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How to Make DIY Face Serum Recipes for Clear & Glowy Skin

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I’ve been teasing to my homemade face serum recipes for a while now, but I wanted to give it a good long test to make sure I liked the results before I shared with you guys. Good news, the results are pretty spectacular! My skin is the clearest it’s been in a long time, though, I’ve also made a few other lifestyle and skincare changes (hello, retinol!) that I know are also helping.

diy essential oil face serum

But, either way, my serum is left my skin looking calm, more even, and I’ve only had one breakout since I started using it! Now, let’s just talk about this serum! 

If you follow any essential oil Instagram accounts, you might be familiar with the Glow recipe.

It combines frankincense, copaiba and lavender essential oils with a splash of witch hazel and jojoba oil. I saw pictures of people’s skin before and after and it was amazing! So, for the base of my serum, I started with those three—I mean, why fix what’s not broken, right?!

diy face serum

I also wanted to add some ingredients that would fight breakouts and prevent future ones with a little more punch. Tea tree essential oil has long been praised for its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, which makes it especially great for breakout-prone skin.

So, that was added to my list and I splurged and bought rose essential oil which is amazing for your skin and smells lovely too! It’s great for anti-aging and healing old scars. For my recipe, you can leave out the rose oil, it works great without it as well!

Before I get into the recipe though (and the recipe for my sister’s Glow serum), let’s chat real quick about carrier oils.

Essential oils are super potent and while some can be applied directly to your skin, it’s usually best to dilute them with a carrier oil when you plan on using them twice a day. There are a gazillion carrier oils out there, and whichever you choose, buy the best quality you can find.

I bought mine on Amazon and I believe at Trader Joe’s as well as some good ones too. Read a little further to figure out which carrier oil is best for your skin type!

How to Make DIY Face Serum at Home

Carrier Oils for Face Serum Recipes

I did a lot of research and the same three carrier oils kept popping up again and again. They all have low comedogenic ratings, meaning it’s very unlikely that they will clog your pores and are similar to the makeup of our skin’s natural sebum, so they work with our skin, instead of against it!

From my research, here’s what I found to be the best for different skin types. You can also mix different carrier oils to come up with the best combination for your skin.

best carrier oils for serum

Jojoba Oil

Comedogenic rating: 2 | Good for all skin types, best for those with normal or combination skin. Jojoba oil most closely resembles our skin’s natural sebum which makes it a great one for just about everyone to use despite having a higher comedogenic rating.

Hemp Oil

Comedogenic rating: 0 | Or hemp seed oil (it called different things, but everything I read says they’re the same). This is the best for oilier skin types. I use some of this in my combination. I’m not incredibly oily, but do sometimes get excess oil that causes blackheads.

It’s hydrating, but never leaves my face looking greasy after it’s been absorbed. It’s high in linoleic acid. Some tests have shown that those with acne have low linoleic acid, so this help boosts that. 

Argan Oil

Comedogenic rating: 0 | Best for dry skin, dry acne skin, and aging skin that needs more hydration. Argan oil is also high in oleic and linoleic acid, making it great for those with dry acne skin.

My skin is much drier in winter, so I plan on trying this out as needed.

Grapeseed Oil

Comedogenic rating: 1 | Grapeseed oil is good for most skin types. You can also mix this with other carrier oils. High in linoleic acid. I mix in a bit of this with mine because Grapseed oil has great skin benefits like tightening pores and reducing the appearance of scars.

What Skin Type Do I Have?

For the most part, I think most of us know what our skin type is, but one area that can get a bit tricky is those who have acne and assume their skin is oily. Often, acne is present in those with dry skin.

serum essential oils

A good way to test to figure out what your skin type is, is to wash your face and let it air dry. If you have normal or dry skin, your skin will start feeling very tight pretty quickly. If you have oily skin, your skin will likely feel light and refreshed after washing.

My point is that just because you have breakouts doesn’t mean you always have oily skin! Who knows, maybe you realize your breakout skin is actually dry and switching your products to hydrating ones makes your acne disappear!

How to Make Face Serum at Home

While making your own skincare might seem like a big feat, making these essential oil face serum recipes at home is actually quite simple. If you want to learn how to make serum for face at home, I’ve got you covered. You simply need the ingredients, an amber dropper bottle (this helps keep the essential oils at their best), and a little bit of time. There’s no fancy heating, you just mix the ingredients and use!

Recipe for Face Serum for Clear Skin

diy face serum acne
In a 2 oz. amber/dark dropper bottle combine…

Face Serum Recipe for Glowing Skin

My sister has drier skin, but was complaining about breakouts, so I made her one that was mostly the glow skin serum recipe you’ve probably seen, but added a few little extras to help combat bacteria and calm inflamed skin.

This one has been proven to be one of the best homemade face oils for glowing skin, but tweak as needed.

diy glow face serum
In a 2 oz. amber/dark dropper bottle combine…

I bought these amber glass dropper bottles and my handy little label maker from Amazon because Prime, duh! You can use whatever you want, but I highly recommend a dark bottle as sunlight can damage the oils and keeping them in dark bottles keeps them safer for longer!

How Much & How Often Should I Apply my Serum?

I typically put on my serum in both the morning and the evening. In the morning, I’ve been using it as my moisturizer and then just go about putting on my SPF and makeup the same way as I normally would. 

At night, it’s the final step in my skincare routine, or the second to final step on nights where I’m using the Resurfacing Peel as well. I use the peel about 4x a week—it helps slough off dead skin cells and makes my skin glow in the morning. That peel also helps with breakouts, clogged pores and overall brightness!

I only use 3-5 drops at a time, which means your serum will last you a long time! And, a little goes a long way. If you’re finding it hard to spread all over your face with just that amount, try putting it on your skin while your face is still a little bit damp. It’ll help lock in the moisture from water and also make it easier to spread.

Where to Buy Essential Oils

The essential oils in these serums are the powerhouse ingredients that will help to heal and transform your skin, so it’s best to pick the highest quality you can get!

You can opt for a shop like Young Living, or you can simply purchase your oils from Amazon or even at a reputable shops like Whole Foods. Another brand I use and trust is Vitruvi, and they actually do have a lot of oils for sale on Amazon which is really handy—I linked to those throughout the post.

Just make sure you’re buying from someone who has a good reputation and plenty of positive reviews!

essential oil recipes for skin acne

My thought is that I’ve got my skin for the rest of my life.

That’s why I choose to invest in high-quality ingredients when making my own skincare products. My skincare routine is my daily self-care that I squeeze in, even on the busiest of days. I love how simply and nourishing these recipes are and how much more affordable they are than going out any buying products from another brand.

Yes, buying all the raw ingredients can be more at first, but just think about how many different products you can make from them! Suddenly it makes a lot more financial sense.

As I mentioned before, feel free to tweak these recipes as needed for your own skin—that’s the beauty of making your own face serum recipe at home!

I’ve been working on some other skincare recipes for a super hydrating and healing balm similar to this one from Primally Pure—make sure to subscribe to my list so you can grab that recipe once it’s finalized!

diy face serum young living

Have you guys attempted to make your own homemade serum for your face?! I hope this educated and inspired you to make your own essential oil face serum at home. What ingredients did you use and how did you like the results?!

BTW, how we use essential oils at home, and how to get more greens in your diet.

Want to remember this DIY face serum? Pin the image below!

diy face serum essential oils

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