Vitamin C isn’t just for fighting off colds anymore! It’s quickly becoming a highly popular ingredient in skincare products, especially in formulas designed for aging skin.
But rather than shell out $80 or more for a high-end vitamin C serum, you can be kind to your skin and your budget by making your own version at home! And that’s exactly what I’ll be showing you how to do in today’s blog post! 🙂
So to get started, let’s talk about what goes into this homemade vitamin C serum. What ingredients are we using, and what do they bring to the table in terms of benefits for our skin?
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What’s In This Serum?
➤ Vitamin C
Vitamin C (in the form of L-ascorbic acid) can help improve the appearance of aging skin in a variety of ways! It helps promote tissue healing and reduces hyperpigmentation, counters damage from UV exposure, and has a protective effect when combined with vitamin E.
Getting vitamin C powder to dissolve can be difficult, but making sure it’s super-fine can help! If you only have granules or a grainy vitamin C powder, use a coffee or spice grinder to get a finer grind.
➤ Vitamin E
In addition to working in tandem with vitamin C, vitamin E oil also helps heal and repair skin. And as an added bonus, it also extends the shelf-life of the serum!
➤ Vegetable Glycerine
Vegetable glycerine adds moisturizing properties to the serum, and also extends its shelf-life.
➤ Lemon Essential Oil
A little bit of lemon oil can go a long way towards brighter, clearer skin! But due to the photosensitive nature of this oil, you should only apply it (or anything that contains lemon oil) before bed, and never apply it before going outside.
➤ Baking Soda
Adding baking soda to this serum is an easy way to control the acidity of your final product. Aim to use at least a pinch of baking soda, and those with particularly sensitive skin (like me!) are encouraged to follow the pH testing instructions I’ve included below the recipe! 🙂
How To Make Your Own Vitamin C Serum
Ingredients:
1 tsp vitamin C powder
4 tsp distilled water
1 tsp vegetable glycerine
1/4 tsp vitamin E oil
3 drops lemon essential oil
Pinch of baking soda*
Directions:
Add the vitamin C powder and distilled water to a small, dark-colored glass bottle. Replace the top and shake until fully combined. (This may take a while, but keep at it!)
Next, add the vegetable glycerine and vitamin E oil, replace the top, and shake again to combine.
Finally, add the lemon oil and a pinch of baking soda and shake to mix one last time.
How To Adjust Your Serum’s pH Level
Our skin has a pH level of about 5.5, which is slightly on the acidic end of the 1-14 scale. Products that are slightly more acidic than our skin can help promote cell turnover and keep skin bright and smooth.
That means that an ideal pH for this vitamin C serum would be somewhere between 3 and 4. You want it to be acidic enough to help slough away dead skin cells without stripping or irritating your skin.
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The easiest way to test and adjust the pH of your serum is to use pH indicator strips. My serum started at a solid 1 (or way too acidic) according to the strip, so I added a few pinches of baking soda until it read closer to 3.5. Easy!
How To Use Your Vitamin C Serum
Always start with clean, dry skin. Shake the bottle well, then apply the serum evenly to your face and neck before bedtime. Store the remainder of the serum in your fridge for up to one week.
This recipe makes enough serum to use every night for a week, so try to use it every night for the first week for the best results. If your skin tolerates it well, use it every other week or every week as needed.
Do you have a favorite DIY skincare product that you use regularly?
