Have you purchased or are considering purchasing one of our DIY ingredients, like EGF? What now you ask yourself. Here are some basic tips for getting started on mixing your own skincare products. It's easy to get started and you might even get hooked on it. At Skin Actives, we have been featuring do-it-yourself skin care for fifteen years. Home made products can be personalized so that the ingredients and consistency are perfect for the user's skin, they also make great gifts.

Ingredients can be added to Skin Actives base products like our Canvas Cream, or added to products you may have available from our sources.

Getting Started

Prepare a work area by cleaning the surface and laying down a few paper towels to cover the surface. Remember to keep some on hand for cleanup or spills. Wearing an apron is also suggested to protect your clothing since some ingredients can stain.

Be sure to have all your equipment and utensils, containers and ingredients collected. Most of our products are premeasured so you don’t need anything special for measuring or mixing and we include pipettes and spatulas with every order.

Tips for mixing

• Use the muffin method when stirring ingredients. Make a small hole in the center with your spatula to add some product and then fold it in so that it can evenly distribute throughout the base.
• Be sure that you look up the ingredients on the website to make sure that they are compatible with the base that you want to use. Ingredients can be soluble in water bases (distilled water, Hyaluronic Acid Serum, Sea Kelp Coral), oil bases (the Rosehip Seed Oil, Every Lipid Serum) or cream bases. Some ingredients are soluble in multiple products.
• Add ingredients slowly to be sure that your ingredients dissolve and are a texture that you like.
• DIY is all about experimenting. Sometimes a formula will not work out. Keep a notebook to record your efforts so you can duplicate the ones you like.
• Start with one of our beginner’s kits, like the Formulation Kit for Beginners or Make Your Own Cream with EGF Kit
• We do not tend to use fragrances at Skin Actives, but as a personal touch, consider using a small quantity of your favorite perfume in your product.

How to Mix Your Own

The formulation kit for beginners is a great place to start. It includes everything you need to make a beautiful skin cream that you can further customize to suit your skin care needs.

Contents of the kit:

• Canvas Base Cream is a rich, unscented cream that can be used as a base for do-it-yourself creams or on its own as a moisturizing product for all skin types.
• Sea Kelp Coral is a complete nutrient mix obtained from fermentation of a sea macroalgae with the addition of kelp-based antioxidants. This nutrient-rich gel helps moisturize the skin while reducing redness and irritation.
• Rosehip Seed Oil is a fixed oil containing essential fatty acids and vitamins that contribute to healthy, moisturized skin.
• Antioxidant Booster - Antioxidant Booster is an oil-soluble blend of beneficial antioxidants in a base of pomegranate seed oil.
• 8oz Mixing Jar
• Spatula

How to use it

1. Using the empty jar, mix the desired amount of Sea Kelp Coral and Rosehip Seed Oil into the Canvas Base Cream.
2. Add more Sea Kelp Coral for a thinner lotion consistency or more Rosehip Seed Oil to increase emollience for dry skin.
3. Once you are happy with the consistency of your product, add a few drops of Antioxidant Booster into your base.
4. Slowly add 1-2 additional actives based on individual need:
   • Anti-Aging: Niacinamide, Epidermal Growth Factor
   • Redness/Irritation: Bisabolol, Beta Glucan Powder from Oat
   • Acne: Willow Bark Extract, Zinc PCA
   • Ultra-Moisturizing: Sodium PCA

For more information on mixing your own products, visit our FAQ.

Visit Dr. Hannah’s forum for more advanced discussions on mixing your own products.

Search for more ingredients by skin care concern on our ingredient search page.

I hope you have fun experimenting with your own recipes. Keep coming back to our blog for more DIY skin care recipes.