How to Make A Serum for Sensitive & Acne Prone Skin

After months of research I finally got brave enough to whip up my own serum. I wanted one that nourished my skin, kept it clear, and also faded old scarring that seems to never go away. Because so many things break me out, I was hesitant to go rouge with a bunch of oils, but once I understood exactly what each did I gave it a try. With only 3 weeks of use behind me, I can honestly say that my skin’s clarity is improving a ton while its texture has changed completely. My skin feels soft all the time as though I just had a microdermabrasion and I haven’t had a breakout (nothing serious anyway) for a few weeks. I’m really happy to share with you this ‘recipe’ that I know will benefit your skin the same way.

It’s a perfect serum for acne-prone skin, but any skin type can benefit from these ingredients that are known to improve overall skin health. Here’s the breakdown.

Dropper:

Mine is a 1oz that I picked up for a few bucks at Vitamin Cottage, but Amazon has a ton HERE to choose from too. Make sure you get tinted glass to protect it from light which breaks down the oils so it will lose its effectiveness more quickly. I also got a smaller size on purpose so I’d use it up fast and have to make more ensuring it’s always fresh.

1/2 Aloe:

Aloe is one of those things you see a lot of, but rarely do you see its purest form. Check the label to see if it’s 100% aloe and what else is in there too. It should be a liquid and not a gel with a consistency near water. THIS one from Aubrey ($6) was the cleanest formula I found at Whole Foods with organic aloe and only a few other ingredients to preserve it. I filled the dropper halfway with aloe to give it a base of something light yet hydrating so you don’t have an oil-only mixture. Aloe is so calming and great for sensitive and breakout-prone skin because it’s inflammatory, anti-bacterial, noncomedogenic, and has tons of vitamins that’s known to penetrate the skin well. (More on aloe for acne HERE.)  Just to be sure my skin reacted well to it, I used it alone for a few days so I knew it didn’t break me out before adding in the jojoba. If your skin is reactive, you’ll want to do the same thing so don’t mix up a batch and start using it right away, add each component one by one and use it a few times so if you do break out you know exactly what caused it.

1/4 Jojoba Oil:

Jojoba oil is known to closely mimic our skin’s own sebum so it’s non-comedogenic and easy to tolerate. It’s also very powerful so you don’t want to use it solo. Many people do a 50/50 aloe/jojoba and call it good, but I wanted additional benefits from the other oils. Get one that’s cold-pressed and organic like the Desert Essence I chose ($12 for 4oz) so you’re sure it’s the best quality. You can also use it for shaving, as a scalp treatment, makeup removal, or on wet skin right after a shower to really lock in moisture. It’s one of those things I always have on hand because I use it all the time, but I never tried it on my face. These two mixed together were a pretty amazing duo on their own, a perfect moisturizing combo that softened and calmed. After using it just a few times I knew I was ok to add the EPO.

1/4 Evening Primrose Oil:

I had a hard time finding this as an oil and not a supplement but I finally found this 4oz size for $12. What’s so special about EPO is its concentration of Gamma Linoleic Acid (GLA) with characteristics similar to a natural Vitamin A because it speeds cell turnover while also increasing the skin’s ability to lock in moisture. It also dilutes sebum making skin feel less oily while helping brighten up sun damage and scarring. You can read your little heart out about the benefits of using a GLA on the skin HERE if you’d like. I chose it to keep cell turnover moving and to help brighten scaring, but it was also one of the more beneficial oils overall that I found for the skin.

5(ish) Drops of Frankincense:

If it’s good enough for Jesus…  Along with having 17 active ingredients, it’s also being studied as a cure for cancer because it effectively shuts off cancer by stopping corrupted DNA from replicating. It’s pretty amazing stuff.  Because it’s incredibly healing, I chose it to fade old scars that tend to linger for months on my fair skin. If you don’t have acne scars, you can still benefit from the way it erases dryness, calms redness, softens fine lines, and  keeps skin cells calm and healthy making it a perfect oil to use for an ‘anti-aging’ routine. I bought the only one I could find that’s diluted in jojoba oil, but I wish I would’ve gone online to find a pure form like THIS one which seems to be in line with the average pricing I saw which is around $20 or so for 1oz. I’ll never finish the bottle using 5 drops at a time in the serum, so I’m glad it has so many other uses besides skincare.

Don’t be intimidated! Give this serum a try and let me know what changes you saw in your skin and spread the word on how easy and effective DIY skincare can be.