This DIY Glow Serum recipe teaches you how to make your own face oil! This luxe blend features some of the best essential oils for skin and is so simple to make!
Keep reading to learn how to make this + how to get the bottle free from me!
Today we’re making our own luxe face oil with this DIY Glow Serum!
So many skin supporting essential oils (EOs) are teaming up in this simple blend that can be used morning and night. They’re the real superstars of this oil and the hero ingredients in many of my fave luxe skincare products.
We’re using 3 essential oils in this – two single essential oils and one blend with multiple oils in one. That third one is like a shortcut – perfect for anyone new to essential oils or who is still building their collection.
All three of the EOs you need come in your starter kit, so if you’ve scooped up one of these from me recently – you’ve already got what you need to make this radiant skin oil!
If you haven’t yet click here to grab your essential oils starter kit to make this DIY Face Oil. I’ll even send you the glass dropper bottle to make it (or a free diffuser) – you choose!)
This DIY Glow Serum uses essential oils known for their skin support benefits, including:
- Lavender – calming & healing for all skin types, promotes clear skin, gently moisturizing
- Frankincense – I use it for fine lines, great for all skin types especially mature/ aging skin
- Geranium – potent powerhouse, great for oily or dry skin, promotes smooth & toned skin
- Blue Tansy – the darling of luxe skincare, promotes radiant skin & is very balancing
What carrier oils are best to use with my essential oils?
Use a quality carrier oil to dilute your essential oils for topical use – preferably organic, cold-pressed, unrefined oils. Think of carrier oils as a way to help your EOs absorb better into your skin. A good carrier oil maximizes your essential oil’s potential benefits and dilutes them to a non-irritating concentration.
This recipe uses jojoba oil – which is a very face friendly oil that absorbs fairly quickly. Making it easy to apply and wear under makeup. You can use it alone or wear it with another moisturizer if you have very dry skin or are experiencing dry conditions where you live.
Jojoba oil is considered a non-comedogenic oil – meaning it won’t clog your pores the way that a comedogenic oil (like coconut oil) might when applied to the face. A good general rule I use is to only use fractionated coconut oil to body products, and use jojoba for the face.
Here’s a few other face friendly carrier oils you could use with or instead of jojoba oil:
- Argan oil = my recommendation for anyone with oily or breakout prone skin, absorbs very fast, lightweight, non-comedogenic, and rich in Vitamin E
- Rosehip Oil = my personal favorite, I tend to do half jojoba oil and half rosehip seed oil in my homemade face serums since it’s rich in omegas + antioxidants, very restorative
- Pomegranate Seed Oil = my choice for dry, aging or mature skin, rich in fatty acids, moisturizing, you can blend this with jojoba and/or rosehip for a rich does-it-all blend. Pomegranate Seed Oil is much thicker than jojoba, argan, or rosehip oils. So I don’t recommend using it alone. You can add a few droppers full of it to your bottle. I personally love this ingredient but wouldn’t use it as more than 1/4 or 1/3 of your total carrier oil volume.
Where can I get quality carrier oils & the dropper bottles?
I got my jojoba oil and these 1 oz bottles from amazon! Check your local health food store’s beauty and personal care section too. They very often carry carrier oils.
Make sure you’re getting a quality carrier oil to pair with your pure EOs – for jojoba oil look for organic, cold-pressed, unrefined, and it’s natural golden color. If the jojoba oil is clear – keep looking!
WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR PURE ESSENTIAL OILS?
If Free Your Fork had a motto it would be “quality matters”. So I like to source products and ingredients – food, beauty, home cleaning, personal care, etc – from companies that are in line with that same belief. I only use pure essential oils on my skin.
Many “pure essential oils” you can buy at the store are diluted with things like coconut oil, which is not very face friendly. Or contain the kind of preservatives or synthetic fragrances that you may not be happy to put on your skin every day.
I source all my essential oils from one trusted place – Young Living. They never use fillers or add synthetic chemicals in their oils. So what you’re getting is only the good stuff – pure, potent, essential oils.
I really dig their:
- Seed to Seal promise
- Commitment to consumer safety (in-house and third party testing)
- Radical ingredient transparency (ethical sourcing, trusted farms, full ingredient lists)
NEED OILS? I CAN HELP! ORDER HERE AND I’LL SEND YOU A BONUS FREE DIFFUSER -OR- NATURAL LIVING DIY BUNDLE AS A WELCOME GIFT. PLUS MORE RECIPES!
Click here to see how to order + see all current promos and perks
WANT MORE OILS TIPS & RECIPES? DOWNLOAD THESE FREE PRINTABLES WITH OVER 15+ DIY CLEAN BEAUTY + CLEAN HOME RECIPES!
