For Vitamin C Serum DIYers
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skincare Tools & Do-It-Yourself Skincare

free skin care · Thu Aug 27, 2009 6:28 am

Aimoss wrote:

Hi all thank you so much for all your recipes - they are brilliant! A word of advice don't add an omega capsule in place of the Vitamin E - you will end up smelling like a Fishmongers!! lol
BTW does anyone have a recipe for a Vitamin A serum I bought some retinyl acetate from SA but not quite sure how to use it! Thank you once again!

OMG I bought that same stuff a year ago and have never figure out what the hell to do with it LOL Laughing

My biggest problem has been I don't have a scale to figure out how much of the 2.4 gm of the tube I would put into say an ounce of base.
I am thinking you could add it to SKB or a base for a Vitamin A only serum. I don't know enough chemistry to put vitamin A with other stuff but I think you could use vitamin E and glycerin.

Thu Aug 27, 2009 6:56 am

thanks so much alley for your reply,i hate math too.. ugh,

so the glycerin does become a factor in the recipe. i wasn't for sure if it was just the h20 and l ascorbic acid ratio that mattered, and then the glycerin on top for texture and stability.

so i guess my next question is, if i use less glycerin do i need more water, or vice versa..

thanks again everyone. I feel like such a queen with my capacity to make such large quantities at such a stupidly low price. i was walking through market of choice the other day and just looked at all the product with vitamin c in it for 50 and 60 bucks. most of it, was not even l ascorbic.. never again.

free skin care · Thu Aug 27, 2009 8:04 am

yes you need to keep your total volume the same so if you want to add additional glycerin removed that same amount of water. Speaking from experience here as I have made that mistake.

I know, don't you love knowing you are getting a better product for a fraction of the price. I used to buy SkinMedica which is ridiculously expensive. I should send them a thank you because I found EDS looking for a better SkinMedica price, which led me to the forums and DIY. My skin looks and feels better and I have spent as much in 6 months on DIY as I would have in just 1 month for the brand name products. What I love the most is being able to try different formulas to keep your skin reacting, there is no way I could do that without DIY.

Sat Aug 29, 2009 1:26 am

I mix up ascorbic acid and distilled water each day (prefer to know it's fresh for sure) - but I just got some ascorbic acid from a supplier I haven't used before, and the resulting liquid mix is slightly yellow - does this mean the ascorbic acid powder is already oxidised? (the powder itself is just slightly offwhite, maybe a subtle tinge of pink). Can the powder oxidise by itself? Thanks

free skin care · Sat Aug 29, 2009 7:56 am

tortoiseshell wrote:

......the resulting liquid mix is slightly yellow......

Mine is form Personal Formulator; it dissolved in minutes and then the liquid was colorless; just like plain water.

Sat Aug 29, 2009 8:05 am

tortoiseshell wrote:

Given that vitamin c serum is exfoliating... and you're supposed to exfoliate no more than 3-4 times weekly (at least from what I've read)... does that mean that the c serum shouldn't be used daily?

This is my question, too--particularly because I'm using tretinoin at night. (I started tretinoin a few weeks ago, and have been using a DIY C + E + Ferulic for about a week.) Am I going to peel my face off?!

(It's actually not peeling at all, though. . .)

Sat Aug 29, 2009 9:12 am

I have a question for any of you fabulous C serum DIYers who might know: is there a relationship between stinging and lack of oxidation? I guess I'm asking, "If it still stings, is it still effective?"

Or can the Vit C oxidize and the stinging still occur because of some other factor?

Sun Aug 30, 2009 3:26 pm

Alley wrote:

OMG I bought that same stuff a year ago and have never figure out what the hell to do with it LOL Laughing

My biggest problem has been I don't have a scale to figure out how much of the 2.4 gm of the tube I would put into say an ounce of base.
I am thinking you could add it to SKB or a base for a Vitamin A only serum. I don't know enough chemistry to put vitamin A with other stuff but I think you could use vitamin E and glycerin.

Hehe too funny Alley - I was thinking of adding it to sheabutter or coconut oil - would this be ok do you think?

free skin care · Sun Aug 30, 2009 9:49 pm

Lisa D wrote:

I have a question for any of you fabulous C serum DIYers who might know: is there a relationship between stinging and lack of oxidation? I guess I'm asking, "If it still stings, is it still effective?"

Or can the Vit C oxidize and the stinging still occur because of some other factor?

An L-AA serum that isn't buffered with a lot of filler ingredients will usually give you a tingle when you apply it.. It's very normal and most people enjoy it..

