*~~~~~~~DIY skincare recipe & discussion thread~~~~~~~~*
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skincare Tools & Do-It-Yourself Skincare

Tue Nov 12, 2013 11:22 am

Well, I was thinking MAP. I COULD just do LAA at a lower concentration, and water, I suppose!

Tue Dec 03, 2013 10:17 pm

hi all,

please help and need advise ,
could i mix coq 10 with carrier oil + peo ? any receipe for oat beta glucan ? thanks

Mon Jan 06, 2014 2:37 am

Are the only Vit-C powders worth buying the one's from places like Lotioncrafters and Bulkactives? I have pure l-ascorbic acid powder (Nutribiotics, since it had good reviews) and it pretty much refuses to dissolve. I warm up the water, I let it sit in the water for 10 minutes, nada. You can still clearly see white silt at the bottom, and even if what I apply looks clear and feels clear, after it dries on my skin I see a white cast. Even what does dissolve doesn't seem to be able to absorb, it just sits atop the skin.

What gives?

free skin care · Mon Jan 06, 2014 3:37 am

Rokokoquette wrote:

Are the only Vit-C powders worth buying the one's from places like Lotioncrafters and Bulkactives? I have pure l-ascorbic acid powder (Nutribiotics, since it had good reviews) and it pretty much refuses to dissolve. I warm up the water, I let it sit in the water for 10 minutes, nada. You can still clearly see white silt at the bottom, and even if what I apply looks clear and feels clear, after it dries on my skin I see a white cast. Even what does dissolve doesn't seem to be able to absorb, it just sits atop the skin.

What gives?

The smaller the crystals, the faster they dissolve. Undissolved crystals that aren't in solution aren't going to be absorbed by your skin (at least not right away.) HTH!

free skin care · Mon Jan 06, 2014 10:29 am

Rokokoquette wrote:

Are the only Vit-C powders worth buying the one's from places like Lotioncrafters and Bulkactives? I have pure l-ascorbic acid powder (Nutribiotics, since it had good reviews) and it pretty much refuses to dissolve. I warm up the water, I let it sit in the water for 10 minutes, nada. You can still clearly see white silt at the bottom, and even if what I apply looks clear and feels clear, after it dries on my skin I see a white cast. Even what does dissolve doesn't seem to be able to absorb, it just sits atop the skin.

What gives?

Try grinding the vitamin C powder with a mortar and pestle before adding it to the liquid. That should make the particles smaller so they dissolve better. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, try a a small glass dish and a hard plastic spoon or the bottom of a small measuring cup to grind it. Don't use metal with vitamin C.

free skin care · Mon Jan 20, 2014 10:23 pm

Rokokoquette wrote:

Are the only Vit-C powders worth buying the one's from places like Lotioncrafters and Bulkactives? I have pure l-ascorbic acid powder (Nutribiotics, since it had good reviews) and it pretty much refuses to dissolve. I warm up the water, I let it sit in the water for 10 minutes, nada. You can still clearly see white silt at the bottom, and even if what I apply looks clear and feels clear, after it dries on my skin I see a white cast. Even what does dissolve doesn't seem to be able to absorb, it just sits atop the skin.

What gives?

You will never get the "anti-caking" ingredients in some supplements to dissolve.

Get the real thing from any DIY vendor. You won't be sorry.

Tue Jan 21, 2014 6:34 pm

Update!

I don't think the Vitamin C I have is the best that I could work with (I've started using in in smoothies to use it up faster). I think I was being impatient in letting it dissolve and will continue to use it till it runs out, at which point I'll get the better stuff (and maybe some of those Vit-C esters).

While its a bit frustrating to work with it actually works pretty well. I actually saw that 'glow' people talk about, exciting stuff! What I need now is to figure out how to mix it up each time in a way that 'dirties' as few implements as possible (vitamin c definitely has a taste I don't want to leave on any of the measuring spoons).

Tue Jan 21, 2014 8:25 pm

I just had an 'oh duh' moment. Sometimes when my skin is acting up I'll make an aspirin mask. I had some recently-found spray bottles on hand (filled with a laughably ineffective 'hydrating mist'). Not wanting to use my mixing cups I placed the two aspirin tablets in my hand and sprayed them with the mist till they dissolved and added some aloe vera gel to make it less runny . . . I could just do that with the vitamin c to avoid dirtying any spoons or mixing glasses since I want to make it fresh each time.

