Making a face oil at home is fun, easy, and extremely beneficial to your skin. Learn more in this article written by professional aromatherapist Sharon Falsetto Chapman.

If you believe the marketing put out by some of the biggest names in the skincare industry, you’d be thinking that a face oil is made up of a complex number of ingredients and it is extremely expensive to purchase. However, the opposite is true!

You need just a few high-quality carrier oils to make some of the best face oils or serums out there. And you can do it at home. Read on to find out how.

Carrier Oils for Skincare

There are many different types of carrier oils on the market today. But the best carrier oils for skincare must possess the following qualities to be effective. These include:

• Cold Pressed: If a carrier oil is not cold pressed, it has been subject to high temperatures in the extraction and processing of it. This means that the therapeutic properties of the oil are most likely lost.
• Plant Extracted: If the carrier oil hasn’t been extracted from a plant or tree (usually the seeds or kernels), it is probably fake and/or made from synthetic material (which is essentially the same thing).
• Organic is Better: Organic carrier oils are extracted from the best natural ingredients. Where possible, buy organic.
• Choose Your Supplier Carefully: Don’t grab a bottle of that highly processed sunflower oil from the grocery store aisle and slap it on your face expecting miracles! This type of oil is highly refined and processed, which is okay for frying your favorite meal, but not for your face. Seek out quality aromatherapy suppliers and small businesses and farms who usually have the real deal.

Choosing a Carrier Oil for Your Face Oil

In addition to the above points, once you’ve found some great quality cold pressed oils, narrow down your search to those most appropriate for making a face oil. These are usually your richer, more expensive oils. However, you don’t need to use a lot due to their richness, so they are cost effective over time (and still cheaper than that $79 super serum you were eying up before reading this article). Some of my favorite carrier oils for a face oil include:

• Rosehip (Rosa canina): The ultimate face oil for dry skin, mature skin, or problem skin. Rosehip oil is moisturizing, antioxidant, healing and regenerative. The color of the oil should be a rich orange-brown color as it shows that the oil is high in carotenoids and vitamins. It has a high content of both alpha-linolenic (omega-3) and linoleic acid (omega-6), and vitamin A and C.
• Bilberry (Vaccinum myrtillus): A recent discovery of mine, I love this oil for my face. Bilberry oil is moisturizing, antioxidant, and toning. It is suitable for all skin types and promotes radiant skin. Its main components are linoleic acid (omega-6), alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3), and oleic acid (omega-9).
• Plum (Prunus domestica): Another recent favorite of mine, plum oil is moisturizing, antioxidant, nourishing, regenerative, and soothing. It also has a pleasant nutty aroma. You can use it for all skin types. Plum oil is packed with over 70% of oleic acid (omega-9), and about 25% of linoleic acid (omega-6).

A Simple Face Oil Recipe

So, why did I mention these three particular carrier oils? Because they feature in one of our Botanical Aromatherapy™ Membership School recipes, which I’m going to list below! If you want the beautiful PDF version of this recipe, you can subscribe to our mailing list and enroll in membership school for more recipes like this one.

The basics for making a face oil are the same as is detailed below:

• Choose your carrier oil/s
• Add to a pump bottle
• Cap and shake gently to combine
• Label.

Fruity Blue Face Oil

Carrier Oils

• 33-oz. (10 mL) rosehip (Rosa canina) oil
• 33-oz. (10 mL) bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) oil
• 33-oz. (10 mL) plum (Prunus domestica) oil

To Make

• Combine the carrier oils in a 1 -oz. (30 mL) pump top bottle.
• Cap and shake gently.
•  
• Apply a small amount of the blend to the palm of your hand and massage gently over face after washing. Avoid getting into eyes.

Cautions: For adult use only. Discontinue use if sensitivity occurs.

Learn More About Carrier Oils with Sedona Aromatics

If you enjoyed reading this article, check out our Botanical Aromatherapy™ Membership School and our Language of Aromatics™ Course Programs for further information on how to use carrier oils and make your own aromatherapy blends!

We also have a deep-dive class into carrier oils which you can purchase and listen to on-demand here:

Carrier Oils and Hydrosols for Formulation e-class

About the Author:

The author of this article has been working in the health care industry since the 1990’s and in the aromatherapy industry since the 2000’s. She is UK-certified aromatherapist and a NAHA Certified Professional Aromatherapist®. She is both a published author and editor in aromatherapy, a consultant, custom blend formulator and certified herbalist. She is the author of Authentic Aromatherapy and the current chief editor of the NAHA Aromatherapy Journal. Sharon works from her garden studio in Sedona, Arizona, where she gardens and distills plants from her own aromatic gardens, surrounded by natural fauna and flora on an original pioneer homestead property.