Easy DIY Night Cream

So at my age, dealing with both a minor skin condition and the natural processes of aging, I'm finding it helpful to use a moisturizing cream or lotion on my face, hands, legs and feet in the evening. After trying a variety of different types of lotions over the last year or so, I finally discovered that the ones that work best for me are - expensive. This puzzled me because the ones that worked best seemed to have the least ingredients, and the most simple ones.

Eucerin Original Healing Soothing Repair Cream, for instance, which works really well for me, costs something like $15 for a 16 ounce jar of the stuff. It has exactly 7 ingredients in it, at least five of which I'm fairly familiar: Water, Petrolatum, Mineral Oil, Ceresin, Lanolin Alcohol, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone. The last two are antibiotic, biocide preservatives. The first few ingredients are the moisturizers.

And as a matter of fact, that particular combination of ingredients that help keep the skin moist: water, petrolatum, mineral oil, wax (the ceresin) and lanolin, seemed to be the common denominators in most of the lotions that worked well for me. The other ingredients that were common to most of the other lotions I used were glycerin and different kinds of seed oils, like in my very favorite lotion, Seed Body Cream.

I browsed Instructables to see if I could find anything akin to what I was considering, and came across Craftknowitall'sHow to Make a Fragrant Hand Lotion for Valentine's Day , which was pretty close. But I didn't want to deal with the mixer, an element of the process that I could eliminate easily enough by just making up small batches of my night cream as desired.

So what follows is a short hand version of a customized night cream, using the easily available components of my favorite lotions. It takes about 5 minutes to prepare, and seems to be working quite nicely, for a fraction of the cost of the pricey off the shelf stuff.

Step 1: Ingredients

You'll need:

• small container - I used a 4 ounce storage container with a lid
• Vaseline/Petroleum Jelly - $2
• A & D cream - this version is about 50% petroleum jelly and 15.5% lanolin - $6
• Coconut Oil - $3
• Glycerin - $2
• fragrance, or your favorite off the shelf lotion - price varies

Total for ingredients about $15 - but I only used a little bit of each item. I estimate my 4 ounces of homemade lotion cost less than a dollar.

Useful note, with respect to the choice and value of the ingredients: As Nel137 pointed out in the comments, "petroleum jelly & mineral oil are not moisturizers. They only form a protective barrier that prevents moisture from escaping the skin. The coconut oil will moisturize, so the combination works."

Indeed it does... read on!

Step 2: Create Lotion Base

For my version, I started with three tablespoons of petroleum jelly in the container.

Step 3: Add A&D Cream/ Lanolin

I couldn't locate the pure lanolin this time around, but you can find it in the baby aisle in the big box stores. Because this version didn't have as much lanolin as I really wanted, I used two tablespoons of the cream. But I'd probably just use one of the pure lanolin.

Step 4: Add Glycerin

I used 6 drops of gylcerin for my little 4 ounce mixture of homemade lotion. That was admittedly a by-guess and by -gosh decision, based on a little reading over at It's All in My Hands, which recommended a minimum 1.5% gylcerin in a mixture, for creams for oily skin; "2-3.5% is for normal to dry skin; 4-5% is for body lotions." Given that I'm using this primarily as a night cream for hands and face, and the type of skin I'm guessing I have, 6 drops - about 1/4 teaspoon - seemed about right.

(For a really interesting read on gylcerin, check out "What is Glycerin?" at Pioneer Thinking.)

Step 5: Add Coconut Oil

I added about a tablespoon of Coconut oil.

Step 6: Add Fragrance or a Dab of Your Favorite Cream

I really love my Seed Body Cream, but use it sparing because of the cost. I've found that a small amount added to my DIY Night Cream adds that nice lavender fragrance I like, and also improves the color of my homemade cream.

Step 7: Mix Thoroughly

Mix the whole concoction well with your fingers (and then apply to your skin!) or a spoon, and you'll have this nice, buttery emollient. It feels a little greasy going on but absorbs nicely and doesn't leave any greasy or sticky residue on the skin. It's great for face, hands, legs, and feet. And at about 25 cents an ounce, you can use it pretty generously!

Step 8: Store and Go!

Cap your lotion in your little container and now you've got a nice sized, easy to use, super affordable and effective DIY Night Cream .

Love to see more variations on this!

Comments

[mamabear72]

I don't want to be a party pooper, but honestly, you should not use anything made from petroleum, such as Vaseline! Petroleum based products have been found to cause cancer, among many other things! All you need to do is Google "dangers of petroleum based products" and will see many documents and studies on this. It's scary the things that are made with petroleum based ingredients in it, including Vicks! It's horrible that they use it in anything, or the fact that they're even allowed to use it to begin with. You can make your own salve, vapor rub, etc with all natural ingredients, and it's so much healthier for you. It don't take much to make a batch either so definitely check out other options rather than petroleum based products.

Blessings, peace and happy diy'ing ?

[EurekaFactory]

Appreciate your opinions, but my recommendation would be that if this type of 'ible is not to your liking or preferences that you find others that you enjoy more, Happy DIYing? to you too! :-)

[JessicaMills]

Does it leave a greasy film on the skin? I've been searching for a cream that absorbs immediately, but haven't had any luck...

[EurekaFactory]

Yes, it does, a bit, but seems to absorb fairly quickly.

[101kallie]

just made it cant wait to use tonight

[ThisIsMyNameOK]

You got that huge jar of coconut oil for just $3? Wow. That's really cheap. Unless it's not as big as it looks in the picture.

[EurekaFactory]

No, it was a huge jar of coconut oil for $3, because it was a BOGO at Publix (the local grocer) and I got it in the baking section, not the cosmetics section. You can also get the same brand at Walmart for $6: http://bit.ly/1NIjanA There's a lot of discussion on boards and elsewhere about the "purity" of LouAna, but it's fine for my purposes.

[ThisIsMyNameOK]

Ah, the BOGO sale explains it, partly, though even $6 is cheaper than I have ever seen it. A jar the size of yours goes for about $12 at the local No Frills grocery store. I have never looked for it at Walmart, but I imagine it's about the same. My little 250 ml jar was just under $3. (I should probably mention that's in Canada.)

Anyway, great Instructable. Should have said that before. I think I voted for you. I'm sure I must have, I just can't remember now. I was trying to get through all of the entries before the voting period closed, but I ran out of time.

[EurekaFactory]

Thanks! Appreciate the vote of confidence, either way. :-)

[nell137]

FYI, petroleum jelly & mineral oil are not moisturizers. They only form a protective barrier that prevents moisture from escaping the skin. The coconut oil will moisturize, so the combination works. I prefer a mixture of natural oils, let that soak in a bit, then coat with petroleum jelly to seal it all in over night. Great idea to make your own, tho!

[EurekaFactory]

Good points, and one of which I'm aware but wasn't clear enough about. You're right of course, and I'll update appropriately. It's the combination of adding moisture and retaining it that work best for me, that I'm after, and this one works. Thank you for helping me clarify!