Tired of having textured and oily skin? Get your dream smooth skin with a DIY niacinamide serum!
Our niacinamide serum recipe uses far less ingredients than commercial serums and we are only using the highest quality products. Plus, you know exactly what you are putting on your skin and you can avoid those nasty chemicals!
Contents
- What is Niacinamide Powder?
- Why Make Your Own Niacinamide Serum?
- Niacinamide Serum Recipe
- Niacinamide + Hyaluronic Acid Serum Recipe
What is Niacinamide Powder?
Niacinamide powder (also known as vitamin b3) is a fine powder soluble in water. It is great for improving irregular skin texture and to even the skin tone.
Niacinamide should be added to a recipe and should not be used pure as high concentrations may irritate the skin. We recommended diluting it in water at a concentration of 2% to 6%. It should also be used in formulations with a pH between 4 and 6.
Why Make Your Own Niacinamide Serum?
If you have oily skin, uneven skin or textured skin, niacinamide serums are perfect for you! Niacinamide specifically helps even the skin tone and texture, while also reducing excess sebum production.
It is so much more affordable to make your own serum and you can avoid all of the nasty ingredients in other serums.
Even companies that claim to use minimal ingredients, are still using a whole list of ingredients in their products.
So if you want to ensure your serum only contains high quality and necessary ingredients, then it’s time to make your own!
Let’s learn how to make niacinamide serum…
Niacinamide Serum Recipe
We are using as little ingredients as possible to make a high quality, luxurious niacinamide serum. But what does each ingredient do?
Geogard ultra is a preservative that provides broad spectrum protection against bacteria. It is also one of the most natural preservatives available!
Allantoin powder is used to reduce irritation and provide a calming effect. It makes the serum ideal for those with inflamed, dry and sensitive skin.
We are using a small amount of xanthan gum as it is a natural thickener to achieve the perfect silky serum texture. This is paired with the vegetable glycerin as the xanthan gum can dissolve easily in the glycerin. As well as this, vegetable glycerin also provides its own benefits as it draws moisture into the skin.
If necessary, you may need to use the 10/90 lye solution. However, this is only if you need to adjust the pH of the serum!
Ingredients
- Water 89.7g
- Geogard ultra 1.5g
- Niacinamide powder 5g
- Allantoin 0.5g
- Xanthan gum 0.3g
- Vegetable glycerin 2g
- 10/90 Lye solution 2g
Method:
1. Heated water phase
- Measure the water and place into a heatproof bowl.
- Heat the water over a pan of boiling water or in a double boiler.
- Weigh geogard ultra.
- Once the water has reached a temperature over 50C, add the powder.
- Mix the water and geogard ultra for a few minutes to ensure it is fully dissolved.
2. Cool down phase
- Remove the solution from the heat and leave to cool.
- Once the solution is below 50C, add the allantoin powder and niacinamide powder to the water.
- Mix well, until fully combined.
3. Add the thickener
- Measure the xanthan gum and glycerin
- Mix the glycerin and xanthan gum together until combined
- Pour it into the water mixture and mix thoroughly
- Leave the mixture to cool for a few minutes until it has fully thickened.
4. Test the pH of the mixture
- Once the mixture is ready, test the pH.
- Take 2g of the mixture and mix it in 18g of water until dissolved.
- The pH of the niacinamide serum should be in the range 4.5 - 5.5
5. If necessary, adjust the pH
- If the pH of your serum is too low, make a sodium hydroxide solution.
- Put on your gloves, mask and safety goggles. For more information about safety when using sodium hydroxide, click here.
- Weigh 10g of sodium hydroxide and 90g of water.
- Add the sodium hydroxide to the water and stir until dissolved.
- Add 0.5g of the lye solution into the diluted serum sample.
- Test the pH again, if the pH is still under 4.5, repeat the last steps until the pH is 4.5-5.5.
- Once the correct pH has been reached, record the amount of sodium hydroxide solution needed and add this to the remaining serum.
- If the pH of the serum was over 5.5, you can follow this process but use 10g citric acid diluted in 90g water.
6. Pour into a bottle
- Pour the serum into a bottle with a dropper.
- Now your diy niacinamide serum is ready to use!
Niacinamide + Hyaluronic Acid Serum Recipe
Hyaluronic acid is incredible at hydrating the skin, reducing moisture loss and retaining moisture. Due to its hydrating properties, hyaluronic acid can also help the skin appear smoother and plumper.
If you have a combination of dry skin and textured oily skin, this serum is best for you!
Ingredients:
- Water 90.7g
- Geogard ultra 1.5g
- Panthenol 2g
- Niacinamide powder 5g
- Hyaluronic acid 0.5g
- 10/90 Lye solution 2g
Method:
1. Heated water phase
- Measure the water and place it into a heatproof bowl.
- Heat the water over a pan of boiling water or in a double boiler.
- Weigh the panthenol and geogard ultra.
- Once the water has reached a temperature over 50C, add the powders.
2. Cool down phase
- Remove the solution from the heat and leave to cool.
- Once the solution is below 50C, add the niacinamide powder.
3. Add the hyaluronic acid
- Measure the hyaluronic acid powder.
- Add the hyaluronic acid to the mixture and mix well.
- Leave to sit for a few hours or overnight to allow it to rehydrate (be patient, it can take a while)
- Once the powder has fully hydrated, mix well.
4. Test the pH of the mixture
- Once the mixture is ready, test the pH.
- Take 2g of the mixture and mix it in 18g of water until dissolved.
- The pH of the hyaluronic acid serum should be in the range 4.5 - 5.5
5. If necessary, adjust the pH
- If the pH of your serum is too low, make a sodium hydroxide solution.
- Put on your gloves, mask and safety goggles. For more information about safety when using sodium hydroxide, click here.
- Weigh 10g of sodium hydroxide and 90g of water.
- Add the sodium hydroxide to the water and stir until dissolved.
- Add 0.5g of the lye solution into the diluted serum sample.
- Test the pH again, if the pH is still under 4.5, repeat the last steps until the pH is 4.5-5.5.
- Once the correct pH has been reached, record the amount of sodium hydroxide solution needed and add this to the remaining serum.
- If the pH of the serum was over 5.5, you can follow this process but use 10g citric acid diluted in 90g water.
6. Pour into a bottle
- Pour the serum into a bottle with a dropper.
- Now your diy hyaluronic acid and niacinamide serum is ready to use!
Continue Reading
Now you know how to make your own niacinamide serum, why not continue reading?
- Do you have dry skin and want to make a super hydrating serum? Try our hyaluronic acid serum recipe!
- Want to make a face mask for oily skin? Try our charcoal face mask recipe!
- Interested in soap making? Have a go at our dandelion soap recipe!
Have you tried our niacinamide serum recipes? Let us know how you got on in the comments!
