Homemade Face Serum/DIY Serums for Beautiful Skin: We have already talked about the beauty benefits of serums in our blog 'ALL ABOUT SERUMS'. But the commercially available ones may not be the elixir for your skin that they promise to be. For one, they contain highly concentrated amounts of chemical active ingredients that may or may not suit your skin and may even damage it in the long run.
Secondly, these are usually quite expensive and if one doesn't suit your skin, it's good money gone down the drain. We would say it's best to go with natural-ingredients-based serums or better still, make one on your own.
This way you are sure about what goes onto your skin and it will not harm you even if you are allergic to a natural ingredient (yes, that is possible, people can be allergic to natural ingredients as well and therefore, it is always advisable to do a patch test when trying out something new), the damage will be minimal and mostly reversible).
So how do you make a serum at home? It's very simple, really. All you need is three basic ingredients and you are good to go: an essential oil, a carrier oil, another carrier oil or a lighter liquid like water, rose water or aloe vera gel if required.
Choosing the Right Ingredients to Make Diy Serums for Beautiful Skin (According to Skin Type)
So now that we have listed the basic ingredients of a DIY serum, the next question is which ones do you choose? Each oil has different properties.
How oily does it feel?
How soothing is it?
Does it have natural active ingredients which can benefit you?
Does it clog pores?
How deep can it penetrate into your skin?
For example, virgin cold pressed coconut oil available in your kitchen is very soothing for the skin.
It has natural antioxidants like vitamins, it is quick absorbing and penetrates easily into the first few layers of your skin, but if you can acne prone skin, it can clog your pores and result in acne.
So may not be the best option if used alone, and it will require some other aspects to be covered like appropriate formulation, quantity and frequency of use and pore cleansing! So it is ideal to mix it with other oils like sesame oil, almond oil, fractionated coconut oil or rosehip oil and some essential oils.
At the other extreme, using an essential oil directly on sensitive skin could irritate the skin instead of soothing it.
While choosing the perfect oil for your skin, of all the factors mentioned above, it is best to use cold pressed ones instead of those that have been solvent extracted.
Secondly, it is easiest to check the comedogenic rating with will indicate whether it is likely to clog your pores or not.
A comedogenic rating of 0-2 implies that the oil does not or is highly unlikely to clog skin pores, and can, therefore, be used by people with oily or combination skin types.
On the other hand, a rating in the range of 3-5 would mean that the oil clogs pores, and is therefore highly unsuitable for people with oily or acne-prone skin. To make things simpler for you, we have compiled a list of best-suited carrier oils and essential oils for various types of skin and skin issues:
DRY SKIN
Carrier Oils: Coconut, Sesame, Kokum butter, Shea butter, Argan, Olive, Avocado, Sweet Almond, Jojoba and Neem oil.
Essential Oils: Turmeric, Lavender, Myrrh, Frankincense, Geranium
NORMAL SKIN
Carrier Oils: Coconut, Sesame, Apricot kernel, Jojoba, Olive, Sunflower, Sweet Almond, Olive, Shea butter, Grapeseed Oil, Sweet Almond, Sesame
Essential Oils: Turmeric, Lavender, Chamomile, Evening Primrose, Sandalwood, Goji Berry, Hempseed
ACNE-PRONE SKIN
Carrier Oils: Sesame, Grapeseed, Argan, Neem, Castor, Squalane, Fractionated Coconut Oil
Essential Oils: Turmeric, Tea tree, Lemon, Sandalwood, Patchouli, Lavender, Evening Primrose oil
SENSITIVE SKIN
Carrier Oils: Sunflower, Coconut, Sesame, Sweet Almond, Argan, Avocado, Grapeseed oil, Fractionated Coconut Oil
Essential Oils: Lavender, Turmeric, Evening Primrose, Rosehip, Frankincense, Sandalwood, Geranium, Bergamot
OILY SKIN
Carrier Oils: Jojoba, Argan, Grapeseed, Sesame, Sunflower, Walnut oil, Fractionated coconut oil
Essential Oils: Turmeric, Geranium, Bergamot, Lemon, Lemongrass, Tea tree, Cinnamon, Lavender
MATURE SKIN
Carrier Oils: Sweet Almond, Coconut, sesame, Avocado, Sunflower, Apricot Kernel oil, Fractionated Coconut Oil, Kokum
Essential Oils: Lemon, Turmeric, sandalwood, Sage, Lavender, Ylang Ylang, Rosemary and Pomegranate
DARK SPOTS AND BLEMISHES
Carrier Oils: As per your skin type but a combination of virgin cold pressed coconut oil and sesame oils will be best
Essential Oils: Turmeric, rosemary, Tea tree, Frankincense, Chamomile, Lavender
How to Make DIY SERUM RECIPES
Now that you have the list of the best carrier and essential oils suitable for your skin type at hand, it is quite easy to prepare your own serum at home. The thumb rule is to use only 2-3 drops of essential oil for every 10ml (approximately 2 teaspoons) of carrier oil that you use. Do not exceed this proportion of dilution as essential oils are concentrated and may irritate the skin.
To begin with, you could use one of these basic DIY recipes and then build on these if they suit you.
How to Make DIY Face Serum for Dry Skin
- 1-2 drops Lavender/Turmeric essential oil
- 1 teaspoon of Glycerin
- 1 Vitamin E capsule
Homemade Face Serum for Acne-Prone Skin
- 2 teaspoons Argan, Sesame, Rosehip, or Hemp seed oil (you can use a mixture of 2 or more if you like)
- 1-2 drops Tea-tree or Lavender essential oil
- 1 teaspoon water or fresh aloe vera gel
Homemade Face Serum for Sensitive Skin
Homemade Face Serum for Oily Skin
Homemade Face Serum for Normal Skin
- 2 teaspoons Coconut oil/Sesame oil /or Olive oil
- 1-2 drops of Lavender Essential oil or Turmeric essential il
- 1 teaspoon fresh Aloe Vera
How to Make Face Serum for Mature Skin
- 2 teaspoons Coconut or Sesame oil
- 1-2 drops of Ylang-Ylang or Turmeric or Lavender essential oil
- 2-3 drops of Vitamin E oil/Glycerin
- 5-6 drops of Rose water (optional)
So, these were some basic DIY serum recipes to get you started. You can tweak these a bit subject to availability of ingredients or your requirements and skin concerns. If you are happy with the results, you can make some for a week and store it in a dark-colored glass bottle (preferably with a dropper) in a cool, dark place.
If getting hold of all the ingredients and taking out time to make this at home still seems cumbersome to you, you should try Parama Naturals’ 100% natural and pure face oils that are loaded with enriching, time-tested ingredients like Coconut, sesame, almond oils and extracts of Turmeric and other powerful natural ingredients recommended by Ayurveda. These oils are suitable for all types of skin and are hypoallergenic as well.
All ingredients in our oil blends are chosen keeping in mind their complementary properties like anti-inflammatory or soothing, natural antioxidants, penetration into the skin and the like, to work on a variety of skin issues. To know more about Parama Naturals’ facial oils, click here.
Do let us know if you found this blog helpful and share some DIY recipes for serums with us if you have any in the Comments Section below. Should you have any queries regarding Parama Naturals products, we will be happy to answer them.