We all know that moisturizing the skin is essential. I mean, I understand that googling online you can find skincare routines advising you to use an insanely large amount of skincare products, which you honestly don’t need.
Nevertheless, what we can all agree is that cleansing, toning, and moisturizing if the foundation of good skincare. So, trust me when I say, your skin deserves a high-quality moisturizing formula which will be part of your daily skincare regimen
To save yourself from all the trouble of experimenting and playing a wizard in your own home, you can always go buy a type of moisturizer specifically designed to suit your skin type. There are many brands out there, Misumi included, who use 100% natural formulas. Check out Misumi’s all-natural, wrinkle-free moisturizer.
But, no worries, if you are a person who likes to do things themselves, then we’ll make sure you have all the right information and the best DIY recipes at your plate, to create the perfect moisturizer.
All the ingredients listed below are well researched, gentle, and used in many skincare products. They won’t disturb the pH level of your skin, and they work well on all skin types.
However, not all oils are created equally, and they won’t give the same results on different skin types. To achieve the best results, you can experiment with the oils used in the recipes, for which you have a detailed guide at the end of this article.
Last, but not least, natural doesn’t mean safer. Many ingredients, generally considered safe and frequently used in cosmetics or even cooking, can still cause adverse and allergic reactions when applied to the skin. This is why you should always do a patch test before you introduce a new ingredient or new formula on your skin for the first time.
Why Chamomile?
Chamomile contains a lot of active ingredients, like bisabolol, chamazulene, and apigenin. Bisabolol has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-irritant, anti-fungal, and non-allergenic properties. Apigenin is a flavonoid with highly potent anti-inflammatory and cancer-fighting properties.
Chamomile has powerful antioxidative and potent anti-inflammatory qualities. It’s believed that it can fight infection and reduce inflammation. It also has wound-healing abilities, can help reduce pain, and decrease acne flare-ups.
It’s gentle and suitable for all skin types.
How To Make It?
Ingredients:
Procedure:
Add the shea butter and the argan oil in a heat-safe bowl and place the bowl in a pan of warm water. Wait until the shea butter and argan oil melt and blend together. You can stir to make sure the mixture is smooth. After a couple of minutes, remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients. Stir again to blend everything nicely. When the cream reaches room temperature, you can start applying it on a clean face on a daily basis.
Why Avocado?
The avocado is a great moisturizing, soothing, and softening ingredient for the skin. It’s filled with omega-3 fatty acids, iron, calcium, potassium, copper, magnesium, vitamins A, E, B, and K.
Avocados can help with acne, sunburns, superficial wrinkles and fine lines, and discoloration.
Avocados are also gentle and suitable for all skin types.
How To Make It?
Ingredients:
Procedure:
Cut one avocado in half and use a spoon to take out the creamy content from one half of the fruit. Place it in a bowl, add the other ingredients and stir well until everything blends nicely. You can use it right away or store it in a cool and dark place, to use it on a daily basis as part of your skincare routine.
Why Beeswax?
Beeswax works by forming a protective layer on the skin, which helps keep pollutants out and water in. By applying it on damp skin and with that locking in moisture, the beeswax will keep your skin hydrated, soft and supple. It also allows your skin to better absorb essential water molecules, even further enhancing its hydration.
Beeswax is a great source of vitamin A, which helps the immune system and brings back the skin’s natural glow.
How To Make It?
Ingredients:
Procedure:
Mix all the ingredients in one bowl and let it heat over steam. You can place the bowl over a pan with boiling water on medium heat. Once the ingredients begin to melt, stir well until everything is blended. Take the bowl out of the heat and transfer your paste in a container of your choosing. Once the cream reaches room temperature you can apply it on the face and body and use it to hydrate and moisturize your skin.
Why Honey?
Another gift from our little bees is honey. Honey is a frequent ingredient in many skincare products because it has amazing antioxidants, antiseptic, and antibacterial properties. It helps unclog pores, clean the skin and clear impurities which might be contributing to more blackheads, whiteheads, and even pimples.
