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Mon Apr 16, 2007 2:35 am  |
A combination of both actually. Yes there is some trial and error, but in many ways no more than buying product after product and finding that it's not right for your skin type. Because there are a good number of natural moisturisers on the market, I wouldn't bother making my own from scratch. But serums are a different matter altogether. Using aloe vera gel as a serum base for water soluble actives you can custom make products easily and quickly. For instance $5 worth of DMAE from Bulk Actives and $5 worth of aloe vera gel and you can create your own face firming serum for very little. That amount of product would be enough for you to make the serum for all your friends, or alternatively add the dmae to your favourite body lotion (dissolves very easily) for firmer skin all over.
My suggestion would be to post your skin type and what you want your skin care regine to do in the DIY section asking for suggestions for beginner recipes. Here's one to start you off.
DMAE face firming serum
1/4 tsp dmae powder
15 mls aloe vera gel
Small amber bottle with eye dropper top
Add both ingredients to the bottle, close and shake. Voila! Your first home made anti-aging product. No heating, next to no weighing or measuring. I find this gentle enough to use around the eyes. Experiment to see what concentration of dmae powder is right for your skin type. |
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Mon Apr 16, 2007 5:36 pm |
I use dmae bitatrate which I buy from Bulk Actives. It is active over a wide ph range. Apparently the dmae amine form is trickier to work with. Bulk Actives have their own forum and John is very helpful answering questions. I just use Fruit of the Earth uncoloured aloe vera gel. It does have firming properties and it doesn't irritate my skin so I can only assume there is no problem with the ph. As for cost, I will give you some examples of just how different costs can be.
Niacinamide is the active ingredient in Olay Total Effects. In Australia a 50 ml bottle of this costs $20-25. However I can buy Niacinamide from Bulk Actives for less than $5 and a good quality reasonably priced cream and make my own version of this product for less than $5 per 50 mls. For instance I purchase an australian made cream called Youth Activator which costs around $14 for a 400ml pump pack and already contains vitamin e, green tea extract, glucosamine, alpha lipoic acid, hyalauronic acid, glycerin and shea butter. This is non greasy and works for my slightly oily skin. You can see how big a difference the price is, and the niacinamide I have purchased will be enough for me for a couple of years at least.
Another example is Olay Regenerist Serum which in Australia costs $30 for 50mls and $25 for the 15 ml eye serum. The active ingredient is Matrixyl which can be bought from Garden of Wisdom for around $10. Once again using the generic cream that suits my face, I can add the matrixyl to both a face cream and an eye cream and still have some left over for a second batch.
A third example is a cream called Rosacure, specifically for redness and broken capillaries. In Australia it costs $40 for a 50 ml bottle. The active ingredients are msm (organic sulphur) and milk thistle extract. The msm can be bought from Garden of Wisdom for $4 or from any health food and the milk thistle from Bulk Actives for around $5. Once again by adding this to the generic cream, I can make my own version of Rosacure for less than $5 per 50 mls.
I personally now have two home made products which I use every day - an aloe vera based serum that contains niacinamide, glucosamine, dmae, beta glucan and allantoin and a night cream that contains msm and milk thistle extract, along with added vitamin a and d, because I've never discovered a skin cream that has vitamins a,e, and d together. I use the serum twice a day, including around the eyes and the night cream goes on my hands and arms as well as my face. Several nights a week I don't bother with the serum, instead I use vitamin c, just a pinch of ascorbic acid crystals (available cheaply at any health food store) mixed with around a teaspoon of rosewater (or use distilled water). I rub this all over my face, neck, hands and wait 20 minutes before applying night cream. This is because vitamin c is acidic and will be neutralised by the night cream. This is the only case so far where ph is actually important.
Before I started making my own products I bought the smart skin care pdf on making your own and then I started slowly, only buying a couple of actives at a time as I learnt more, and also to keep costs down.
My skin looks better now than it did before I started making my own, fine lines in my forehead have disappeared, skin tone is more even, thread veins are less prominent and hydration levels are better, so I can only assume that diy is effective and that ph is possibly overrated in most cases.
Most people will choose to buy ready made, but I personally couldn't justify the price of a product like Rosacure because I have broken thread veins on my neck/chest as well as my face and to use it all over I would go through a $40 tube every month, plus I would have to use another cream on top of it for anti aging benefits. DIY means you can tailor creams to suit whatever problems your skin has. |
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Mon Apr 16, 2007 5:50 pm |
Out of curiosity I just added up what I have spent on DIY ingredients (including postage and handling) since I began making my own products 4 months ago. It comes to $75AU, which is roughly $50US, less than the cost of two tubes of Rosacure. I have enough of most of the active ingredients to last at least two years which means I will only have to spend around $25 on aloe vera gel and Youth Activator cream. Even if I add Matrixyl and have to reorder some of the other actives I will still be looking at spending a maximum of $100-$120AU per year on anti aging products.
I'll be a DIY'er till I die. |
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