If you’ve been spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars on expensive, store-bought skincare products and have seen little effects, try a different way to skin therapy.
Why do we need Skin Therapy
Surely you’ve heard that skin is the largest organ of our bodies. Therefore, it makes sense, if health and detoxification are your priority, to address the issue of skincare routine head-on. What ingredients are in your skincare products is crucial and could be one of the determining factors whether you’ll be well and vibrant, or whether you will be overburdened by harmful chemicals and toxins.
Rather than relying on the most recent chemical “miracles”, I’m choosing plant-based organic skincare for my face and body. Our bodies need wholesome nutrients to be absorbed not only internally but also through the largest organ we have – our skin. When the skin comes in contact with organic plant products, it can mend and reveal itself in its most gorgeous form.
In my 20s and 30s, I was obsessively looking for the holy grail amongst the top lines in the cosmetic industry. I would save forever to be able to finally afford that 200 bucks jar of a cream that promised to turn me into a goddess practically overnight. Well, it turned out to be a huge disappointment and a total waste of money. Nice packaging, fluffy texture, pretty smell, but zero out of the ordinary results and price sticker shock.
Even more shocking turned out to be the list of ingredients in these highly-priced products. I won’t name any companies here, but take a look at the list of ingredients on a box of an expensive line. Most of the time, there are way too many ingredients with difficult to pronounce names and some hidden gems like the ubiquitous “fragrance.”
Needless to say, since I became conscious of my need to change my skincare routine and learned what ingredients to avoid, I stopped using such products and turned to “green” beauty. There are more and more wonderful lines of skincare, hair products, and makeup out there that one can choose from. The problem – many if not most of them are still ungodly expensive!
Why I make DIY organic skincare
It all started with my introduction to essential oils and their therapeutic uses in cancer care and pain management. I then discovered carrier oils that can do wonders for the skin especially when fortified with essential oils. Finding interesting recipes to formulate my own products was not very difficult. Once you get a hang of it, you can start formulating your own recipes.
For the past two years, I’ve been using only handmade, organic cleansers, essences, toners, serums, lotions, creams, balms, and body butters. And the mighty essential oils are a crucial part of my skin therapy to this day.
Therapeutic potency
The first product I ever made was a simple facial oil with just argan and rosehip oils for the base and neroli, rose, and lavender essential oils. I was looking for a therapeutic grade product for my type of skin – maturing combination with hyperpigmentation and textural irregularities.
It was love at first use! When friends and family started complimenting me on the health and appearance of my skin, I offered them small bottles of the oil. They loved it too, and I knew that his stuff really works! It leaves the skin dewy, plump, hydrated, and rejuvenated.
The research on essential oil use for skin applications is still in its beginning stages. But thre have been studies suggesting that numerous oils have scietifically proven healing, anti-microbial, and rejuvenating properties.
This study demonstrated that topical application of lavender oil promoted collagen synthesis and differentiation of fibroblasts (…) These data suggest that lavender oil has the potential to promote wound healing in the early phase by acceleration of formation of granulation tissue, tissue remodeling by collagen replacement and wound contraction.
BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Zero Toxicity
Handmade products are packed with the unsurpassed power of botanical goodness. They are gentle enough to use on a baby yet highly effective. And, best of all, I know exactly what’s in the bottle and I don’t have to second guess if it’s healthful or harmful to my skin. I wrote here about my general philosophy about what makes “clean beauty” clean (as there is a lot of green-washing out there).
I make sure that whatever I put on my face or body is:
- clean,
- cruelty-free,
- vegan,
- free of nonylphenol ethoxylate,
- formaldehyde-free,
- mineral oil-free,
- sulfate-free,
- silicone-free,
- talcum-free,
- petroleum-free,
- parabens-free,
- and dye-free.
Sustainability
An additional perk with making your own skincare is the avoidance of all the unnecessary packaging. I package my products in glass jars and bottles. After the product is finished, I wash, sanitize, and reuse the containers. This way I know that my skincare is good not only for the health of my skin but also for the health of the planet. We all have to do our part, no matter how small it might be. Every little step toward sustainability counts!
