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DIY skincare: Getting started
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items I started making my own products to save money but I quickly fell in love with it! I can use my favourite ingredients cheaply, keep it natural and clean, and customise my products to my needs.
This list has everything you need to get started! Check ...
Sections
6
Essentials
Oils (for oil blends, body butter bars, lip balm, lotion/cream)
Water phase (for toners, serums, lotion/cream, washes)
Emulsifiers and thickeners (for lotion/cream, serum, washes)
Trusted Suppliers
How-To and Recipes
Essentials
Always test the pH of any product containing water! These strips are extra accurate (differences of 0.5) but you can use ones that detect a difference of 1 in a pinch. For peace of mind there are digital pH meters but they're £30+ and these strips wi...
WALNUTS 100 Strips pH Test Paper 0-14
You'll definitely need isopropanol / isopropyl alcohol / propan-2-ol (it's all the same), sometimes sold as rubbing alcohol but do check the label. It's a super effective disinfectant and you'll need to use it on your surfaces and utensils before you...
Isopropyl Alcohol (Rubbing Alcohol)
It's important you can weigh ingredients very accurately to make sure the products will be safe and effective. Luckily you can pick up an accurate scale from £5 - search "digital scale 0.01g".
Digital Kitchen Pocket Scales 500g x 0.1g
If using water in your products, use clean, soft water. Picking up some deionised water from the shop is best but if you're sure that your tap water is very soft you can also boil and cool tap water. No need for skincare-grade here when it's availabl...
Distilled Water 100% Ultra Pure (1L)
Sometimes you'll want to heat something and it will really help to keep an eye on temperature using a meat thermometer if you don't already have one.
The best way to heat is to fill a shallow pan with 2cm of water until barely simmering, then place ...
ThermoPro TP02S Digital Instant Read Meat Thermometer
Anything with water (or that will contact water, like shower products) needs a broad spectrum preservative. This is my favourite - it's baby-safe, natural, functions at a wide pH range (max 2-7, highest efficacy at 3-6), and can be used in most types...
Dehydroacetic acid & Benzyl alcohol (GFecosafe / Preservative Eco equivelent)
Oils (for oil blends, body butter bars, lip balm, lotion/cream)
My favourite butter for many reasons. It's great for beginners to make thicker oil products like lip balms, body butters, creams, or solid oil serums. It's also widely available. I love its dry skin feel, beautiful scent, and the fact it's an occlusi...
Cocoa Butter
Shea butter is also a great first butter, it's creamy, luxurious, and protects the skin. It can feel heavy, so try these ideas:
- whipped shea butter (soft, airy, easy to make and elevate with essential oil)
- use in formulas with lighter, dryer oils...
Shea Butter – Refined
Don't underestimate beeswax! It's very hard so it's perfect for thickening oil products and emulsions. It's also a natural skin protectant, so it's perfect for lip balm (*ahem* Burt's bees), body butter bars, and creams.
Beeswax - White
Jojoba happens to be my favourite liquid oil right now and it's great for beginners because of its many skin benefits and light, almost dry feel. Alone, it makes an excellent 1-ingredient facial oil serum.
Some benefits include occlusive (protecting...
Jojoba Oil - Golden, Organic, Cold Pressed
Just want to throw out there that you can buy a tiny bottle of this from a name brand for £15 or buy 50ml from the supplier for £6.50 (even better value at larger volumes). It's exactly the same.
Never buy single ingredient products from big brands ...
Olive Squalane - The Soap Kitchen
Vitamin E can be a great staple for products with oil, because as an antioxidant, it will slow down the oils going rancid. It's also a great antioxidant for the skin. However, it's not a preservative, so if the product has water you'll need to add a ...
Vitamin E oil
Water phase (for toners, serums, lotion/cream, washes)
I fell in love with hyaluronic acid in everything... but this is SO much cheaper! You only need 0.2% to be effective (brands use more for label appeal even though it's not actually more effective), so even the 3g bag will make you about 1500g or roug...
Hyaluronic acid
Niacinamide (vitamin B3) is trending and I decided to try it but instead of buying new products, I added the powder to my next formulations for cheap!