I tried it just now and rubbed it over my hands; somehow this dissolved better than just letting it sit in the water. I don't know why but it did. It would probably take some practice to estimate the water:C ratio and I'd want to swap out that hydrating mist since it has all these useless ingredients, but my hands feel nice so this is promising. My foray into DIY is off to a good start.

Sun Feb 02, 2014 12:56 pm

I hate triple-posting but I just HAD to share:

1. The vitamin c serum makes my hands stink. I didn't know what it was before, especially since there isn't any odor until about an hour later, but eventually I connected the dots. A bit of Googling turned up accounts of other women's experiences with DIY Vit C and it leaving a scent on their hands. Not enough to say its common, but definitely not unheard of either. It must be a skin chemistry thing. Its disappointing really, I really dislike the smell and its enough to make me strongly consider not using it anymore. It may very well be making my face all smelly too but I cant exactly detach my nose to smell my face Sad

I'll try applying it with cotton balls see if it helps, if it doesn't I'm gonna throw the towel on LAA, maybe the esters don't do this.

2. I've heard that one should apply the serum before lotions and I'm a bit unsure if that should really be the case. Once I swiped a moist cotton-pad across my face after I had already applied the C-serum since my face felt kind of sticky. The cotton pad did not swipe clean; I'd cleansed beforehand so I was puzzled. Could this be oxidation? And then I remembered that Vit C is actually acidic and has exfoliation properties, so the grim I was picking up was what the Vit C had sloughed off. Why else would my skin feel so soft after I'd used the serum? I think it calls for a very thorough cleansing beforehand (so maybe oil cleansing and cream cleansers won't cut it), perhaps some manual exfoliation even. Maybe a swipe of a toner-soaked cotton pad before applying my lotion for some rudimentary cleansing. I dislike the idea of applying lotion and makeup on top of that grime.

So now I don't know if I'll continue using the serum, and mostly because of issue number 1. At least if it was oxidation I'd feel like I could do something about it, but because the odor takes time before the onset I'm really at a loss. I'm gonna continue experimenting but I'll be reading up on the various Vitamin C esters, I know LAA has the most studies behind it while the esters are lacking in scientific consensus but even if the only work half as well . . . it is still better than nothing.

free skin care · Sun Feb 02, 2014 2:04 pm

Rokokoquette wrote:

I hate triple-posting but I just HAD to share:

1. The vitamin c serum makes my hands stink. I didn't know what it was before, especially since there isn't any odor until about an hour later, but eventually I connected the dots. A bit of Googling turned up accounts of other women's experiences with DIY Vit C and it leaving a scent on their hands. Not enough to say its common, but definitely not unheard of either. It must be a skin chemistry thing. Its disappointing really, I really dislike the smell and its enough to make me strongly consider not using it anymore. It may very well be making my face all smelly too but I cant exactly detach my nose to smell my face Sad

I'll try applying it with cotton balls see if it helps, if it doesn't I'm gonna throw the towel on LAA, maybe the esters don't do this.

2. I've heard that one should apply the serum before lotions and I'm a bit unsure if that should really be the case. Once I swiped a moist cotton-pad across my face after I had already applied the C-serum since my face felt kind of sticky. The cotton pad did not swipe clean; I'd cleansed beforehand so I was puzzled. Could this be oxidation? And then I remembered that Vit C is actually acidic and has exfoliation properties, so the grim I was picking up was what the Vit C had sloughed off. Why else would my skin feel so soft after I'd used the serum? I think it calls for a very thorough cleansing beforehand (so maybe oil cleansing and cream cleansers won't cut it), perhaps some manual exfoliation even. Maybe a swipe of a toner-soaked cotton pad before applying my lotion for some rudimentary cleansing. I dislike the idea of applying lotion and makeup on top of that grime.

