No doubt about it: if you use long wearing makeup, you have to use grease (in the form of a cleansing balm or cleansing oil) to remove it quickly. Balms, in general, perform fantastic at makeup removal – but not all are built the same.
The Farmacy Green Clean cleansing balm looks and behaves like wax, but is actually a lot less solid – you can move it around with just a bit of pressure. It starts to melt when in contact with the skin, and the texture is like melted butter. It is easy to rub on and it completely dissolves when in contact with water. It does leave a film on the skin (not really greasy though, more “rubbery”) and I can still feel a bit of that film on the skin even after wipe my face dry with a towel.
Makeup removal wise, it takes it all off, with not a lot of effort. I find balms typically work well at removing stubborn makeup, and this is no exception.
Even though I’m more focused on performance than ingredients when it comes to cleansers, since the product is only going to be in contact with my skin for limited amount of time, it’s still worth checking out that list. The touted about ingredients for this cleansing balm are papaya enzymes, turmeric and moringa extracts, and sunflower and ginger root oils.
Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm Ingredients: Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Peg-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Peg-10 Isostearate, Polyethylene, Echinacea Purpurea Root Extract, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, Moringa Pterygosperma Seed Extract, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Glycerin, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Corallina Officinalis Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Amber Powder, Cananga Odorata Flower Oil, Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract, Solanum Melongena (Eggplant) Fruit Extract, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract, Water/Aqua/Eau, Butylene Glycol, Disodium Phosphate, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Citral, Limonene, Linalool.
Turmeric is a great ingredient: it’s an anti-oxidant and has the capability to soothe and brighten the skin. Moringa and sunflower oil are also great: both are non-fragrant plant oils that act as emollients and hydrate the skin without the risk of irritation. Papaya enzymes and ginger root oil, however, are a different story: the only thing that ginger oil does is add perfume, and there isn’t that much evidence that papaya enzymes are good for skin exfoliation, but both have the potential to irritate the skin. This balm also has quite a few other fragrant oils that can be sensitising to the skin.
Does it work? Yes. Is it easy and pleasant to use? Absolutely. But there are other cleansing balms with a better ingredients list. To their credit, there is a fragrance free version, which is the one I would be getting if I was to repurchase. But I’m not sure I will.