Those that never experience any tingle, probably just have too many dead skin cells built up on the stratum corneum, from slow skin turnover or lack of exfoliation. Or it could mean the strength has severely diminished from sitting around too long. (That wouldn't be the case with DIY, but with a retail purchase it could have been made up to 18 months before you even purchase it.. Shock

)

With L-Ascorbic Acid, it starts to degrade and begin to lose potency as soon as it is formulated with water. Having a serum with vitamin E and Ferulic Acid helps to stall the degradation, and also gives it a synergistic effect for both anti aging benefits as well as UV protection (8 SPF actually)..

Probably way more than you wanted to know, but I get carried away with this topic.. Embarassed

Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:20 am

Quote:

In a worst case scenario, you can distill water with an ordinary household pot and two pot lids. Boil water in a pot covered with the first lid. After a while, you'll see that the water in the pot vaporizes, and condenses on the lid (this is distilled water). Now replace the lid with the second lid, and turn the first one vertically, so that all condensed water collects at one point, and then pour it into a cup. Meanwhile, more distilled water condenses on the second pot lid, so just repeat the above steps again... until you have a full cup.

Distillation will remove from water almost anything, even heavy metals, poisons, bacteria and viruses. However, it does not remove substances that have boiling points at a lower temperature than water. Some of these substances are oils, petroleum, alcohol and similar substances, which in most cases don't mix with water. Also, remember that substances removed from water remain in the boiler, so you'll need to clean it up every once in awhile.

Distilled water can be used directly and does not need to be boiled again

http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/surv/distill.htm

just found this online, maybe some of you diy selfers from around the world who can't find distilled water, will brave into the world of diy distillation...there is alot of info on the web about this, I just grabbed this quote, cause it seemed effective and relatively easy.
good luck!

free skin care · Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:56 am

"damia", thanks for that great info on making distilled water..

I can't tell you how many times I've run out, and this info would have come in so handy to just make enough till I got out to the store..

Welcome to the forum!

Mon Aug 31, 2009 9:15 am

Thanks for the info, Kassy! I appreciate it.

Lisa

free skin care · Tue Sep 01, 2009 7:52 am

Kassy_A wrote:

"damia", thanks for that great info on making distilled water..

I can't tell you how many times I've run out, and this info would have come in so handy to just make enough till I got out to the store..

Welcome to the forum!

Kassy, is there anything wrong with using mineral water such as Evian or Fiji in place of distilled water in the C serum? I ask only because it's easier to buy mineral water than distilled here. Thanks!

free skin care · Tue Sep 01, 2009 11:47 am

Aimoss wrote:

Alley wrote:

OMG I bought that same stuff a year ago and have never figure out what the hell to do with it LOL Laughing

My biggest problem has been I don't have a scale to figure out how much of the 2.4 gm of the tube I would put into say an ounce of base.
I am thinking you could add it to SKB or a base for a Vitamin A only serum. I don't know enough chemistry to put vitamin A with other stuff but I think you could use vitamin E and glycerin.

Hehe too funny Alley - I was thinking of adding it to sheabutter or coconut oil - would this be ok do you think?

I don't see why not - that actually is a great idea. That could easily be incorporated as part of the nightly routine to keep things mixed up.

Tue Sep 01, 2009 12:03 pm

In case this is helpful, I've gone through and tagged the individual recipe posts with the author's name in the subject field of the post with the word "Recipes", for example, "Kassy's Recipes". So aside from the Recipe Index, here is another way for those who would like to find and/or print out all the recipes by, say, Kassy:

Go to the EDS search field and type in Kassy's Recipes (or Keliu's Recipes, Alley's Recipes, DarkMoon's Recipes, Carekate's Recipes, etc.)

Select "Search for all terms"

Where it says "Search previous", select "Search topic title"

Where it says "Return", select "All available" from the drop down menu

And finally at the bottom left, where it says "Display results as", choose "posts"

(where it says "Sort by", you can view them newest to oldest or vice-versa by selecting "Post Time" and choosing ascending or descending)

This will quickly collect all Kassy's recipes (for example) so that you can print them out, etc.

free skin care · Tue Sep 01, 2009 12:35 pm

OMG havana, you really are amazing.. This is so helpful, the way you have sorted all the DIY out.

My notebook here at home is an absolute disaster, with bits and pieces of papers strewn throughout.. I bet you could sort me out in no time..

Thank you so much for all the hard work you do here at EDS. I hope they know how lucky they are to have you on board..

