Serum Face-off - A, B, C??

So many serums and only 1 face...

I have seen recipes for a fantastic Vitamin C+E serum, Vitamin A (retinol) serum and Vitamin B serum.  I only have 1 face!!!  Which is better to try first???  Anyone trying any serums?  Which one are you usuing?

My kickass fantastic face serum is so expensive i haven't used any other since then. I only have one for my eyes (10ml, small roll on tube) :

-5ml castor oil

-3 ml sweet almond oil

-17 drops of pomegranate extract

All the ingredients not being extremely sensitive to oxidization i didn't want to add vit. e in the mix, as a precaution i keep the tube out of the light but i haven't seen any change in color.

Originally i had added panthenol but later i realised i was trying to use a product that's not solvable in oils *eyeroll*. That's probably why next time i'll try to do a cream instead.

I've been using this serum for almost 3 months now, i'm very satisfied but it's still in progress, i wanted to add a drop of neroli EO but i'm very fishy about using EO in the eye area. Plus the oils tend to make my eyes puffy.

Expensive?  Really?  What is the big bank breaker?  the pomegranate extract?  I see some at bulkactives.com 30g for $4.35  the shipping is $5.65 via mail.  http://www.bulkactives.com/pomegranate.htm

I'll have to get some later.  I just ordered some glucosamine and soy isoflavones yesterday thru bulkactives.  I can't really afford anything else for a while.  I'm planning on my niacinamide/glucosamine serum. 

Well my face serum is a ready made serum, it uses mountain plants from the Alps (the brand is called Pure Altitude), and apparently it's a new research so i couldn't find the same plant extracts at my supplier. I originally got it for really cheap because they were changing the packaging and getting rid of their stock, it turned out to be a fantastic product but when i saw the real price, there was no way i'd spend 50€ for such a small amount of product.

The pomegranate extract doesn't cost that much, certainly less than the ready made products with pomegranate extract. My supplier indicates you can use it from 1 up to 5% of the formula, so unless you use it in every recipe you don't need that much either. But i think the real cost is in the method used, mine is a CO2 extract, and i've noticed depending on the plant used the final product can cost a lot for a small amount. I paid 4.7€ for 10ml.

I didn't want to buy too many things yet as i have two moisturizers to use in the bathroom, but as soon as they're finished i plan on making my own moisturizer, my supplier has two new products i'd want to try, one is a blend of hydrating extracts, and one is a soothing blend containing zinc, and i'm very partial to zinc /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I just took it from that recipe:

-5ml castor oil

-3 ml sweet almond oil

-17 drops of pomegranate extract

that you were making it yourself.  I too have a lot of stuff and only 1 face to use it on /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Recently, I made a pumpkin peel and a niacinamide/panthenol serum.  I'll give these a try for a month. 

Hi Diva Doll I am fascinated by your skincare cookery knowledge, do you have a website?

I'm trying to cook one up with Niacinamide and Licorice to lighten my acne spots and combat future breakouts.

No website...I just wander around cyberspace looking for stuff about making skin creams and recipes.  Usually online stores that sell skincare ingredients like Lotioncrafters.com or bulkactives.com or tkbtrading.com etc all have recipes to try.  I try to find ones that look like it would be good and try it.  I started by trying to dupe my Shiseido Bio Performance super revitalizer that had a ton of different ingredients.  When I got all those ingredients, I started to make other ones too. 

How fascinating, I suppose as all of the ingredients are listed on the bottle so to speak, you can just source the ones that are really necessary for the results that you want and possibly get rid of the harsher ones that are not required unless you are in mass production.

What is your hottest must have then?    

Ingredient-wise?  Hylauronic acid, cyclomethicone, dimethicone and gelmaker!  I love gelmaker!  You can make all the creams you want for the rest of your life with gelmaker!!! I have tried other emulsifiers like emulthix from lotioncrafters, soy lecithin (sticky and unpredictable), polawax ( you have to heat), jojobamulse from DIYCosmetics.com and the lovely gelmaker.  If you get the 4 ingredients, you can make a simple, moisturizing facial cream when mixed with distilled water or a hydrosol.  Add some actives and you'll have something more potent. 

I copied the ingredients list on my shiseido skin cream and I googled every ingredient and determined its relevance.  If you are still unsure, surf the web for something interesting.

I think it's also up to you to determine what's important for you, according to your needs.

Googling the ingredients of your favorite items is a good way to start, then you know what's really inside and what's working for you.

Definitely determine what's important for yourself.  I've just provided 4 basic ingredients - like baking a cake, you need flour, egg, baking powder, sugar and water, whether you make a chocolate cake or a vanilla cake or pineapple upside-down cake depending on what else you add but you can't make a cake without the 5.  A silicone based moisturizer is definitely more moisturizing than one with just oils and water.  I have a ton of actives like matrixyl 3000, co-enzyme q10, licorice, colloidal copper, mushroom powder,  niacinamide, panthenol, glycolic acid, lactic acid, tetra-c,  and a miriad of oils but I think it's good to start with the basic ingredients first.