Traditional
makeup wipes are filled with preservatives that may cause breakouts and damage to the skin.Natural alternatives include a combination of olive oil and castor oil, cleaning with honey, and homemade makeup wipes.
A mixture of coconut oil, witch hazel, and castor oil is effective in removing long-lasting makeup.
Following is a transcript of the
Caroline Aghajanian: I tested three natural ways to remove makeup that people have recommended online and found the best one. I called my friend Nico to try my favorite method on her skin to see how she likes it.
Nico Reyes: I barely see anything!
Caroline: Nico loves makeup and has previously tried a bunch of makeup removers, but not a
Nico: What's up?
Caroline: Hi!
Nico: Oh, my God, you look so cute with your new bangs!
Caroline: Thank you, thank you! I love all the makeup. I love the red lipstick.
Nico: Thank you.
Caroline: So, you know how I told you that I wanted to try some DIY makeup removers? Well, I did a lot this week. I tried three, and I picked my favorite, and I just want to see how you like the one that I chose.
Nico: Ooh, OK! I've never DIY'd a
Caroline: OK, Nico. So, open the email I sent you with a few clips of what happened during my DIY tests.
Nico: Ooh! OK, yeah. It took a lot of willpower to not look at these yesterday. [laughs] [beep] One second, I literally lost my thing. Can you resend it one more time?
Caroline: Yeah. The Google Drive?
Nico: Hold on, I'm overexposed!
Sydney: You guys are really good at computer.
Caroline: We're so bad at computer!
Nico: I'm a very young computer-savvy person. [beep] Here we go!
Caroline: First, watch how much makeup I put on. I wore my everyday look, with eyeliner, my waterproof eyeliner. I put waterproof mascara. I just wanted things that were really tricky. I wore red lipstick. So what I typically would wear every day, just a little bit more than that.
Nico: Yeah. It's, like, glam! 'Cause you want something that's gonna be tough to really, like, test it out. OK. So, now we're moving on to the first method.
Caroline: Yes, the first method, oil cleansing, so open that link and just watch the video.
Nico: Ooh! Wow, you have a little fancy bottle, too.
Caroline: Oil cleansing is a popular method that I read about online where you mix a combination of oils depending on your skin type. I have combination skin, so I took a mixture of, like, a one-to-three ratio of castor oil and olive oil for my skin.
Nico: Honestly, I've never heard of this method. Like, olive oil on the face? I've never heard of that. Oh, gosh, I'm ready to see this stuff melt off. Oh, my gosh! Oh, no! [laughs] Your eyes! Actually, those four little drops in the beginning did a lot.
Caroline: It, like, really broke up the makeup, but the thing is I had to use more droplets to get everything off. Nico: It looks like there was still some makeup left over.
Caroline: Yeah, especially under the eyes, and, like, I can smell the olive oil too, obviously, but I didn't love that. Also, like, when I was washing it off, I think it was really hard to get all of the oil off with the water and, like, my cleanser, but overall it did a really good job. I can see why people like this method.
Nico: All right, what's the next method?
Caroline: So, the next method is actually just honey. It's weird.
Nico: Just honey?
Caroline: Yeah, yeah.
Nico: Sticky honey?
Caroline: Sticky honey, exactly. I knew, like, I just felt like this one was gonna be bad, but I gave it a chance because I read that honey has, like, a lot of anti-inflammatory properties and it's good for the skin, and especially if you have sensitive skin, so I was like, let's give it a try. So pull up that clip and let me know what you think.
Nico: Oof. OK, I don't know if I'm ready for this one. [laughs] I'm stressed out watching you. Oh, God!
Caroline: It was, like, so sticky, and then it got into my eye, and it was so irritating. OK, that's it. You know what? It's burning. [groans] OK. I'm gonna leave it on for, like, five, 10 minutes, unless my eyes fall off.
Nico: Oh, no! It doesn't even look like anything's coming off. It just looks like you put, like, a shiny piece of Saran wrap on your face.
Caroline: The trick is you keep it on your skin for about five to 10 minutes, and if you see, it's kind of, like, this weird texture.
Nico: It looks like reptile skin. You know what I mean?
Caroline: Yeah, like I'm shedding my makeup.
Nico: Yeah, that's really what it looks like. This is nuts. Oh, whoa, a lot came off.
Caroline: Yeah.
Nico: But I still feel like there's more on your face than with the olive oil-castor oil one.
Caroline: It could work for some people. For me it didn't work, and I didn't want you to go through the same thing that I was going through, but it tasted yummy. I feel like I ate my red lipstick with the honey on top.
Nico: All right, so the honey wasn't the favorite, so that means this next one, the last one, has to be it.
Caroline: Yes. OK, so, my favorite DIY makeup remover is making makeup wipes with coconut oil, castor oil, and witch hazel. So go ahead and pull up that clip.
Nico: Ooh! OK, let's see... all right, press play.
Caroline: Yes.
Nico: Here we go.
Caroline: So, I mixed everything together in a glass jar, and I added some cotton rounds in there, and some people say you can put, like, vitamin E or essential oils, but since the witch hazel I used had rose in it I thought that was OK. Actually, the original recipe was to use castile soap instead of castor oil, but I messed up there, but it worked fine.
Nico: Wow! Oh, my God, you just took your mascara off and it literally all came off in, like, one dab.
Caroline: It really, really broke down all the eye makeup and then also the lips, like, instantly.
Nico: Wow, this one is definitely working way better than the other two. It's just faster.
Caroline: So, I told you to get all those ingredients, and I'm gonna guide you through how to make it, and we're gonna see how it works on your face.
