Cosmetic Formulation: Sebum Control Facial Oil
Thursday, February 11, 2021
Image Credit: Photo created by jcomp - www.freepik.com
Anhydrous
(meaning “without water”) facial serum is the easiest cosmetic product to make
for beginner formulators. So it’s no surprise that after I mastered the art of
making lip balm, facial oil was next on my DIY experiment list.
Since
I have a super oily skin, I tried to formulate a facial oil with the following
properties:
- Lightweight, non-greasy and has fast absorption rate
- Can regulate sebum production
- Has antibacterial properties to fight pimple-causing bacteria
- Has anti-inflammatory properties to prevent or reduce skin inflammation
- Has skin cell renewal properties to reduce the appearance of acne scars
- Uses carrier oils with comedogenic rating not greater than 2 in order to not clog pores
- Uses carrier oils that are high in linoleic acid. Oils high in linoleic acid (an omega-6 polyunsaturated essential fatty acid) are thinner and lighter in consistency, therefore more suitable for those with oily/acne-prone skin.
Having
the above mentioned properties, I selected the following ingredients for this
sebum control facial oil:
Grapeseed Oil
Grapeseed
oil is a lightweight, odorless and non-greasy carrier oil that is made up of
69.6% linoleic acid. Its astringent and anti-inflammatory properties also help
cleanse and tighten the pores, as well as reduce skin inflammations (e.g.
pimples). Moreover, grapeseed oil has a comedogenic rating of 2 which is
moderately low and still considered as non-comedogenic. All of these properties
make grapeseed oil an important ingredient when making facial serum that
balances sebum production and reduces the chance of acne breakouts.
Jojoba Oil
Jojoba
oil is a liquid wax (not a vegetable oil) that balances sebum production,
making the skin less oily. In fact, the wax esters of jojoba oil is said to be
similar to the human skin sebum. FYI, the human skin sebum is composed of
approximately 25% wax esters. Being a liquid wax, jojoba oil is also an
occlusive which means that it can form a protective layer on skin surface to
prevent moisture loss. It has a comedogenic rating of 2.
Rosehip Oil
Rosehip
oil is known as one of the best anti-aging carrier oils and it contains about
51.2% linoleic acid. It is considered as a “dry” oil because it gets absorb so
fast and won’t leave any greasy residue, perfect for oily-skin people! It also
has a comedogenic rating of 1 which means that it has a very low chance of
clogging your pores. Moreover, the beta-carotene in rosehip oil has the ability
to regenerate skin cells so it can help reduce the appearance of acne scars.
Lavender Essential Oil
The
antibacterial property of lavender essential oil helps prevent or fight
pimple-causing bacteria. It can also aid in the healing process of acne scars.
Frankincense Essential Oil
Aside
from being antiseptic and astringent, frankincense essential oil is also cytophylactic which means that it can
help in regeneration of new skin cells.
Vitamin E
Carrier
oils that are high in linoleic acid typically have shorter shelf life (they get
rancid easily). The addition of Vitamin E (an antioxidant) in this facial oil formulation
can slow down the rancidity rate of carrier oils.
Formula
(Makes 30 grams)
|
Ingredient |
Weight (%) |
Weight (g) |
|
Phase A |
||
|
Grapeseed Oil |
63.5 |
19.1 |
|
Jojoba Oil |
30 |
9 |
|
Rosehip Oil |
5 |
1.5 |
|
Vitamin E |
1 |
0.3 |
|
Frankincense Essential Oil |
0.3 |
0.09 |
|
Lavender Essential Oil |
0.2 |
0.06 |
|
100 |
30 |
|
Instructions
- Blend all phase A ingredients in a beaker.
- Pour the mixture into a dropper or gel pump bottle.
Notes:
- I only used 5% rosehip oil in the formulation because I don’t want my facial oil to be too orangey in color (which is a typical characteristic of rosehip oil). Rosehip oil is also quite expensive and I want this to be a low-cost formulation that’s why I didn’t add much.
- Since this is a facial oil, I only used 0.5% total of essential oils because I don’t want something with strong scent applied on my face. The maximum dermal limit is also put into consideration for each essential oils used in this formulation.
Where I bought the ingredients (Philippine-based)
- Carrier Oils - Cedar Alley
- Vitamin E - Cedar Alley
- Essentials Oils - Zellaroma
P.S.
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Disclosure: This post contains
affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and
purchase the products, I’ll receive some commission.
2 comments
Hi!
ReplyDeleteJust stumbled upon your page today, loving the articles!
I've been into EOs more recently and was looking into formulating a few products.
Just wanted to ask, how do you know whats the right amount of EOs for each product? how do you come up with the exact formulation?
Thanks and Regards,
Bushra
Hi Bushra. Thanks for loving my articles, I will try to share more cosmetic formula in the future :) Regarding your question, I'm using the book "Essential Oil Safety" (https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Oil-Safety-Health-Professionals/dp/0443062412) by Robert Tisserand as my reference. In this book, each essential oil has a profile page where he indicates the maximum dermal (skin) limit for a specific essential oil. I also sometimes use this website as a reference (https://www.theresaneoforthat.com/maximum-dilution-for-400-essential-oils/), I think it's a summary of the max dermal limit of essential oils taken from the same book. Then, I also consider the area where the final product will be applied. I read from a certain cosmetic formulation book (but I forgot the title), that ideally for facial product (leave on or rinse off) the total EO percentage in a formula is 0.1 - 0.5%, for body product (leave on like lotion) 0.5 - 1.5%, for body product (rinse off like body wash) 1 - 3%. These are just guides so you are free to alter the amount you want to put as long as it's not too much.
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