So now I don't know if I'll continue using the serum, and mostly because of issue number 1. At least if it was oxidation I'd feel like I could do something about it, but because the odor takes time before the onset I'm really at a loss. I'm gonna continue experimenting but I'll be reading up on the various Vitamin C esters, I know LAA has the most studies behind it while the esters are lacking in scientific consensus but even if the only work half as well . . . it is still better than nothing.

A couple of thoughts...for #1 if you are using a recipe that has oil in it, you could try adding a couple drops of an essential oil to change the scent.

For #2, you might be wiping off very small bits of LAA that did not fully dissolve or sink in. Part of the guidance for using LAA on clean dry skin is due to pH. If you apply other products first you may alter your skin's pH and reduce the effectiveness of the C serum.

Tue Feb 04, 2014 4:18 am

It was a water based serum so I can't use any essential oils Sad

Actually, water seems to be the problem. I've mixed the Vit C with other things and odor isn't an issue. As for efficacy? Well I don't know if the pH of any of the other mediums I used is suitable. I tried aloe vera jelly and it dissolves very well and there is no scent but aloe gets sort of filmy, I don't trust that any moisturizer I apply afterward will actually penetrate. I suppose I'll need to keep experimenting and buy pH strips to figure out what works.

Thu Jun 11, 2015 11:25 am

sharky wrote:

The Biochemistry of Beauty (posted by above) site is awesome. I have never seen a better site for formulas and reviews of real science articles. It also lists properties of many ingredients and where to but them and easy formulas.

I cannot access this site

free skin care · Thu Jun 11, 2015 11:44 am

Floralouise wrote:

sharky wrote:

The Biochemistry of Beauty (posted by above) site is awesome. I have never seen a better site for formulas and reviews of real science articles. It also lists properties of many ingredients and where to but them and easy formulas.

I cannot access this site

This site closed years ago. Excellent resources.

free skin care · Thu Jun 11, 2015 11:45 am

Sorry double post.

Sat Jul 18, 2015 4:45 am

Hi
I'm newbie on all this DIY skincare.
I would like your help for a simple retinol (vitamin A ) serum formula,thanks

free skin care · Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:23 am

Are you familiar with the Skin Actives community?

You can buy DIY ingredients there.

http://www.skinactives.com/

Here is a forum link:

http://skinactives.websitetoolbox.com/post/retinol-cream-3167886?&trail=20

free skin care · Thu Jul 23, 2015 4:46 pm

Do you recommend skinactives over bulkactives. It seems the prices are cheaper on bulkactives. Anyone use them?

free skin care · Sun Mar 13, 2016 7:52 am

i'm looking at buying raw materials from skinessentialactives, newdirection & lotioncrafter.

I have bought from skinactives $130 of mainly finished products and their antioxidant booster + EGF.

i like the cheaper prices, low postage and nice friendly owner who give helpful answers at skinessentialactives. She was really knowledgable!

Can anyone review my shopping carts?
I'm buying for the first time and DIYing.

Skinessentialactives:
Ferulic Acid (grams: 10 grams)
Vitamin K1 USP 99% 10 grams, 0.35 oz
Grape Seed Extract 95% 30 grams
Sea Kelp Bioferment/ Ferment Extract (grams: 30 grams)
N-Acetyl-D Glucosamine/ NAG (grams: 10 grams)
Hydroxyethylcellulose 30 grams, 1.01 oz
Tetrasodium EDTA 30 grams 1.06 oz
Polysorbate 80, Tween80 emulsifier/ surfactant (Liquid weight Poly 80 20: 30 grams)
Airless Vacuum bottles, UV Block 15 ml, 30 ml, 50 ml (Serum Size: 50 ml)
D-Panthenol 99.3 % USP[ liquid], Vitamin B5, 65 grams, 2.29 oz.
Idebenone 98.15%- 5 grams (grams: 1 gram)
Alpha Lipoic Acid 99.53% (grams: 10 grams)
L-Proline (grams: 10 grams)
Biotin 98% (grams: 1 gram)
LICORICE EXTRACT
copper peptides
Glycolic Acid
Potassium Sorbate , Benzoic Acid , Broad Spectrum Preservative 30 grams
0.2 ml. spoons, pack of 10
1ml. spoons, pack of 10
Weigh boats/ Measuring cups 10 ml $2.25

