DIY Skincare Projects that You Should Avoid (Part 1)

When you decided to start to DIY your own skincare products, you might found it overwhelming with all the information you’ve read across the internet. You don’t know which recipes you should follow without experimenting too much and wasting unnecessary ingredients. That’s normal. Today this entry I would like to break down to you what kind of DIY skincare projects that you should avoid and why. Hopefully doing so will help you to avoid wasting time on projects that are for sure will never work and are unsafe for you. Let’s dive in!

1. Emulsion projects without emulsifier

Oil and water don’t mix. And even if you agitate them, it will be temporarily emulsified but then very quickly separated again just like your vinegratte salad dressing. Any emulsion cream, lotion, wash-off products that contain both water and oil phase but without an emulsifier often leading to a result that is both aesthetically displeasing as well as functionally less effective. Who could resist to apply that beautiful silky lotion or moisturiser that contains skin-loving extract? I believe no one. If you attempt a recipe that uses both oil and water, To prevent separation, it will require some kind of emulsifier or solubilizer to maintain the consistency and texture desired. Which one you choose depends on what kind of product you are making.

As a fairly commonly available ingredient, beeswax tends to be used by many DIY-ers to create lotions in place of an emulsifier, but it is not. Beeswax is a wonderful thickener that can soften and soothe the skin, but attempting to use it as an emulsifier will only result in a separated product, no matter how long or how carefully it’s mixed.

• Check out my properly formulated emulsion projects:

1. Shea Almond Body Lotion
2. Super light Avocado Body Lotion

2. DO NOT DIY Sunscreen!

It is summer now in the northern hemisphere, DIY sunscreen recipes are blasting all over Pinterest. As you know, each blistering sunburn increases your chances to get skin cancer. It means that you should be very cautious when choosing means for sun protection. You will need a boardspectrum sunscreen that can protect you from UVA and UVB rays. Adding just zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as sunblock active doesn’t make your cream or lotion become a sunblock, reasons being:

• The effectiveness of the sunblock is determined by SPF – sun protection factor (learn more about it here). That saying, you can’t measure your homemade sunscreen efficiency without a proper lab test. You can’t be sure that you or your “natural skincare expert” had achieved the correct ingredient concentration and it would be applied evenly enough to deliver adequate sun protection.
• Please read this blog post written by a professional cosmetic chemist. In this article, she has explained clearly the difficulty of creating your own sunscreen from scientific point of view.
• Also check out this blog post from labmuffin, a pHD chemist explains to you why DIY your own sunscreen just won’t work.
• Please do not even attempt to make one for you and your family for the sake of the risk of getting sunburn, you simply just don’t know if it works! There are skincare projects that works that you could DIY but sunscreen as your skin protector is just not one of them. It’s like as an engineer, I wouldn’t want to design my own car seatbelt and claim that it works just because I never get an accident and that it attaches well.

If you’ve tried a few store-bought sunscreens and they didn’t fit your skin, try to consult a dermatologist to figure out what was wrong. Anyway, the DIY option is too dangerous for your one and only skin.

While I do not suggest DIY your own sunscreen, you should however take care of your skin by hydrating, exfoliating, and moisturizing each time after a long hour of sun exposure.

• Related post: Top 3 Natural After-Sun Mists.

3. Not properly formulated DIY shampoo recipes

One of the shampoo recipes widely shared among the influencers is using Dr. Brohner’s liquid Castille Soap + carrier oil + essential oils + water/aloe vera/vinegar. Let me explain to you why this recipe will not work, the reasons being:

• Liquid Castille Soap is a properly saponified soap using olive oil and KOH (Potassium Hydroxide). The soap itself is alkaline and comes with bubbling and cleaning properties. It is unscented. And can be use directly. Which means any extra ingredients added will be a dilution or will cause phase separation.
• Dilution will cause the reduction of the cleaning properties from the already properfly formulated liquid soap and reduction of the preservation power. Therefore increases the risk of microorganisms growth in our product. That’s the last thing we want to be apply on our skin even it is a wash-off product.
• Adding carrier oil doesn’t give you extra nourishing properties. It will only cause a phase seperation.
• Liquid soap formulated from oils and fats are naturally alkaline, that’s what make it a soap. Adding vinegar with proper dose will change its pH but it only will reverse the saponification process, which in the end lead to water and oil phase separation.

Many DIY-ers on the internet try to show that making shampoo is easy but in short, it is not that simple. They tend to show a recipe by putting all “supposed to be good” ingredients together and claim that doing that will give you benefits of this and that. It’s like I like to eat Pizza, lasagne, burgers, and tacos, I cook them all together and they are supposed to taste good. No, it doesn’t work like that. A shampoo be it in solid or liquid form, should be properly formulated. What you can actually do with your store-bought liquid Castille soap is to scent it with essential oils within its saturation limits and our dermal limit or turn it into an all-purpose cleaning spray.

DIY with My Properly Formulated Shampoo Recipes:

• DIY Shea Butter & Coconut Hair Shampoo Bar
• Bergamot Tea Tree Hair Conditioning Bar
• Conditioning Lavender Hand Soap — for a lot of handwashing

4. recipes consists water Phase but without using preservative

For many people with a goal of using more natural products, preservatives tend to get a bad reputation. The function of preservatives is merely just to prevent microorganisms, bacteria, mold, and yeast from growing. It is true that parabens, a collection of synthetic esters widely used as preservatives in many store-bought cosmetics and other body-care items, have been linked to harmful effects on female reproductive health and endocrine disruption.

But we have safer natural options for our preservative. Using the right kind of preservative is essential for a safe and long-lasting product. If the DIY recipe you’re considering contains water phase in any form (including aloe vera) and doesn’t include a preservative, it is going to be unsafe—and yes eventrying to keep it in the fridge to extend its shelf life isnot going to help.

It’s also very common for DIY recipes to mistake antioxidants for preservatives. While antioxidants such as Vitamin E, rosemary extract, and grapefruit seed extract can extend shelf life by preventing oxidation in oils and butter, they do not stop the spread of bacteria, yeast, and mold. In fact, many commercially available grapefruit seed extracts contain additional ingredients, even preservatives, which may be affecting your end result in unexpected, harmful ways. Therefore, it is important to know how to choose and use a suitable natural preservative for your DIY skincare projects.

This is a rather long entry, I have split it into 2 parts for the ease of reading.

Stay tuned for part 2!

Calleigh

Hi, I am Calleigh, MEng Chemical Engineering and a process engineer, and I'm here to show you how to DIY your skincare and household products with the correct formulation and using only natural ingredients. I believe that eating good food (Yes I have cooking recipes too!) and living in a chemical-free environment are the keys to having a healthy lifestyle. And that doesn't need to be expensive.