Honey is a natural and gentle exfoliator, great for acne-prone skin.
To top it all, it’s extremely moisturizing and soothing which makes a great addition to a DIY moisturizing recipe.
How To Make It?
Ingredients:
Procedure:
Start by heating the shea butter until it starts to melt and then slowly add the sweet almond oil. Stir well and after a minute or two, take the mixture off the heat. Add the rest of the ingredients, the rose water, and the honey. Again, stir well until you get a smooth texture. Let the paste cool down, after which you can use in your daily skincare routine as a moisturizer.
Other variations of this recipe use coconut oil instead of sweet almond, and cocoa butter instead of shea butter. Both coconut oil and cocoa butter are highly comedogenic ingredients which can clog your pores. Nevertheless, if you have extremely dry skin, you can try the heavier coconut oil version of this moisturizing cream.
Why Green Tea?
Green tea is a highly nutritious and antioxidative ingredient which can be really therapeutic when applied to the skin. Green tea is believed to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-acne, and immune system boosting properties.
It can help control oil production on the skin and reduce acne.
How To Make It?
Ingredients:
Procedure:
Add all the ingredients in one bowl and place it over steam in order to heat it. Once you see the ingredients melting, start to stir. Keep the bowl over the steam for a few minutes, just enough so that everything is blended well. When you get a smooth paste-like texture, remove the bowl from the steam and let the mixture cool off.
You can use this paste daily as part of your typical skincare routine to moisturize your skin.
Why Aloe Vera?
The aloe vera gel is a great moisturizing ingredient in itself, but couple it with other hydrating ingredients and you get yourself a super-powerful, gentle, and soothing moisturizing formula.
Aloe vera is highly anti-inflammatory and usually recommended for burned, itchy, and irritated skin. It’s rich in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients beneficial for the skin.
Aloe vera is suitable for every skin type and can help by protecting the skin’s barrier, preventing environmental damage, and boosting the regeneration process of the skin.
How To Make It?
Ingredients:
Procedure:
Melt the beeswax, sunflower seed, and almond oil in a double boiler. After the ingredients blend, take them off the heat and add the aloe vera gel and the essential oil. Again, stir well until you get a creamy texture. Let the mixture cool off. After this, you can use it right away or store it in a glass jar and keep it in the refrigerator. You can use this cream on a daily basis, as part of your standard skincare routine.
Why Oatmeal?
Oats are one of the few natural ingredients that FDA recognizes as effective for treating skin ailments. Packed with a crazy high amount of nutrients, oatmeal is vital for three main abilities.
First, it’s extremely moisturizing. Don’t let their dry appearance fool you. Oats have the highest lipid content of any grain cereal.
Second, they have some great absorbing powers. Oats can absorb impurities, dead skin cells, dirt, and skincare residue from deep within the pores and pull them on the surface where they can be washed off. And third, oats also contain a type of antibiotic, called avenanthramides, which acts as an antioxidant and may contribute to the soothing and therapeutic effect oats have on the skin.
How To Make It?
Ingredients:
Procedure:
Place the colloidal oatmeal in a heatproof container, add the distilled water and mix well on medium heat on a double boiler. In another heatproof container add the rest of the ingredients and heat on a double boiler until the butter melts and everything blends. Add the colloidal oatmeal in the container with the oils and butter and continue to stir to make sure all of the ingredients are mixed well.
Take the blend away from the heat and let it cool off. After it reaches room temperature, you can start applying it on a clean face to moisturize.
Why Egg Whites And Castor Oil?
Egg whites are nutrient-dense ingredients. They’re filled with vitamins, proteins, and minerals that can benefit your skin. Egg whites can tighten the skin’s pores, control sebum control, and absorb excess oil. They’ll work best when combined with castor oil, in order to prevent drying the skin. Castor oil is a non-comedogenic, anti-inflammatory ingredient that helps with acne problems, inhibit the growth of certain bacteria on the skin, and enhances smoothness and softness when applied topically.
