Adventures In Natural Homemaking #4: A DIY Anti-Aging Face Serum

Hello! Awhile back I read a magazine article extolling the virtues of essential oils, with commercial products featuring some of these oils listed. 

One such product uses rose oil and rose hip oil in its formulation. "...a nourishing wrinkle-fighting blend" we are told. The cost: $90 for one ounce.

I wondered if this product was vastly superior to my concoction, which I'd come across here and had been using for a few months already. If you click on the link, you'll see that the "recipe" uses rosewater and rose hip seed oil, but not rose oil. (According to the magazine blurb, rose oil is costly to produce, hence that $90 price tag. That commercial item does also use rose hip seed oil as well.)

Well, I think I can get along okay with my much cheaper version. There's still a bit of an expense involved in buying the rosewater, rose hip seed oil and  base oil (I use almond). But the resulting mixture, which also makes about an ounce per batch, is nowhere 90 dollars! 

I get a 4 oz bottle of almond oil (Nature's Truth brand)on sale for $5.00 at Meijer, a regional hypermarket chain. At a small regional health food store chain, Apple Valley, I just priced the rosewater (Heritage Products brand) at $9.19 for an 8 oz bottle. This store was selling rose hip seed oil (Now brand) at $8.99 for 1 oz. (That may seem high for a small bottle, but with essential oils, a little goes a very long way!)

Now, does this DIY product do its job? It's wintertime, when dry skin is a fact of life. But not this winter. I apply my DIY face serum once or twice a day and it keeps the dryness at bay. 

I have to admit, I don't know if there's really any anti-aging effect with this product. I'm not a good test subject, as I'm consistently told I look younger than my age. I suspect it's mostly a matter of genetics, as the same was true of my dad for most of his adult life.

But on the other hand, I figure it doesn't hurt to boost any younger-looking advantage I may have by continuing to use this homemade serum. And I like knowing that I don't have to pay $90 an ounce to do so!

Note: if you'd like to learn more about the commercial product, read this.