Wed Sep 02, 2009 3:00 am

Alley wrote:

I don't see why not - that actually is a great idea. That could easily be incorporated as part of the nightly routine to keep things mixed up.

Hi Alley I tried it out & it works well in Shea butter the crystals remain a bit but dissolve as you work it into your skin - guess it's a mini exfoliation at the same time - I added oil to the butter & then they dissolve, so will try just adding to oil to see if that works better Smile

Thanks for your feedback!

free skin care · Wed Sep 02, 2009 7:02 am

Aimoss that is great, keep us posted on how it works.

Sat Sep 05, 2009 4:24 am

Hi guys!
Just a quick question - I am loving how my skin feels with the Vitamin C serum, just one little thing, my skin is getting a slight golden hue to it, I am not worried about the colouring as I am very pale & this looks like a soft tan now, just concerned as to whether I am doing it right, I apply the serum in the morning then shower in the evening, should I be washing it off after an hour or so or is it OK to leave it on? Is anyone else turning golden? Thanks in advance.

Sat Sep 05, 2009 6:28 pm

Hi, i just bought some powdered ascorbic acid, have my distilled water, glycerin and i need to dig up some Vitamin E and i'll be set.

I am 47, have sensitive, dry, rosacean breakout prone skin (oh thrills) and am using Retin-A every night and BHA to try to deal with breakouts. Since this is my first venture into C and my skin is a bit sensitive, would i be able to make a good recipe with the above? And what ratio's would one suggest?

I don't react well to seakelp (ie skinactives LMC etc) so minimal ingredients the better but i REALLY want to experience the benefits of C!!!

ALso how is this applied? In the A.M.? Right after washing face and before SS, moisturizers?

Thanks so much for any help and words of encouragement and recipes Very Happy

Sun Sep 06, 2009 4:36 am

Hi, everyone! I'm new to this site and little bit lost with the amount of information... I’m trying to prepare my first portion of vit c serum. I’m wondering if is it possible to dissolve1/4 tsp Vit C in 10 ml of jojoba oil or rosehip oil instead of glycerin? Or it’s better to use 5 ml of distilled H2O and 5 ml of oil? Any other oil will be better alternative? How long do u think it’s going to last if I’ll use it once a day? Do i need to keep it in the fridge? Do u know if Ester –C will be suitable for this recipe? Thanks Rolling Eyes

Sun Sep 06, 2009 11:45 am

susiek wrote:

Hi, i just bought some powdered ascorbic acid, have my distilled water, glycerin and i need to dig up some Vitamin E and i'll be set.

I am 47, have sensitive, dry, rosacean breakout prone skin (oh thrills) and am using Retin-A every night and BHA to try to deal with breakouts. Since this is my first venture into C and my skin is a bit sensitive, would i be able to make a good recipe with the above? And what ratio's would one suggest?

I don't react well to seakelp (ie skinactives LMC etc) so minimal ingredients the better but i REALLY want to experience the benefits of C!!!

ALso how is this applied? In the A.M.? Right after washing face and before SS, moisturizers?

Thanks so much for any help and words of encouragement and recipes Very Happy

An update, i made my recipe last night:
1.5 t distilled water, .5 t Glycerin, .5t ascorbic acid powder, put all in an opaque dropper bottle shook well, stored in fridge and went to use ths a.m. and the powder hadnt dissolved!! Sad

Sun Sep 06, 2009 12:25 pm

me again. ok now that i got it to dissolve (the counsel was i am supposed to shake, shake, shake, until it dissolves, then put in fridge)

i'm finding i dont like the glycerin in it (1/2 t. to 1-1/2 t water) Can i drop the glycerin and just substitute that amount for water or should i use something else?

Thanks for bearing with me

Sun Sep 06, 2009 12:31 pm

susiek wrote:

me again. ok now that i got it to dissolve (the counsel was i am supposed to shake, shake, shake, until it dissolves, then put in fridge)

i'm finding i dont like the glycerin in it (1/2 t. to 1-1/2 t water) Can i drop the glycerin and just substitute that amount for water or should i use something else?

Thanks for bearing with me

Hi there!
I think you will find the AA will disolve quicker if you mix with the water before adding the glycerin, I didn't like a 1/2, 1/2 mix of glycerin to water either it was too sticky so I just added more water & less glycerin.
Good luck
Smile

Sun Sep 06, 2009 12:40 pm

TY!

I think that was the problem, i just put everything together

My mixture is 1-1/2 t. water to 1/2 t Glycerin and even that is WAY too sticky, i don't like it at all!

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