Face & neck serum help please

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godschild

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Hi yall. I got the bright idea of making a face/neck serum to go along with my soaps etc. I ordered some small plastic roll on bottles from WSP and am now trying to formulate an inexpensive recipe to help out the ladies in my area that can't afford high end serums but still deserve them. Due to the roll ons being plastic, I won't be able to use EOs in my formulation because they will melt through. I have made a chart of carrier oil properties but don't really know how much of each to use. Some of the oils are expensive (to me) so I won't be able to use a big amt of them. I would like to use Pomegranate seed, rosehip seed, and evening primrose. I am using wheatgerm oil because it has the same properties as avocado and jojoba but is cheaper. Other than those, there is sunflower that has properties like jojoba, avocado, and wheatgerm. I haven't found the properties of sweet almond, hazelnut, kukui nut, camelina, macadamia nut, pumkin seed, apricot but they may be cheaper and have properties that would be more or equally beneficial to some of the other more expensive ones. I am about to scream lol. If you make serums and can help me, please do so because I have read so much and it has all overwhelmed me and I'm stressed out trying to figure out which ones and how much of each to use. I also know that they don't have long shelf lives so I will only be able to make small batches at a time. With the knowledge that dang near everyone in my town is as broke as I am, I may never sell any so I don't want to make something that will break the bank and go rancid on me :( Please please help! :-? Also, please don't be mean and hateful to me just because I don't know as much as you may know on this subject. We all have started somewhere at some time <3
 
Sunflower oil makes a nice base for a serum, it is a lighter oil that absorbs well. The one downfall is it goes bad more quickly than other oils. (Grape seed oil acts similarly but has the same downfall) This can be counteracted by adding a small percentage of vitamin E to your formula. Primrose is a wonderful oil to add, keep lower percentages so you don't overwhelm your pocketbook.

I think using sunflower, wheatgerm, a bit of primrose and vitamin E you should be able to formulate a decent formula for most skin types and still stay within your budget.

Make a few small batches (2oz or so) and check different percentage - try them out and see how they work in your roll-on applicator.

Try starting with these percentage and go from there:

60 sunflower
25 wheatgerm
10 primrose
5 vitamin E

Good luck
 
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A nice place (IMO) to look up oils when looking to use them in products other than soap is New Directions Aromatics. They have nice descriptions of raw oils.
 
Just re-read your post. If you don't want to use both sunflower and wheatgerm you could substitute fractionated coconut oil for the wheatgerm. It should be more cost effective as well.
 
I don't use a serum, so I can't speak from experience, but Point of Interest might be of use to you. Chock-full of information on different oils, butters, waxes, etc. and even some of the more outlandish ingredients like honeyquat, panthenol, hydrolyzed oat protein, etc. with a scientific explanation of how they work.
 
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Thanks yall. I'll order some oils next week I guess. I just ordered $100 of whatnot and will be ordering a that shelving rack thing so that will be my budget I set for myself this week since bills were so high this week. It should be against the law to charge folks so much for electricity etc bills. It's taking away from my soaping money brahahahaaa! I could kick my ex husband for ruining my credit by filing bankruptcy when I divorced him making me unable to get any credit cards. I never used any of the cards he got (and all he put on them was $1500 worth of star wars toys)but since we were still married when he filed bankruptcy on the cards and our new house (which I gave up my rights to in the divorce), they said I was liable for them as well so now I can't get any credit cards or loans. In our divorce agreement, the judge ordered him to pay for the cards and the house etc but the companies still are holding me on the hook for them. :( Makes doing business hard. Please excuse my rant for the day. Just had to get that off my chest.
 
Oh yeah, to fix my credit, I will have to get a lawyer to fix it and have no money for that either. Not cool. Ok. I'm really done ranting this time lol.
 
have a look at lotion crafter, they have a formulary section that has tons of recipes, including serums.
 
I second what Nevada said!

Go spend (lots) of time with Susan at Swift crafty monkey.

I wouldn't even attempt a lotion or serum until I had read what she has to say -- and she has LOTS to say!

I am now looking at all kinds of expensive facial products in a whole new way after reading her blog.

~HoneyLady~
 
I've been reading what yall provided for me to read. Thanks so much. I have learned a lot.
 
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