Making your own hyaluronic acid serum is one of the easiest and BEST things you can do for skin elasticity, hydration, and reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It is suited for all skin types even sensitive skin. A DIY hyaluronic serum should be a part of everyone’s skincare routine and today, I’m going to show you how easy and affordable it is to make your own!
This DIY hyaluronic acid serum recipe has become one of my most popular recipes and I can understand why. A hyaluronic acid serum can be a powerful anti aging tool! It’s a water based serum which is extremely beneficial for acting as a vehicle to get a facial oil deeper into the skin but much more importantly, hyaluronic acid has incredible anti aging benefits!
I had been making diy skincare products for years before I decided to make hyaluronic acid serum. I figured it was going to be difficult and put it off. Boy was I wrong. Making a HA serum is one of the easiest beauty products you can make. Even if you are a first time DIYer, this serum is a breeze! It’s cost effective and takes very little time! Turns out, all you need is HA powder and water. If you’d like to add essential oils or enhance your water by using another water-based product you can but the bottom line is water and powder is all it takes!
Hyaluronic acid is a must have skin-care ingredient and today is the day we harness all it’s power!
What is Hyaluronic Acid?
Hyaluronic acid (sodium hyaluronate) is actually a natural substance that is already found in our bodies. As with collagen, the younger our skin is, the more hyaluronic acid our skin has. And to put it quite simply-the most radiant and young looking skin contains ample amounts of water. According to several studies, hyaluronic acid plumps fine lines and wrinkles and also improves the skin’s elasticity.
Increase your skin’s water content and you will be restoring the youthfulness of your skin.
Hyaluronic acid is an amazing humectant. This means it draws in water and holds on to it. HA can hold 1000x it’s own weight in water.
Basically, when hyaluronic acid is abundant in the skin, the skin looks smooth, plump and dewy. As we age, especially in the late 30’s to early 40’s, the amount of hyaluronic acid our skin has, greatly decreases. What’s new, huh? Well, luckily there is an easy way to replenish it and that’s what we’re going to talk about today!
Hyaluronic acid is responsible for managing the water content of our skin. It grabs and holds on to water. The water is what makes young skin look even, wrinkle free and healthy. Old skin is dehydrated, wrinkled and dull. Restore moisture in the skin and you can restore a healthy glow! It’s really that simple.
Related Post: DIY Vitamin C Serum
Benefits of Hyaluronic Acid:
- Plumps fine lines and wrinkles
- Hydrates skin
- Repairs the skin barrier of our skin
- Eradicates free-radical damage
- Smooths and softens skin
- Increases elasticity
- Heals damaged tissue
- Protects from UV rays
- Improves skin tone
Hyaluronic acid is water soluble and can be added to a water based ingredient to make a gel. A homemade serum is simple to make-You pick your water base (distilled water, aloe vera or hydrosols), sprinkle hyaluronic acid over the top, close the lid and shake. Put it in the fridge overnight and the serum will have a gel-like texture and be ready for use!
High Molecular Weight vs. Low Molecular Weight
Originally I bought THIS hyaluronic acid. I had read in several different places that in order to make a serum I needed high molecular weight hyaluronic acid. This is because the smaller the molecule, the deeper it goes into the skin. Reaching the deeper layers of the skin can result in the higher possibility it will inflame and irritate the skin.
The problem with my high molecular weight HA serum is that the molecule is too big to really do much long-term good for my skin. However, what I notice when I use this serum are some really exciting results!
My skin looked immediately smoother and more even toned. It almost looked plastic-in a good way! I actually felt confident to not apply a tinted moisturizer or foundation!
It has been shown that high molecular weight helps with healing and reduces inflammation.
I have since read more about the molecular size of HA and found that there is a low molecular weight that is safe. It isn’t the smallest size but it is just small enough to go a little bit deeper for more long term results.
This study tested 76 females for 60 days with different HA weights. The conclusion was that significant improvement was found in the 130 and the 50k Da HA group. However, the study did state that there was significant improvement in all the different HA weights.