It prevents water loss, boosts the skin barrier, and visibly brightens the skin.
Niacinamide Powder
Panthenol (vitamin B5) can be very underrated, and you'll find it in lots of products even if it's not highlighted in marketing. It's soothing and hydrating, moisturising for hair as well, and in lots of baby products. I've started using it in nearly...
Panthenol
If you want to make shampoo or hand/body/face wash, start here. Coco glucoside is a gentle, natural, easy to use surfactant (foaming product). With water, thickener, and preservative, you'll already have a basic wash or shampoo that foams well and cl...
Coco Glucoside | The Soap Kitchen™
Glycerin is an excellent staple to have. It's a humectant so will hydrate skin (like hyaluronic acid) but is cheap and easy to get. It's good for stirring powders like xanthan gum in before adding the mix to your batch to prevent clumps. It also boos...
Glycerin - Amazon.com
Emulsifiers and thickeners (for lotion/cream, serum, washes)
To make lotions and creams, you'll need an emulsifier. I use this constantly because it's natural, common, and thickens and emulsifies at the same time - most emulsions would need additional thickeners to keep them stable. Emulsions with oliveM 1000 ...
Olivem 1000 With Cetearyl & Sorbitan Olivate
This is the easiest to find thickener for water-based products and a great starting point (serums, lotions, shampoo, body/hand wash, watery gels). Tips to use well:
- Start low, 0.2-0.5%, to prevent a too thick, stringy product
- It can clump, so mix...
Xanthan Gum
Trusted Suppliers
Excellent supplier, my go-to for oils and butters because they're usually the best value! I recommend starting with 1-2 oils, 1-2 butters, and beeswax or other fatty thickener, depending on what kinds of products you're interested in. They also have ...
Natural Ingredients for Cosmetics & Candles | TheSoapery
They claim to be the cheapest and they often are the best value! If I don't order, it's usually because the quantity is too high for my needs or I can't find something, but not finding something is rare.
I've learned so much from their website too, ...
The Soap Kitchen | UK’s Leading Soap Making & Cosmetic Supplies
A trustworthy UK supplier, I'll check here to compare prices and find things that other shops don't have. They have a great range of ready-made natural products that you just customise with scent, colour, or packaging, which can be a great way to dip...
UK Cosmetic Manufacturer & Skincare Supplies | Naturally Balmy
This is where professionals shop. You'll find most anything you could wish for at decent prices - the only thing is it's a £50 minimum spend. I keep it in my back pocket for tracking down hard to find ingredients if I really feel the need for them.
...
Soap Making Supplies & Ingredients | Soapmakers Store UK | Soapmakers Store UK
Trusted global supplier, also owns New Directions Europe. Doesn't just sell essential oils and fragrances, it has plenty of reasonably priced supplies.
Mystic Moments - The Home of Aromatherapy
How-To and Recipes
Marie Rayma's blog has a wealth of information and formulations, and I've learned so much here. She has a free beginner's course to formulating with a small shopping list and 6 formulas, which is an excellent place to start!
Humblebee & me
Chemist's Corner is a great place to learn true formulation science. Many blogs circulate myths with bold claims about certain ingredients and even unsafe formulas. This website is run by cosmetic chemists and while some courses are paid, you can lea...
Home - Chemists Corner
This a skincare school but you can take a free trial of many of their courses, accessing a few modules free. I've done a few of their free events and trials to collect trusted formulas and new tidbits without spending money.
Learn to be a natural, organic cosmetic formulator - School of Natural Skincare - School of Natural Skincare
Now I've not done their courses but they're in this list because they have a free blog with tons of information and regular free events - each one walks you through an expert formula, step by step, with live Q&A (free)! Their website is a great s...
Formula Botanica: Organic Cosmetic Formulation School - Formula Botanica
I'd be remiss if I didn't encourage you to research your ingredients. The best place to do that is checking scientific papers in search engines like PubMed. It will help you separate the ingredients that work from the ones that are hype.
It will be ...
NCBI - PubMed