I would change is to use it as is!! No scent whatsoever! That’s the one thing I can’t stand about makeup, face creams, etc. etc. — they scent them to high heaven!! Why?! Guess that’s why I’d never make it in the big cosmetic companies!!
Take care ;o)
Kathy R
I’ve always used my face lotion when I used to wear makeup to remove it. Used it like a cold cream, but it’s nice to know that I can make something like these ideas for my daughters and friends that still wear makeup.
I wonder if virgin coconut oil would work well for this?
Like Mesha says, what a timely topic! I wash my face afterwards, so I haven’t been concerned about oiliness, but I just started experimenting with using shea oil. So far, happy to not have raccoon eyes post-wash. 🙂
This made me curious – polysorbate 80 is eye safe as well as glycerin, Both polysorbate 80 and glycerin are used in eye drops for dry eyes. Being in the south, dry is not an issue but oily sure is. Might have to give the polysorbate a try.
Have you ever had an issue with polysorbate being too sticky in an eye-makeup remover?
I happen to have a lot of rice bran and have been putting it everywhere from face and hair masks, butters, scrubs and yes also tried to take my make up off with it…hmm think that problem for me is that I always feel like I need to wash it off with soap afterwards 🙁 must try sesame seed oil though
Question for you then please — we are paraben and petroleum sensitive at our house. Is Polysorbate a product that has these two items? I tried to google Polysorbate and didn’t get very much that was clear information 🙂
Good news! Polysorbate does not contain petroleum or paraben. Go ahead and try it!
I’ve heard that olive oil is great at taking off eye makeup, but I have yet to try it. Maybe this will inspire me!
I have very sensitive skin and I’ve been using EV Olive Oil to remove my makeup everyday for a while now with no issues. I’ve never had irritation from rubbing over my eyes, but I don’t use waterproof mascara because it makes my lashes brittle over time. I use plain oil on a cotton ball to remove eye makeup. For the rest of the face, I put the oil in a clean canning jar with a big sprig of rosemary from my garden, a bag of green tea, and a few drops of vitamin E and let it sit for at least a day. I then remove the sprig/teabag and pour it into a dark hand-sized spray bottle for ease of use. I spray it over my face in the morning and let it sit for at least 10 minutes while I prepare my morning tea or check the news and just wash it off in the shower or blot it off with a warm washcloth. Olive Oil is inexpensive in comparison to others and all three together moisturize, tone, provide a natural sun block and have anti-inflammatory antibiotic properties while smelling yummy.
How interesting! I really like the idea of putting it in a bottle and spraying it.
I like olive oil but smudges makeup next day.