I personally have used high molecular weight HA powder for years now. The perks of using a high molecular weight powder is that you get an instant boost and still reap all the hydration that comes along with an HA serum. I love it and have seen great improvement when I use it on a regular basis.
What You’ll Need to Make DIY Hyaluronic Acid Serum Recipe:
Materials
- 1/4 cup Distilled water or Rose Hydrosol
- 1/8 tsp. Hyaluronic Acid Powder
- 1/8 tsp. Leucidal Liquid (optional)
- Essential Oils
Tools
- Glass container (pump bottle or dropper bottle)
- Condiment Bottle
- Funnel
Instructions
- Add your COLD distilled water or rose water(the cold might help with dissolving the HA) to a condiment bottle like THIS. You will probably need a funnel.
- Add the hyaluronic acid powder on the top of the water.
- Replace the cap and shake your mixture. It might appear lumpy after it’s been shaken but that’s OK, just mix the best you can by shaking.
- Put your serum in the fridge. Over the next couple of hours, your serum will thicken and the clumps will dissolve.
- Transfer the serum to your container of choice and store the excess serum in the fridge.
Notes
- A broad-spectrum preservative is necessary for this water based serum. Even with the preservative, the shelf life is about 2 months. You can store your serum in the fridge. This is a great way to reduce even more puffiness and redness! An HA serum is the perfect product to live in a skincare fridge!
- This recipe makes 4 ounces. I prefer to add mine to a 1 ounce glass pump bottle and store the rest in the fridge until it’s needed.
How to Use an HA Serum:
A hyaluronic acid face serum should be applied after cleansing and toning. I recommend applying it to slightly damp skin. This is especially needed for dry skin types. Since hyaluronic acid draws moisture to itself, we don’t want it to pull moisture out of the deeper layers of the skin. Once the serum dries, I like to seal in the moisture with a DIY face oil.
For best results, incorporate an HA serum into your skin care routine on a daily basis. You can (and should) use it morning and night.
Ingredient Notes:
My favorite hyaluronic acid serum recipe contains 2 of my favorite ingredients to use in DIYs. Helichyrsum hydrosol and lavender essential oil.
You can use any hydrosol you like or you can simply just use distilled water. I do use a preservative and I also store it in the fridge. You’d be surprised how amazing a cold HA serum feels first thing in the morning but with the preservative, the fridge is not necessary. I just find that the cool cuts down on inflammation and redness!
I have also used THIS brand of hyaluronic acid and found it to be comparable to the one I have listed. It has a lower molecular weight than the one I have linked. I also use this brand’s vitamin C powder.
SIDE NOTE ON HELICHRYSUM HYDROSOL-I chose this hydrosol for it’s powerful anti inflammatory benefits as well as it’s toning abilities. It is also extremely helpful in healing damaged skin as well as reducing scaring. You could instead add helichrysum essential oil for an even more powerful serum if you’d like.
More DIY Hyaluronic Acid Possibilities!
I plan to eventually experiment with other water based ingredients such as vegetable glycerin, aloe vera gel and witch hazel. There is no reason why these ingredients wouldn’t work but I haven’t personally tried them. I also plan to add botanical extracts to enhance the anti aging action of this simple recipe.
I’m really quite excited about this DIY hyaluronic acid serum recipe. It’s so rewarding to make effective anti aging products for a fraction of the cost of a high-end product. This recipe couldn’t be easier to make!
UPDATE: Since this post I have created a hyaluronic acid cream recipe, a hyaluronic acid toner recipe, hyaluronic acid sheet mask recipe and a new hyaluronic acid serum recipe with an amazing product called wrinkle defense.
Plus, If you’d like to skip the DIY and buy my Wrinkle Defense Hyaluronic Acid Serum-find it HERE.
xx, Jenni
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And of course, if you’re going to make such a fancy serum, you’ll need a fancy label! I use THESE labels and upload the picture to THIS website for printing!