If I can make them, so can you!
Since that first oil I made, my knowledge of the ingredient base has been growing and I came up with several other facial oils. I use them interchangeably because each offers something a little different. It’s also good to mix things up because our skin gets “used” to essential oils. When this happens, the efficacy of the serum might be slightly compromised.
One of the facial oils I currently like to make and use I call my miracle fountain of youth. Even though it has lots of ingredients, it is super easy to make.
This oil serum sinks right into the skin and makes it healthy-looking, vibrant, moisturized, and plumped-up. It features 14 nourishing oils from seeds, nuts, and other botanicals that pamper the skin with healing plant compounds.
The oils in this serum are carefully chosen for their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and soothing qualities. It is best suited for evening use, but for very dry skin it’s fine to use a few drops in the morning as well.
The best part is that comparable facial oils retail for over 100 USD per ounce of the finished product. If you start making your own, there will be the initial investment of buying the ingredients, but then you can use them for a long time and for a fraction of cost.
Ingredients and benefits:
Sweet Almond Oil (high in antioxidants and Vitamin E, slow absorbing, emollient-rich and highly moisturizing)
Grapeseed Oil (rich with vitamin E and other nutrients, praised for regenerative qualities)
Hemp Seed Oil (filled with vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, C, D and E, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties)
Rosehip Oil (contains high amounts of linoleic acid and vitamin C, as well as a significant amount of trans-retinoic acid)
Meadowfoam Oil (non-greasy, quickly absorbing, moisturizing the deepest layers of the skin)
Evening Primrose Oil (soothing, astringent, and rejuvenating, great for maturing skin)
Cucumber Seed Oil (brimming with a variety of fatty acids: omega 3’s and linoleic, and keeping the skin soft and nourished)
Guava Seed Oil (highly moisturizing with superior absorption)
Pomegranate Seed Oil (deeply penetrating, replenishing and soothing skin rescuer)
Prickly Pear Cactus Oil (praised for its bountiful support of skin, luxurious, soothing, and softening to the skin surface)
Hazelnut Oil (high in oleic acid, along with vitamins A, B and E, astringent and moisturizing)
Macadamia Oil (filled with palmitic and oleic acids, promoting skin cell regeneration)
Sea Buckthorn Oil (rich in vitamins and minerals, as well as antioxidants and other plant compounds)
Olive Oil Squalene (reacts against chemical, physical, bacterial, and exogenous stress signals, protecting the skin’s surface)
Rosemary Oil Extract (a powerful antioxidant)
One of the three top oils will be predominat depending on the skin type:
- Dry and/or mature skin – sweet almond oil
- Normal skin – grapeseed oil
- Oily or blemish-prone skin – hemp seed oil
“Skin Therapy” recipe for a 1 ounce glass dropper bottle
1 tsp your predominant oil
1/4 tsp of each of the remaining oils
Add total of about 25 drops of chosen essential oils, depending on your skin concerns:
- Frankincense (Boswellia carterii), Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha), and Rose (Rosa damascena) are all great for aging, wrinkled or damaged skin
- Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is good for any type of skin, but especially so when healing is needed
- Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata), Pink Grapefruit, (Citrus paradisi), and Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin) are excellent for skin balancing and oil control
Put it all in the bottle, shake, and you’ve got yourself an amazing facial oil for all your skin needs.
Not into DIY? Check out my Etsy store where I offer the oil for sale.
How to use
I use it only at night. However, if your skin needs dramatic rejuvenation, it is perfectly fine to use it in the AM as well. After you cleanse and apply any water-based products, warm a few drops of the oil in the palms of your hands and press gently into your skin.
It should absorb if a few minutes. If you are using a night cream, it would go on top of the oil, and if you use the oil in the morning, put on sunscreen also on top of the oil.
Enjoy!
Check out my other skin therapy DIYs here!
How To Pamper Yourself at Home with a Magical Spa Night