How To Make It?
Ingredients:
Procedure:
Start by crushing one egg and carefully separating the yolk from the white. Store the yolk, and place the white in a small bowl. Add the other ingredients and blend until you get a smooth and creamy texture. Mix until it has no lumps. After this, your moisturizing cream is ready to use.
The essence of your homemade moisturizer will be the oil or butter you’ll use. It’s important to know the composition and benefits of your ingredients since they’ll dictate whether your moisturizer will get you that smooth, soft, flawless skin you’re after, or it’ll get you more breakouts, make your skin greasy and leave you disappointed.
Here are the most essential characteristics of the oils we decided to use in the recipes. It’s totally okay if you want to switch between them, or use an alternative.
The most versatile skin ingredient which you can find in virtually every recipe is coconut oil. There are a lot of reasons why this is, and no matter what we say we can’t argue against its powerful benefits.
Coconut oil is mostly composed of saturated fats, like lauric and myristic acid. Due to these fatty acids, coconut oil has amazing antimicrobial properties that can stop the growth of dangerous microorganisms. It’s believed that can reduce inflammation on the skin, which helps in conditions such as acne, psoriasis, eczema, and contact dermatitis. It can help with wound healing and hydrate the skin.
However, the problem with coconut oil is in its comedogenic property. Unfortunately, coconut oil is one of the most comedogenic ingredients that have a high chance of clogging your pores.
Don’t use coconut oil if you have sensitive or oily and acne-prone skin.
We wanted to make sure the above-shared recipes will be safe and work for most of you, no matter the skin type. For this reason, the oils we used in the recipes are non-comedogenic alternatives.
Nevertheless, if you have extremely dry skin, or you’re already using coconut oil as part of your skincare regimen, then feel free to substitute some of the oils in the recipe with coconut oil.
Argan oil is a godsend for everyone that suffers from oily skin and frequent acne breakouts. It has a comedogenic rating of zero, which means it will definitely won’t clog your pores. It's not too heavy, not too light - making it ideal for all skin types.
Argan oil is composed of vitamin E, phenols, carotenes, squalene, and unsaturated fatty acids (oleic and linoleic acid).
This oil can improve the skin’s hydration and make it more flexible. This will make your skin less prone to fine lines and wrinkles. Additionally, it’s believed that argan oil can help protect your skin from UV damage and discoloration. The high amount of antioxidants in the argan oil is mostly responsible for that effect.
Hemp seed oil is another ingredient form the very beginning on the comedogenic rating scale. It’s a great alternative for acne sufferers and people with oily skin which are looking for more lightweight moisturizers.
Hemp seed oil is highly nutritious and can help with acne breakouts by controlling the oil production on the skin. It can reduce inflammation, scavenge free radicals, and protect the skin from premature aging.
In one study from 2014, published in the Pharmacognosy Review journal, hemp seed oil was found to help with eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, varicose veins, and acne rosacea.
Sunflower seed oil is high in vitamin E, vitamin K, beta carotene and essential fatty acids, like linoleic, oleic, stearic, and palmitic acid.
It’s believed that sunflower seed oil strengthens the skin’s barrier, helps with wound healing, acne breakouts, treating fungal infections, atopic dermatitis, and prevents transepidermal water loss.
The best thing about sunflower seed oil is that it’s really gentle on the skin, safe even for infants, and there are no known side-effects associated with it. But, of course, always do a patch test before using it for the first time.
Shea butter is a little ticker, although with a comedogenic rating of one is still highly unlikely to clog the pores. It’s an ideal ingredient for soothing, softening, and moisturizing the skin since it’s highly nutritious with rich content of essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals.
Shea butter is frequently used in skincare products like moisturizers, creams, lotions, and other emulsions because it contains a high amount of essential fatty acids, vitamins A, E, and F, and phenols. It can moisturize dry skin, reduce skin inflammation and help treat acne and blemishes. It has powerful antioxidant properties which protect the skin from damage and prevent premature aging of the skin. Additionally, it can bring relief to itchy and irritated skin.