DIY Glow Serum
- Prep Time: 5 min to make
- Total Time: 5 min to make
Description
This DIY Glow Serum is a recipe to make your own face oil! This luxe blend features some of the best skin supporting essential oils and is so simple to make!
Ingredients
-
1 oz dropper bottle
-
3-9 drops frankincense essential oil
-
3-9 drops lavender essential oil
-
3-9 drops valor essential oil blend
see notes section below for more info
Instructions
-
Add frankincense, lavender, and valor drops to the bottle
-
Fill remainder up with organic jojoba oil, taking care to leave enough room at the top to be able to put the dropper back into the bottle
-
Twist cap on and tip back & forth gently until well combined
-
Apply to face a.m. and p.m. (after cleanser + toner / mist).
Notes
* or other carrier oil of choice, to make sure you choose a non-comedogenic (non pore-clogging) face friendly oil, scroll up to see my top swap choices for jojoba oil. They’re all laid out and linked in the blog post – along with my recommendations for where to buy quality, pure essential oils
You can get a starter kit that comes with all three of these pure essential oils, click order here to see how to sign up + see all the perks!
PS – If you sign up with me I’ll send you the glass dropper bottle for free -or- a free diffuser, your choice!
***Any suggestions made on this blog are very specific to Young Living essential oils and should not be used with oils from another source. Statements made on this website about Young Living Essential Oils have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products and information are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Anyone suffering from disease or injury should consult with a physician. If you are currently on medication, please do not stop.
PIN THIS RECIPE TO MAKE IT LATER!
Hi Lauren
I’m new to the natural skincare game and would love to try make the serum as a gift.
Is it ok to add dried flowers to the serum?
Thanks so much x
Hi Renee,
This glow serum would make a lovely custom gift! And yes, you should be able to add fully dried flowers to your serum. I would add them to the glass bottle first and then add your other ingredients on top. Dried organic rose buds & petals, lavender buds, and calendula petals would all look beautiful in a clear glass vessel.
Did want to mention that larger flowers may be better for a dropper type of bottle (since smaller buds & petals may get sucked up into the dropper as you try to use the oil). Not a huge concern – it just means you’d have to pluck any smaller petals that transfer off your face during use. Similar to how some bath bombs are beautiful in the tub but involve a bit of clean up after they’ve fully dissolved and you’re done bathing (can totally be worth it for that extra luxe experience!)
Can’t wait to see what you end up creating – when you try it please pop back here to let us know how it turns out!
xo, Lauren
Such a grt recipe!
What would you do if you use 3 carrier oils? What’s a good ratio? I want to use Pomegranate but I hear it’s thick so you would use less. Thx!
★★★★★
Hi Sus!
So glad you’re enjoying this DIY recipe. Yes, you’re right that pomegranate oil has a much thicker consistency – not quite as thick as how castor oil feels but definitely not as light as how say jojoba or argan oil feel on the skin. For this reason, I wouldn’t use pomegranate seed oil as a stand-alone carrier oil – I would combine it with at least one or two other lighter carrier oils.
My personal preference is to do a mixture of half jojoba + half rosehip oil, and then just add a few droppers-full of pomegranate for the extra boost & benefits. If I’m making an oil for p.m. use then I don’t mind it being a bit on the thicker, richer side – since it has all evening to really soak in. So if you’re intending to use it as a night serum and don’t mind that richer feel on the skin, then you could add even more to your glow serum recipe. Hope that helps!
xo, Lauren
So helpful thank you! I didn’t realize that all you need is a few drops of the thicker one and you still get the benefits. Xo
★★★★★
Can I use almond oil instead of jojoba?
Hi Lexi!
You could use sweet almond oil if you want, I checked and it has a low comedogenic rating (scores a 2) so it shouldn’t be pore clogging. Happy DIY-ing!
xo, Lauren
Hello! What would be a good substitute for Valor? I don’t use Young Living essential oils.
Hi Lexi!
Valor is a blend that contains blue tansy (as well as black spruce, camphor, frankincense, and geranium essential oils). Blue Tansy is a very luxe essential oil with a pricepoint to match, so I love valor as a more affordable way to get it’s benefits into my skincare. You can also just use Lavender + Frankincense if you prefer and increase the drops of each!
If you need any of the oils for this recipe – Valor, Frankincense, and Lavender all come in the Premium Starter Kit or the Welcome Home Starter Kit. I have more info on the kits here
Excited for you to try this recipe, let me know how it goes with your glow oil!
xo, Lauren
Would you recommend MCT as a carrier (perhaps mixed with Almond or Jojoba)
I am anxious to try!!!
Hi Norma!
I haven’t tried MCT oil for topical use but I avoid using coconut-oil derived ingredients on my face (since coconut oil can be pore clogging for facial use).
But a blend of almond or jojoba together would be great in place of just jojoba – hope that helps!!
xo, Lauren
I’m ready to try this instead of the expensive serums. Is valor the same as blue tansy? Thank you!
