Make a smurf powder to mousse cleanser

A simple cleanser that transforms from powder to mousse when activated with water.

Today’s blog post will be focussing on texture. 

The industry is drowning in innovative solutions to bring you skincare and haircare products with textures that could make you stand out from the crowd.

If you have ever visited trade shows, you will have noticed the displays that introduce you to pudding-like masks, jam-like cleansers, crunchy, ice-like cosmetics but the truth is, we don’t often see the suitable ingredients at smaller raw ingredient suppliers.

This is why I wanted to create something that is interesting, achievable even for novice formulators and provides a different sensory experience for your eyes and skin.

Even you have never made a product in your life, you can still make this cleanser.

In this blog we will be making a Smurf Powder to Mousse Cleanser.

You may be familiar with a powder to foam cleanser where you can mix various botanical powders with a powdered surfactant. We will take this further here.

I wanted to create a mousse-like consistency so I added the bicarbonate of soda and citric acid mix. You may say “eeek, bicarbonate, I don’t want that”. But the truth is that these two ingredients can help create the sensory experience we are looking for and they kind of “cancel” each other out. By blending the citric acid (acidic) with the bicarbonate of soda (alkaline), a chemical reactions occurs that help create the fizzing action (just like bath bombs). Remember that the key is in the dose.

My trials:

I also wanted to have colours with benefits. I tried hibiscus, it was fine but I felt it’s not “special” enough. 

I tried matcha and spirulina and the result was awesome but I was struggling to mask the scent of green spirulina. And then I found blue spirulina in my stash and that was it.

THE FORMULA

The base of this powder cleanser is the SCI (Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate) powder which is a relatively gentle surfactant. It’s often used in shampoo bars or shower bars and can help create awesome zero waste products. 

I also used kaolin clay as it is well tolerated by all skin types.

And finally the blue spirulina which is an amazing superfood. Spirulina (the one with green colour) is a whole-cell algae, a kind of cynobacteria. It is often taken internally as a supplement and trials have been conducted which show that it may have antiviral, anti-allergy effects. Topical application studies have been conducted only recently and the results are very promising especially if you aim to use it for anti-ageing, for moisturising and for acne-prone skin. Blue Spirulina is an extract from the Spirulina algae. The blue colour comes from the pigment: phycocyanin. As it is an extract, it has a more neutral smell (and taste) than the green, whole version but it is still packed with minerals, proteins and antioxidants.

So you see, with only a few ingredients you can create something super interesting.

HOW TO USE

Pour a small amount of powder into your palm and trickle some water or hydrosol to activate. Mix them it with your finger and you will see it bubbling. Too much water though will decrease the mousse so you need to play around to find the right ratio. If you were to use a small bowl and spoon, I’d recommend one teaspoon of powder with 0.5-1 teaspoon of liquid.