Nico: Yes, OK. Witch hazel, castor oil, coconut oil, and a little teeny-tiny jar. Oh, and my cotton rounds. So, do I have to heat this up? This coconut oil is very firm.
Caroline: Oh. OK, so, the one I bought was, like, unrefined and organic, so once I put it, it was kind of firm, not, like, too hard, but once I mixed it together it kind of, like, melted.
Nico: It seems like it's whippy [laughs] in there. Like, it's not totally firm, so I feel like we might be OK. But let me go grab, I do have measuring spoons. Be right back.
Caroline: Cool.
Nico: Spoons. Steven here.
Caroline: Cute!
Nico: She wants to help.
Caroline: So, let's start with putting 2 teaspoons of coconut oil in the jar.
Nico: OK, so, I've got my little mason jar here. 2 teaspoons, you said.
Caroline: Wait, how big is that? That looks like a lot.
Nico: [laughs] Is this a lot?
Caroline: I think that's a lot.
Nico: How's this? 2 teaspoons?
Caroline: Yeah, that's about 2 teaspoons. I like that.
Nico: Gross. [laughs] And I was reading, I feel like I read this so long ago, that coconut oil can clog pores, so I'm, like, a little nervous to use this.
Caroline: Yeah, so, I read a little bit about that too, and it could, and it isn't great for acne-prone skin, but I have read that it's also good when it comes to, like, removing makeup, and it's better if it's, like, organic coconut oil or unrefined and, like, cold processed, which is the type that I used, so I think it should be OK. I tried it a few days ago, and I haven't received any breakouts, and I have oily skin and I get, like, breakouts often, so for me it worked OK. But if you experience anything, then it could be the result of the coconut oil. Amazing. And then 1 teaspoon of castor oil.
Nico: 1 teaspoon castor. This castor oil is actually lavender scented.
Caroline: Oh, nice.
Nico: Might add a little something nice.
Caroline: Yeah, so you'll have, like, a little bit of essential oil in there too.
Nico: Now I'm nervous because my spoons are the wrong size. About that much?
Caroline: Yeah, that seems good. So, it's almost like the oil-cleansing method, but we're adding witch hazel, and then, I've, like, seen witch hazel in so many DIY remedies. Like, it's good for acne, I've read, and also it's, like, a natural face cleaner, so I think what's really working here in this remover, is the witch hazel.
Nico: You think this is the secret ingredient?
Caroline: I think that's the secret ingredient.
Nico: 2 tablespoons of this?
Caroline: Yeah, so slightly larger than the last two.
Nico: All right. I'm gonna go freaking fast. It's, like, that type of consistency?
Caroline: Yeah, I like that consistency. That's what I had too.
Nico: Cool. OK.
Caroline: OK. Perfect.
Nico: And now I guess we add...
Caroline: Yeah, add the cotton rounds.
Nico: Boop! When I actually did my makeup-removers video a while ago, everybody in the comments was like, "You have to try coconut oil!" "Why didn't you try coconut oil?" And I was like, "I didn't know!" I didn't know it was good. I'm gonna get this all over my new jumpsuit. I can feel it.
Caroline: It's a cute jumpsuit. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I made you put on makeup too, just to remove it.
Nico: This was the most exciting part of my day, was putting on makeup to go absolutely nowhere, are you kidding? I love it. Double the rounds.
Caroline: Awesome.
Nico: Now we're just going on the eyes.
Caroline: Go for it.
Nico: Oh, gosh. And you just, like, let it sit for a second?
Caroline: Yeah, I let it sit, and then I started to, like, wiggle it around a little bit.
Nico: OK.
Caroline: OK.
Nico: Slowly start moving it, in little circles, maybe?
Caroline: Yeah.
Nico: And just start massaging this gross mascara. Ooh!
Caroline: Oh!
Nico: All of my eye makeup is pretty much gone. Still a little mascara, but all of the eye makeup is gone! It feels, honestly, the one thing that comes to mind is cooling. Like, it feels so nice and cool on my face. It doesn't feel as greasy as I thought it would, and I think that's because of the witch hazel. Like, I was expecting it to be very slippy and slidey, but it doesn't feel that way. All right. Now moving on to my cheeks.
Caroline: Yes.
Nico: Honestly, I'm liking this. Like, it feels like a little facial. The next real test is gonna be this situation. I feel like you do run out of real estate on these really quickly. Like, places where it's clean and you haven't touched with your dirty makeup yet. But I really like how it's removing it so far. It feels really nice. It's similar, it's close to a makeup wipe. Makeup wipes are definitely not as oily, but this one is, I think, a close second. OK. I'm trying the lips. I'm just gonna let it sit. OK, now I'm gonna scrub. It looks pretty clean! OK, should I get a paper towel?
Caroline: Yes, do the paper-towel test.
Nico: I'm pressing.
Caroline: Press, press.
Nico: I barely see anything! It's, like, the slightest tinge of brown from my foundation, but I literally cannot see any, like, major makeup spots.
Caroline: Yay! It looks pretty clean to me.
Nico: Looks clean! I'm, like, pressing, being like, "No, there's something!" Yeah, I think I'm definitely gonna just do one wash, because I don't know if the coconut oil sitting on my skin overnight will do anything, but you did a good job. This is really good.
Caroline: Thanks, Nico! Thank you for being such a trooper and, like, trying this. I'm super excited that you like it. Nico: Thank you for not making me put honey on my face. [Laughs]
Caroline: Bye!
Nico: Wait, were we hanging up?
Caroline: Wait, no! I thought I was - sorry! I don't know how to end these Skype calls because, like, I want an ending for the video! [beep] Nico, thank you so much. We're actually hanging up now. [both laughing]
Nico: OK.
Caroline: This is really awkward.