Unsaturated fatty acids and powerful antioxidants are part of the composition of rosehip oil as well. Rosehip oil is mostly known for its ability to boost collagen production and with that protect the skin from fine lines and wrinkle development. It helps lock in your skin’s natural hydration, protect it from the damaging effects of UV light, brightens the skin and corrects discoloration. It’s high in vitamin C content and can gently exfoliate and clear pores.
Castor oil is high in ricinoleic acid and has antibacterial, antiseptic, antiviral, and anti-fungal properties. It can kill bacteria on the skin and prevent infections and irritation. It’s filled with fatty acids which make it a great moisturizing ingredient but also helps the skin maintain a healthy pH balance. Additionally, castor oil stimulates tissue growth which can be very helpful in the wound healing process.
It has a comedogenic rating of 1, meaning that it’s highly unlikely to clog your pores, making it suitable for all skin types.
Another great ingredient packed with high amounts of vitamin E, vitamin A, fatty acids, potassium, and zinc. Sweet almond oil can work wonders on your skin. It acts as a powerful antioxidant scavenging free radicals and keeping the skin safe from oxidative stress. It has anti-aging and anti-acne properties. It also protects the skin from sun damage.
The comedogenic rating of sweet almond oil is 2, meaning it’s unlikely to clog the pores, although people with extremely oily skin might feel it a little heavy on the skin.
It’s best to use it diluted with other non-comedogenic oils to ensure that it won’t clog your pores.
Also, for people with nut allergies, it might be a good idea to use some of the other alternatives since their skin might be more sensitive to this oil.
Jojoba oil has a higher comedogenic rating from the above-selected oils, but it’s definitely worth it since it’s considered a godsend for moisturizing purposes. It’s actually a liquid wax and it has a very similar to the natural oils of our skin. This gives it the ability to absorb fast and easy, and penetrate deep into the skin’s layers. It’s gentle on the skin and considered suitable for all skin types. Most experts frequently recommended for sensitive skin due to it’s gentle and non-allergenic nature.
Jojoba oil can do an amazing job hydrating dry skin and providing long-lasting moisture. It has anti-aging and anti-microbial properties.
Olive oil contains vitamins A, D, E, and K.It has antioxidant properties and protects from environmental damage. It’s also naturally high in squalene, an oil that mimics your skin’s natural sebum, which will make your skin barrier extra smooth and soft.
It can be amazing for dry to normal skin type, but you should be careful how you use it if you have oily skin.
Although, much much better than the coconut oil, olive oil has also a heavy consistency and can be a bit too much for oily and acne-prone skin.
Its comedogenic side effect can be reduced if you dilute it down to 25% concentrations and mix it with oil with comedogenic rating <2, as used in the recipes above.
Yes, you should. People with dry skin already know this, but it’s actually true for all skin types.
Moisturizing the skin daily is important for preventing premature aging of the skin, as well as adding protection against environmental damage. There are many benefits associated with moisturizing daily, and you can read all about it, in great detail, here.
Not moisturizing is one of the most common mistakes people with oily skin make.
Yes, you should moisturize. Naturally, because oily skin sufferers do a lot of cleansing and exfoliating the skin to get rid of the excess oil, they can easily overdry the skin and cause a counter-effect. It’s important to finish off with a lightweight water-based moisturizer to prevent stimulating your oil glands to go into overdrive. The best advice would be to take some time to learn what types of moisturizers are available for you and find the one that works best for your skin type.
Your skincare routine steps should start from the lightest and finish with the heaviest products. First, you cleanse and exfoliate. Second, you use toner. Third, you use a moisturizer. If you’re using an essence, serum, facial mask or other products, you should apply them after the toner, but before the moisturizer. There are also rules when to apply your sunscreen and makeup, but it’s best to read in detail about the steps to a perfect skincare routine.