If you’re tired of tugging on your eyes with makeup-removing wipes, it’s time to upgrade your routine by adding in a cleansing balm that melts away makeup and impurities without stripping moisture from your skin — like Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm.
Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm is touted as a “clean” makeup remover and face cleanser in one, instantly melting virtually all makeup and impurities.
But is Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm really as clean as the brand claims? To answer that question, we’ll have to evaluate the formulation details, including the key ingredients in this formula, as well as the research that supports (or doesn’t support) their use in skin care.
Plus, like all of our reviews here at The Derm Review, we’ll share snippets of Farmacy Green Clean reviews from real customers so that you can see what they really think of these products.
Is Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm Right For You?
Before we get into the details, here’s the TL;DR if you just want to know whether or not Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm is right for you.
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- Key ingredients? Moringa Oil, Ginger Root Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, Echinacea, Turmeric
- Skin type? Recommend for all skin types
- Texture? Waxy balm
- Fragrance? Yes
- Cruelty free? Yes
- Cost? $22 USD for 1.7 fl oz (50 mL) and $34 USD for 3.4 fl oz (100 mL)
- EWG Rating? 3
What is Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm?
Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm is a soft green waxy balm that stays a sorbet-like solid in the jar until it makes contact with skin and transforms to a silky oil (then, a milky lather).
The ingredients help to remove makeup and impurities while gently cleansing and exfoliating the skin. We’ll get into the details on how these ingredients work in the next section!
What Are The Key Ingredients in Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm?
In order to determine how well Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm performs, we’ll have to evaluate the key ingredients in this formula. Let’s get started.
Moringa + Ginger + Sunflower Seed Oil
The primary ingredients that will help remove makeup include moringa seed oil, ginger root oil, and sunflower seed oil.
Based on the chemical principle called “like dissolves like” these oils will dissolve other materials that have a similar chemical structure, like makeup and excess sebum, without stripping or drying skin.
Papaya Fruit Enzymes
The key enzyme found in papaya fruit is papain. Papain works on the surface of the skin to dissolve keratin, a protein that acts as a “glue” to keep skin cells together. By dissolving keratin, papain helps to exfoliate the top layer of dead skin cells, leaving skin looking brighter with a more even tone. Exfoliating the skin also helps to prevent acne since the build up of dead skin cells can clog pores.
Echinacea + Turmeric Root Extracts
Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm contains echinacea and turmeric extracts, which can both help to soothe the skin thanks to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
However, the skin-soothing benefits of these extracts are essentially canceled out by the fragrant essential oils in this formula (more on this below).
Fragrant Essential Oils
Sadly, the brand decided to include fragrant essential oils in Farmacy Green Clean, such as lime, bergamot, and orange essential oils, so that this cleansing balm “smells like a vacation”.
While smelling like a vacation may create a pleasant experience, these essential oils aren’t doing your skin any favors.
In fact, these fragrance ingredients have the potential to cause contact allergies, skin irritation, and even skin damage.
According to a 2016 publication in the scholarly journal Dermatitis, nearly 80 essential oils have caused contact allergy.
This is because all fragrance ingredients (whether natural or synthetic) impart scent through a volatile reaction, and this natural reaction almost always causes a sensitizing reaction on skin.
Even if you don’t have a full blown reaction to the ingredient, the damage may still be occurring every day. Ultimately, this can cause mild problems for your skin in the short term and worse problems in the long term.
Does Farmacy Green Clean Contain Polyethylene?
You may be concerned about the presence of polyethylene in Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm. While polyethylene is technically a microplastic, it’s not in a solid form (the formula does not contain polyethylene microbeads). Rather, the polyethylene in this formula melts with water as it is washed down the drain. Still, it would be nice if the brand got rid of this ingredient, in our opinion.
How to Use Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm?
Scoop a generous amount of the balm with the included spatula and warm it in the palm of your hands. Apply to dry skin and use your fingertips to massage it into skin with gentle upward and outward circular motions, focusing on areas that need attention (like eye makeup). Rinse with water.
If using to break down makeup, wipe off any residue with a warm, damp washcloth or makeup remover cloth. You can use Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm as step 1 of a double cleanse, or alone, in the morning and in the evening.
Where to Buy Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm?
Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm and other Farmacy skin care products are sold on the brand’s website (farmacybeauty.com), as well as several third party online retailers such as Sephora, Walmart, Amazon, and others.
How Much is Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm?
Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm costs $22 USD for 1.7 fl oz (50 mL) and $34 USD for 3.4 fl oz (100 mL).
Is Farmacy Cruelty Free?
Yes, Farmacy is cruelty free.
Is Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm Vegan?
Yes, Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm is vegan.
Our Verdict
Overall, we don’t recommend Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm due to the inclusion of fragrance in this product.
Pros
- Beneficial key ingredients (moringa, ginger, sunflower seed oil, echinacea, turmeric)
- Many positive Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm reviews
- Farmacy is cruelty free
Cons
- Formula contains fragrance (essential oils)
