DIY Face Serum for Glowing Skin

Looking for healthy and rejuvenated skin? Then this DIY face serum for glowing skin is the perfect treatment to exactly achieve this. It contains oils and essential oils that will compliment your facial skin!

Whether you just want your skin to look radiant or get rid of those fine lines or help reduce the appearances of spots and blemishes, this DIY face serum makes it possible!

Contents

• Ingredients
• Carrier Oils
• Essential oils
• Instructions
• Storage
• Safety
• 📖 Recipe
• Resources

Making your own facial serum is super easy. All you need to do is pick the oils you want, mix them together and done! That’s it! Sweet and easy.

If you're also looking for an anti-aging effect, you may want to check out my other DIY face serum (with vitamin E)!

Ingredients

• carrier oil (jojoba, rosehip, argan, etc.)
• essential oils (copaiba, tea tree, geranium, lavender, frankincense)

(see recipe card for quantities)

Carrier oil: choose your favourite oil or an oil that also promotes glowing skin (more information below.) You can absolutely blend carrier oils. I usually choose 2-3, using half/half or a third each.

Essential oils: I’m giving you some options here. There are quite a few essential oils that are great for radiant, glowing skin. You may stick to the recipe but you may also swap some of the oils or only use 2-3 instead of 5!

Carrier Oils

Affiliate Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links. That means I may earn a small commission, if you purchase the linked product, at no extra cost for you.

Jojoba, rosehip, argan and grapeseed oil are excellent choices for our DIY face serum for glowing skin. They can be used by almost all skin types!

Jojoba, rosehip and grapeseed oil are non-comedogenic which means that they won’t clog your pores. These oils are also safe to use on oily skin or acne-prone skin (please note, that yes, there are dermatologists who don’t agree with this.)

They’re also ideal for normal and sensitive skin (especially jojoba oil). However, if you tend to have dry skin, you definitely want to mix them with an oil that moisturises a bit more, like argan oil, almond oil, coconut oil or even olive oil (for very dry skin only.)

Which carrier oil is ideal for my skin type?

For oily/acne-prone skin: as mentioned before, dermatologists are still debating whether it’s beneficial or not to use oil on an oily and/or acne-prone face.

The ones against it say that it only contributes to more impurities. The ones pro say that it’s important to choose the right oils.

You may want to try jojoba oil, hemp oil, rosehip oil or grapeseed oil.

For normal to dry skin: Argan oil, jojoba oil, rosehip oil, grapeseed oil, Coconut oil, olive oil (especially for dry skin), wheat germ oil, almond oil, avocado oil and apricot kernel oil.

For sensitive skin: jojoba oil, avocado oil and apricot kernel oil.

A note on the side, as we are going through life, changing seasons, and whatnot, so is our skin. You may notice that your skin needs different oils during different times (seasonal, hormonal, etc.).

For instance, I live in the subtropical north of Australia where we have a dry and a wet season. During the dry season, my skin needs oils that are moisturising (I avoid jojoba and rosehip) whereas, during the wet season, when it’s (really) hot and humid, my skin needs lighter oils.

Essential oils

In this DIY face serum for glowing skin recipe, I use five different essential oils. When I make serums or oil bases for my facial products, I simply can’t decide which ones I should put in.

It’s almost like torture because the list of great essential oils for your skin is long. Very looong. So, what I usually do is ask myself: what is it that you want your product to do for you, right now?

Generally, I pick one or two that are cleansing because I get hormonal breakouts. Then, I’m in my thirties, which means, a little bit of anti-aging. And last, but not least, I definitely add my all-time favourites which are lavender (of course), frankincense and geranium (both beautifying oils).

• Glowing skin: copaiba, lavender, tea tree, frankincense, cedarwood, vetiver, sandalwood, helichrysum, jasmine, blue tansy and turmeric.
• Beautifying: geranium, frankincense, chamomile, helichrysum, sandalwood, vetiver, rose and ylang-ylang.
• Cleansing: cedarwood, bergamot, lemongrass, tea tree, lavender, grapefruit, eucalyptus, cypress and juniper berry.

I use high quality, therapeutic grade essential oils such as doTERRA or Young Living. When it comes to essential oils, quality matters!!

Essential oil safety

Diluting essential oils with a carrier oil is extremely important! Some people prefer to use a fair bit of essential oils whereas I’m a bit more cautious with my dosage.

Personally, I find, that when it comes to essential oils, less is sometimes more. This is why I always stick to this chart and only use a 0.5-2% dilution (0.5% is recommended for facial products) rather than a 5-10% (mind, a 10% dilution is technically still acceptable for daily use.)

Most people don’t react to essential oils, however, it’s always best to test the oils on a tiny bit of skin first (for more information about safety, read this). Even if you’re not allergic to any oil, you may find that using a high amount causes some kind of reaction or irritation on your skin.

Please, do your research before adding the oils to your serum. Some of them are quite strong and very potent which means you don’t need as many drops as with other oils.

WARNING! Don’t use any citrus oil in your serum when intending to use it in the morning. Citrus oils (lemon, orange, lime, bergamot and grapefruit) are phototoxic which means they react with the sun rays and could cause irritations! Mandarin, Tangerine and lemongrass are safe to use.

Instructions

How to make this DIY face serum for glowing skin

It’s easy, honestly. Once you managed the hurdle to choose the oils you want, it’s very simple.

• Step one: choose one (or more) carrier oil(s) and up to 5 different essential oil(s).
• Step two: start with adding essential oils to a small glass jar or bottle (see storage below) first. Then top up with your carrier oil(s). Screw the lid and give it a good shake.
• Step three: Apply several drops (I usually use about 5-8) to your face.

How to use this DIY face serum for glowing skin

This DIY face serum for glowing skin is a great overnight treatment nourishing the facial skin in our sleep. If you prefer using it throughout the day, just be aware that it makes putting on make-up or other facial creams or products a bit harder.

When applying, I recommend massaging the serum into your skin for about a minute or so. The circular motion and the pressure of your fingertips increase the blood flow which will help with the absorption.

Or, use a Gua Sha Massage Stone or a Jade Roller which is much more effective!

A nice face massage and lymph drainage (if using a Gua Sha), particularly in the evening, relaxes those tensed up facial muscles causing wrinkles and fine lines. Relieve the day’s stress and tension by giving yourself this special treatment, every day!

Storage

Here are some ideas and options for how you can store your homemade facial serum:

• Option 1: store in a small glass jar or a small plastic container. Use a pipette, not your fingers!, to get the serum out of the jar or container.
• Option 2: reuse a small oil bottle which has a top with a tiny hole to drop the oil one drop at a time into your hands. If you’re with doTERRA, you can reuse their fractionated coconut oil bottle!
• Option 3: store in a pipette bottle (like one of these).
• Option 4: store in a pump bottle (like one of these).

Store your serum in a cupboard, preferably out of the sun. As oils don't really spoil (or at least not that fast), you can keep the serum for up to 12 months.

Safety

Always dilute essential oils with a carrier oil.

The carrier or essential oils may lead to sensitivities, allergies, irritations, breakouts or clogged pores. Stop using the serum immediately.

📖 Recipe

Resources

• https://www.healthshots.com/beauty/skin-care/these-5-expert-recommended-face-oils-will-give-you-glowing-skin-like-no-other/
• https://www.marieclaire.com/beauty/a22076124/best-face-oils/
• https://tisserandinstitute.org/essential-oil-dilution-chart/
• https://www.doterra.com/US/en/essential-oil-safety
• https://www.doterra.com/US/en/healthy-living-the-10-best-essential-oils-for-skin