10 Tips for Making Natural Skincare Products

If you are new to formulating natural skincare products or a seasoned creator, brushing up on tips for making natural skincare products safe is important. 

1. Understand pH

Understanding the pH in a natural skincare product will affect some of the ingredients that you use in it and how your skin will react to the skincare product.

How pH Affects Natural Skincare Ingredients

Some ingredients that you use in your skincare formulations react better in different pH levels. For example, niacinamide is better at a pH of 6. Natural skincare products that contain niacinamide should be adjusted to have a pH of 6. 

This affects what ingredients you can pair together. You can not properly formulate a skincare product that contains niacinamide and vitamin C. The reason why is niacinamide needs to be at a pH of 6, and vitamin C needs to be at a pH of 2.0 – 5.0. 

When looking at the pH in skincare products, you will want to use a low pH item after high pH. For example, some cleaners will have a higher pH. Using a toner after the cleanser will help bring the pH of the skin back to its normal levels.

How pH Affects Skin

The pH of a natural skincare product affects how your skin will react to it. The skin is at a natural pH of around 5.5. The skin is slightly acidic. 

As the skin ages, it grows to be more alkaline. People who are older need to use products that have a lower pH. The lower pH brings their skin back to the proper pH level it should be.

Some skin conditions could mean that the skin’s pH is slightly off. There was a study conducted on people with eczema. Its results were patients with eczema “exhibit a skin surface pH that is between 0.1 and 0.9 units higher” than the subjects without this skin condition. 

This means that those with eczema sometimes have a higher pH level than people who do not have this skin condition.

2. Look at Percent Usage Amounts

When creating a natural skincare recipe, you will want to look at the formulation guidelines for each ingredient. The percentage guidelines are listed on the website where you buy the ingredients. If you are not able to find it there, you can contact the seller and ask for information on that ingredient.

The percentage guidelines will inform you how much an ingredient you can use in your natural skincare products. 

For example, you can use 1 – 100% rose hydrosol in your natural skincare products. On the other hand, you may only use 1 – 6% of niacinamide. If you use more of an ingredient than recommended, it could be harmful to your skin or cause a bad formulation. 

3. Small Batches

When learning and creating new recipes, you will want to make small batches at first. If you make a small batch of a skincare product you do not like, you can throw it away without having a bad gut feeling about how much money you spent on that product.

Also, when making small batches of experimental natural skincare products, you can create more formulations for less money. We all like to save money where we can. 

If you make a 2oz batch compared to a 4oz batch of lotion that you hate, you will not feel guilty throwing it away. Next time you can create a larger batch if you love the formulation. 

4. Choose the Right Container

Having the correct container for a skincare product can make a difference in how the product is applied and how well the product ages.

For consumers, having the right bottle or jar for a skincare product can make a difference in how easy it will apply and how messy a product will be. If you want to use a lotion, sometimes it is easier to apply it from a pump or squeeze container than an open jar.

Also, the container that you have a product in will determine how well a product will age. 

If you have a lotion in a jar, then dirt, bacteria, and other contaminating items can quickly enter the natural skincare product. If the lotion is in a pump or squeeze container, it is harder for foreign objects to enter and cause the natural skincare product to age poorly.

Also, if you have a natural skincare product that only contains oils and butter, you do not need a preservative in that item. Choosing the correct container for this product is important because you do not want water or other bacteria causing foreign objects to be introduced into the product. If you can, use a sealed container with a pump for products with no preservatives.

5. Learn What Ingredients Pair Well

Some skincare ingredients do not play well together. Understanding what ingredients pair best will help your natural skincare formulations be the best for your body. 

Also, knowing what active ingredients are in skincare products you use will help you understand what can be applied together. 

An example of two ingredients that do not mix well is niacinamide and vitamin C. When applying one skincare product with niacinamide and following it with a skincare product that uses vitamin C will diminish their potency when used together, mentions Dr. Marchbein. If you wait 10 minutes between the application of these products, then they will work well on your skin.

Mixing some ingredients in the same product or natural skincare routine may irritate the skin.

6. Use Preservatives in Water-Based Products

Preservatives are a touchy subject when it comes to natural skincare formulation. Some people almost think of it as a swear word in the natural skincare formulation world, while others believe all skincare products must contain preservatives. 

There are some natural preservatives that you can use in your natural skincare products. One of these natural preservatives is the line of Leucidal Complete preservatives. They can be used in natural skincare products and are broad-spectrum preservatives.

When choosing a preservative, you want it to be broad-spectrum to fight mold, yeast, and bacteria that could grow in your natural skincare products.

Natural skincare products that do not contain water or water-type ingredients do not need preservatives. Traditional body butter is an example of a skincare product that does not need a preservative. 

Without a preservative in these products, you can not use wet hands when using the products or take them into an area where water can contaminate them. If water is introduced into a non-preserved product, there is a possibility of yeast, mold, and bacteria growth. This could cause more harm to your body than a preservative.

7. Calculate Recipes in Percentages and Grams

Formulations should be in percentages and not cups or tablespoon measurements. This is because when you use percentages you can convert your formulation into a weighed-out recipe which is more accurate than using cups and tablespoons.

Another reason for using percentages in a natural skincare recipe is because you can quickly convert it into whatever size batch you would like to make. If you want to make 2oz or 100oz, you can quickly calculate it into that amount.

When calculating a recipe into a weighed-out measurement, you want to use grams and not ounces. The containers used in America are in ounces, but you will want to figure out how many grams your containers are for how large of a batch you would like to create.

When weighing ingredients in grams you will receive a more accurate measurement than ounces. This is because it is a smaller unit of measure and will create accurately formulated products every time.

8. Not all Natural Ingredients are Skin Safe

Not all-natural ingredients are safe to use in a skincare product. 

Some natural ingredients in skincare can be toxic to your body. For example, there is natural and synthetic mica. 

Skincare formulators love to use mica to color their products. If they use natural mica, there is a possibility of arsenic, mercury, and lead being present in this ingredient. Breathing in loose mica could cause lung disease or cancer, mentions aYR skincare.

Also, adding natural ingredients to skincare products could cause the product to develop mold and bacteria. One example of this is adding bananas to a face mask. Bananas go bad quickly and will make the natural skincare product spoil quickly. In your natural skincare formulation, it would be better to use a banana extract if you would like the benefits that it offers.

9. Do Not Over Buy New Ingredients

When purchasing new ingredients, it is best to buy the smallest container. If you purchase an ingredient you do not like, you did not waste your money on a gallon of that ingredient. 

Also, when buying ingredients, buy what you need. These are ingredients with set shelf lives and will expire if you do not use them.

10. Wear Personal Protective Equipment

When working with some ingredients, you will want to use personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep your body safe. 

Some powder ingredients are harmful to breathe in. On the other hand, some natural ingredients you use in skincare formulations are dangerous to your skin at 100% and not mixed with other ingredients. 

You do not need to wear a mask and gloves with each ingredient you use. When making products for consumers it is best to wear PPE. Wearing gloves and a mask will keep your products from foreign objects that could be on your skin or come from your mouth.

Wearing gloves and a mask will keep your skin and products safe from harm.

Conclusion

Keeping your skin happy and healthy is the main goal of natural skincare. Learning tips for making natural skincare products help you become a better formulator.