Is DIY skincare effective?Updated a year ago
Most DIY skincare isn’t particularly effective, especially in comparison to commercially made products. The majority of homemade skincare recipes don’t include ingredients or combinations of ingredients that can impact the skin in a meaningful way.
Take moisturizer as an example - many of the DIY lotion recipes online only contain oils, waxes, and plant butters. These recipes come with a minor risk of causing breakouts, but otherwise, they’re not too dangerous. Unfortunately, they’re also not great lotions.
At best, such DIY formulas will help keep the skin moisturized after a shower, but they don’t have ingredients that promote hydration on their own. By comparison, you could pick up a generic drugstore moisturizer for just a few dollars and it would have vastly superior effects. It will also be significantly more pleasant and less likely to break you out.
There are also cases where the lack of efficacy can be downright dangerous. DIY sunscreen formulas are a chief example. Sunscreens have to undergo SPF testing to ensure they actually provide the protection that’s on the bottle. With a DIY sunscreen, it’s impossible to ensure sufficient dispersion and efficacy, so they put you at risk of sunburn and skin cancer.