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).
What is The Farmacy Return Policy?
The Farmacy return policy states, “We’re committed to making sure you are in love with your FarmacyBeauty.com purchase! If you’re not absolutely satisfied, simply return or exchange new or gently used items within 30 days of receiving your order. Your return process must be initiated within 30 days of receiving your purchase in order to be eligible for a refund, exchange or gift card credit.”
Is Farmacy Cruelty Free?
Yes, Farmacy is cruelty free.
Is Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm Vegan?
Yes, Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm is vegan.
Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm Reviews
Farmacy Green Clean reviews on the brand’s website are overall very positive, with the product receiving an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars after more than 2,400 customer reviews.
There are many 5-star reviews for Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm from customers who love that it melts away makeup easily, leaving the skin feeling soft and hydrated.
For example, one review says, “I received a sample of the Green Clean in my Ipsy subscription and fell in love with it right away! A small amount wipes away your makeup so smoothly and completely. Which I love, because there is a large amount in the container. I don’t need to buy it every few weeks. I save money by choosing the every 3 months reoccurring payment! But I am thinking I may need to change it to every 6 months as I still have more than half in my first container! It’s smooth, soft and smells really good! Makes my skin feel soft afterwards. It is gentle on the eye with no after film that makes your eyes water and you have to keep wiping your eyes, that I have gotten with other brands. I gave my free sample to my sister to try and she loved it too!”
And another 5-star review says, “I got the Green Clean after searching for a balm to take my makeup off and also that was free of toxic chemicals. I am SO happy I found this omg. It is so amazing, takes off my makeup and hydrates my skin at the same time and has a subtle ‘clean’ scent. AMAZING!”
However, there are a handful of negative reviews for the Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm. There’s some reviews that mention side effects like skin dryness and irritation, and there’s several reviews from customers who experienced blurry vision after using this balm.
For example, one review says, “I had such high hopes for this product. Unfortunately after one use my eyes burned and my vision was blurry. Will not use it again.”
Another 1-star review says, “I was so excited about this product but at this point I’ve used it several times now and every time it dries out my face. It becomes patchy and scaly. I also learned there is plastic in this but claims to be safe and green. Not a fan, save your money.”
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)
What Are Some Alternatives to Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm?
If you’re looking for skin care products to address the signs of aging, one brand we recommend is Formulyst. Formulyst maximizes the use of powerful ingredients and minimizes the use of superficial ones, resulting in clinically advanced skin care solutions that help promote healthy, more youthful-looking skin.
For example, Formulyst’s Anti-Aging Concentrate can help to address multiple signs of aging at once. This serum contains natural ingredients like squalane, green tea, vitamin C, and vitamin E, which provide powerful antioxidant activity to protect the skin against environmental free radicals that are known to degrade collagen. In addition, this serum contains Matrixyl 3000, a peptide complex that works to restore and maintain the skin’s youthful appearance by signaling to cells to produce more collagen.
Another brand that balances the power of plants with cutting edge science is Carrot & Stick. Not only is Carrot & Stick good for your skin, it is also good for the environment as the formulas skip harmful chemicals commonly found in skincare products.
