DIY Formulas

DIY Skincare Formulas: Start Here

This is the home base for every DIY skincare formula on Skin Perfection. Each recipe is written by a cosmetic formulator in grams and percentages, uses ingredients at their manufacturer's highest recommended rate, and tells you exactly when a formula needs a preservative. If you are new, read the five rules below, make the starter peptide serum, then pick a recipe from the library.

Natural ingredients and bottles for DIY skincare formulas

The Five Rules of Safe DIY Skincare

  1. Weigh, do not scoop. A digital scale that reads to 0.1 g makes a formula repeatable. For serum boosters, our house rate is 9 drops = 1% per fluid ounce, so 10% is 90 drops in 1 oz.
  2. Sanitize everything. Wash tools and containers in hot soapy water, dry them, spray with 70% isopropyl alcohol, and let them air dry. Our Beauty Blending 101 guide walks through a full workstation setup.
  3. Water means preservative. Any formula with water, aloe, hydrosols, milk, or juice needs a broad-spectrum preservative, or it must be made fresh and used the same day. Water-free balms, oils, scrubs, and powders do not, as long as water stays out.
  4. Check the pH. Facial products usually sit around pH 4.5 to 5.5, and every preservative has its own working range.
  5. Patch test. Test each new product on your inner arm for 24 hours. With sensitive skin, start actives and essential oils at the lowest rate of their range, then work up.

Choosing a Preservative

Preservative Rate pH range Notes
GSB Natural Preservative Powder 2% alone; 1% with another preservative (range 0.75 to 2%) 3 to 6 Powder, dissolve in the water phase. Not for anhydrous formulas or formulas with vitamin C.
Leucidal SF Complete 2 to 4% 3 to 8 Liquid, add at room temperature or in the cool-down phase.
Ready-made preserved bases Follow the base's limit Already set Our Aloe Vera Gel Serum Base allows up to 60% added ingredients; the Regenerating Facial Cream Lotion Bulk Base allows up to 20% oils and 40% water-based ingredients without extra preservative.

Starter Formula: Two-Peptide Serum (1 fl oz, 30 g)

Ingredient Grams Drops %
Aloe Vera Gel Serum Base 24.6 n/a 82%
Argireline (Acetyl Hexapeptide-8) 3.0 90 10%
Matrixyl 3000 Serum Booster 2.4 72 8%
  1. Sanitize a 1 oz airless bottle, a small beaker, and a spatula.
  2. Weigh the aloe base into the beaker.
  3. Add the Argireline at its 10% maximum and Matrixyl 3000 at its 8% maximum, the top of each product page's range (2 to 10% and 3 to 8%).
  4. Stir gently at room temperature until uniform. Peptides never go into a hot base.
  5. Fill the bottle, label it with the date, and refrigerate.

The added peptides total 18%, well within the aloe base's 60% limit, so no extra preservative is needed. Use 2 to 3 pumps morning and night on clean skin. With sensitive skin, start at 2% Argireline (18 drops) and 3% Matrixyl (27 drops) and increase over a few weeks. For more on adding actives to a finished product, see how to add a serum booster.

The DIY Recipe Library

Serums, creams, and lotions

Masks and facials

Scrubs

Bath and body

Hair

Kitchen and food-based recipes

Fresh food recipes made with fruit, coffee, milk, or honey contain no preservative. Make them right before use, keep them refrigerated, and throw away leftovers the same day.

Gifts

To learn what each ingredient does, browse our ingredient glossary, and find bases, peptides, and bottles in the DIY shop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it safe to make your own skincare?

Yes, when you sanitize your tools, weigh ingredients, keep actives within their recommended rates, and preserve anything that contains water. Patch test every new product for 24 hours before using it on your face.

Do homemade skincare products need a preservative?

Any product containing water, aloe, hydrosols, milk, or juice needs a broad-spectrum preservative, or it must be made fresh and used the same day. Water-free products such as oils, balms, and scrubs do not need one if water stays out.

How long does homemade skincare last?

Preserved water-based products typically last about three months, and water-free oils and balms about six to twelve months, depending on the oils. These are formulator estimates, since homemade products are not challenge tested. Fresh food recipes last one day.

What equipment do I need to start making skincare?

A digital scale that reads to 0.1 g, glass beakers, a thermometer, a spatula or mini whisk, pH strips, 70% isopropyl alcohol, gloves, and airless bottles or clean jars. A stick blender helps when you move on to lotions.

What is the easiest DIY skincare product to make?

A peptide serum built on a preserved base, like the starter formula above, takes about five minutes. A water-free sugar scrub or face oil is just as easy and needs no preservative.

How do I convert drops to percentages?

For our serum boosters, 9 drops equals 1% in a 1 fluid ounce product. So 5% is 45 drops and 10% is 90 drops per ounce. For larger batches, weigh instead of counting drops.

Sources

  • Skin Perfection product pages: Argireline (2 to 10%), Matrixyl 3000 (3 to 8%; 8% = 72 drops or 2.4 g per ounce), Aloe Vera Gel Serum Base (preserved; up to 60% additions), Regenerating Facial Cream Lotion Bulk Base (20% oils, 40% water-based), GSB Natural Preservative Powder (pH 3 to 6; not for anhydrous or vitamin C formulas), Leucidal SF Complete (2 to 4%; supplier Q&A: pH 3 to 8).
  • Skin Perfection formulating guidance: GSB 0.75 to 2%, 2% as the sole preservative, 1% when combined with another preservative.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

About the Author
Written by Kari Thomas, cosmetic formulator and founder of Skin Perfection.