Hi Aimee!
Making your own face oil at home can be an awesome alternative to the more expensive serums – with just a few bottles of skin supporting essential oils and affordable carrier oils you can make SO many bottles of serum.
Valor is a blend that does contain blue tansy but it also has black spruce, camphor, frankincense, and geranium essential oils. Blue Tansy is a very luxe essential oil with a pricepoint to match, so I love valor as a more affordable way to get it’s benefits into my skincare.
If you need any of the oils for this recipe – Valor, Frankincense, and Lavender all come in the Premium Starter Kit or the Welcome Home Starter Kit. Great way to save with these discounted bundles, but you can also just grab single oils to work with what you’ve got. I have more info on the kits here
Excited for you to try this recipe, let me know how it goes with your glow oil!
xo, Lauren
Thank you!
★★★★★
Help I’m about to produce 300ml of facial serum and have been looking for inspiring recipes. I’m using a mix of two carrier oils and possibly three essential oils. From my research I am noting that the safe level for essential oils in any 1 oz blend (30ml) is 6-9 drops total per bottle, mainly 6. The glow serum formula could exceed this quite a bit. Can you clarify this for me please
Hi Vivienne!
I’m so glad you’re doing your own research! When I created this recipe I saw that a concentration of 1-3% essential oils for topical skincare is fairly typical. The rough breakdown I use for 1 oz to stay within the 1%, 2%, and 3% zone is a total of either 9 drops, 18 drops, or 27 drops.
That being said essential oils use (like food or anything else!) is very individual. You’ll see I listed in the recipe card that you can choose from 3-9 drops of each essential oil depending on your preference. Feel free to reduce the drops down to 2-3 drops of each oil if you’d like to have your serum stay at or below the 1% concentration. Hope that helps!
Also mixing two carrier oils is what I do too!! Happy DIY-ing!
Lauren
PS – I always encourage folks to chat with their trusted healthcare professionals about any specific concerns, XO
hi what is a good substitute for valor oil? its difficult to find it in cape town SA
Hi Lyn!
If you have frankincense and lavender, both of those alone would make an amazing Glow Serum! You can add whatever other skin supporting oils you happen to have access to – grapefruit, ylang ylang, orange, sandalwood, cedarwood, patchouli, and jasmine are just a few that come to mind.
Or you can DIY the valor blend. It’s an essential blend specific to Young Living containing multiple different essential oils – like black spruce, camphor, blue tansy, frankincense, and geranium. Young Living does ship to South Africa if you’re ever in need of restocking your oils. You can always use my link above to check them out and just select your country from the dropdown menu at checkout
xo Lauren
Hi Lauren, I like your Glow recipe but I would not recommend to anyone to use the citrus oils and a few other in serums as they can be cause photosensitivity. Thank you for your helpful hints. I too am devoted to Young Living essential products.
Hi Gina! Hard to beat the quality of YL oils right?
You’re right that citrus oils (like retinol) can cause photosensitivity. This is why they’re best used for night serums – I should’ve added that detail in my previous comment, so thanks for reminding me! I’m linking below to a post that talks about this on the young living website. It talks about which of their oils are considered photosensitive + when to use them, but I’ll chat a bit about it below too for anyone else who needs a quick summary!
Many of the store-bought clean beauty face serums and face oils I use contain low concentrations of grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, and orange oil (usually in brightening serums). So I am comfortable using those in safe amounts. As always, wearing SPF to protect the skin during the day + consulting your trusted healthcare professionals are great ideas too!
xo, Lauren
https://www.youngliving.com/blog/photosensitive-essential-oils-summer-safety-tips/
Hi, can I substitute the Jojoba Oil with Marula oil or Argan Oil? And Valor with rosehip oil?
Hi Maryke,
You can definitely substitute other carrier oils in place of jojoba oil (argan oil is a great swap! Personally haven’t used marula but it’s also a face-friendly carrier oil!)
Valor, however, is an essential oil & rosehip is another carrier oil (like jojoba, argan, marula, etc). So you could omit the valor if you don’t have it or sub in another skin supporting essential oil (like lavender, ylang ylang, geranium, etc). Hope that helps!
xo, Lauren
make your own blend of Black Spruce, Blue Tansy, and Frankincense
Thanks Sam! That works great too!!
-Lauren
I love Young Living Essential Oils. They help a lot in many ways for our family’s well-being. My facial serum consist of frank, lavender, and nutmeg.
Thanks for sharing this, I will try this blend of yours.
Aren’t they just fantastic?? Always blown away by how next level Young Living’s oils are!
The blue tansy in this valor blend is EVERYTHING. I love mixing up this glow serum with different oils too – lots of exciting variations to share. Coming your way so soon!
xo, Lauren