New direction
-Lactic Acid
-Salicylic Acid
-Glycerine (Palm Free)
-Castor Oil
-Vitamin B3 Niacinamide
-Allantoin
-Cocoamidopropyl Betaine
-Cocamide DEA
-polyglucose
-Witch Hazel extract
-Arginine
-Pineapple
-Papaya Fermented
-Calendula / Marigold Flower Dried Herb
-Certified Organic Beeswax
-Beeswax Beads Yellow Cosmetic Wax
-Shea Butter Unrefined

Lotion crafter
- Corning Lab Spatula
- Crystalline Stir Rod, 10 Pack
- Lotioncrafter Wrinkle Defense Complex
- Ethoxydiglycol
- Lemon Peel Bioferment
- Actigym
- Lipochroman-6
- Syn®-TC
- Tetrapeptide-30 Solution
- Juveleven Solution
- SNAP-8 Solution C - Paraben Free
- Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate
- L-Carnitine
- wheat germ protein / Silk Amino Acids PF /Hydrolyzed Baobab Protein

makingcosmetics (maybe)
Bacillus Ferment
72h-Moisture
Propanediol 1,3

bulkactives
Pumpkin enzyme
Fucoidan/ bladderwrack/ Fucus vesiculosus (growth factor)

Have already bought Borosilicate Glass Beaker, thermometer, 0.01 weigh machine, pH strips, airless bottle, grain alcohol, measuring spoons/bowl, glass pipette, methyl alcohol, bottle/straw brushes, safety glasses, milton anti-bacteria tablets, disinfectant, gloves, mini mixer/blender (for coffee)

other raw ingredients i bought
- Phenoxyethanol
- Caffeine
- Hyaluronic acid
- Kojic acid
- Bromelain
- citric acid
- NaOH
- vitamin e 1000iu softgel
- vitamin d vcaps
- msm crystals
- pure water

looking at buying retinol now. tossing between buying vitamin softgel as advised by Dr Todorov from smartskincare or from Skinessentialactives

free skin care · Tue Nov 29, 2016 6:56 pm

Eggs add honey can make skin blond.

free skin care · Sun Jan 08, 2017 7:46 pm

Thanks for sharing! These recipes are very useful!

Wed Jan 25, 2017 12:00 pm

This thread is a treasure trove of skin care recipes! I will share mine too.
Mix a cup of brown sugar with one-fourth cup coconut oil and then rub 1 tablespoon of the sugar scrub for silky skin. Exfoliate before doing this for better results.

Mon Aug 27, 2018 6:39 am

carekate wrote:

HOW TO USE IT:
Brush teeth with desired toothpaste as normal, then spit and rinse your mouth and/or toothbrush. Squeeze 4-5 drops of either Auro ear drops of Gly Oxide onto toothbrush and brush teeth just like you would with toothpaste, concentrating on your "smile" teeth (the ones in your mouth that appear when you smile). Hold the mixture in your mouth for 1 1/2-2 minutes or as long as you can stand (don't worry, it doesn't taste bad!).

Do I rinse with water after having the mixture in my mouth, or do I just spit it out?

Thu Feb 14, 2019 5:00 am

Hey guys I am new to this,

can I mix VitC Palmitate with water for a face serum and if so in what relation?

Also is it possible to do the same with VitA Palmitate and VitE or do I need a carrier oil for that? (I got coconut oil and emu oil if needed)

Wed Feb 05, 2020 11:22 pm

I really appreciate this string on EDS Skin Care Forums as there is lots of interesting knowledge and information.

Does anyone out there have a proven Crepey Skin Repair body lotion recipe?

Mon Sep 19, 2022 5:33 pm

Hi my name is Maria I am hoping you can help me understand how to purchase unrefined Shea butter directly from the women in Ghana who make the butter, I have read that if bought directly it can help these special ladies better than buying it from the middle man, I have seen many other companies which pledge that they are helping towards the ladies by buying there butters direct, but they never have the information on where or how they do this, I am quite new to this and am trying to understand how I am able to purchase straight from the ladies who work so hard to make it, I am hoping to be successful in making my own natural skincare so I can help with my own skin issues and others alike if you can help me with some guidance on how this is possible I'd be very grateful Maria ☺️

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