This DIY wrinkle cream recipe is fantastic; it’s one of the first overnight creams I ever made. Aside from being considerably cheaper than commercial store-bought creams, you’ll find it much gentler on your skin and often far more effective.
Over the years, I’ve posted a lot of information on how to make face creams and many other moisturizers. The recipe I’m sharing today is one of the first overnight creams I ever made. It’s specifically formulated as a great homemade face moisturizer for aging skin and the reason this post gets so many views.
Note: I’ve recently made some changes to my original recipe, which helped prevent any separation issues that some of you were experiencing with it. I think the old homemade wrinkle cream was great but this new recipe is even better, I just love it!
Why Make Homemade Wrinkle Cream?
So, before we go there I want to give you a few reasons why I make my own and some important info!
Here’s The Deal
- Although up to 50% of all skin aging, including your wrinkles could possibly stem from genetic factors and exposure to the sun, there’s much we can do to eradicate the other 50%!
- Aging skin develops fine lines and wrinkles, but there are other signs of aging that you should be aware of. As we age, our pores appear larger and the skin beneath our eyes can also darken and appear saggy or even puffy. The key to keeping your skin looking and feeling youthful and wrinkle-free is hydration. Drink plenty of water to hydrate your skin from the inside, then use some non-drying wrinkle creams to add to the hydration levels on the outside.
- Many commercial anti-aging home remedies contain harmful ingredients in small quantities. While they might look like tiny amounts, rubbing them into your skin on a daily basis can often compound the issue, rather than getting rid of wrinkles they can sometimes make them worse.
- There are no harsh or drying chemicals when you make your own homemade wrinkle creams and other DIY skin care recipes, so your skin will look and feel softer right away.
- The ingredients in my DIY face creams contain natural antioxidants that play a role in protecting your skin from damage caused by UV rays and in aiding with the rejuvenation of your skin cells. On top of these benefits, they also help to reduce the appearance of dark circles beneath your eyes.
- The first night cream recipe is a combination of beneficial oils along with a nourishing herbal infusion. This makes a perfect homemade wrinkle cream that’s great for tackling any aging effects on the skin… and it’s very easy to make.
- The second is my diy honey wrinkle cream, it’s a natural homemade anti-wrinkle cream that’s great for smoothing out fine lines and wrinkles in your skin, but you can also get some great results when using this cream on your hands.
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About The Ingredients In This Recipe
The oils in this recipe have been selected to promote quick and total absorption, preventing that lingering greasiness.
- Avocado oil is excellent for all skin types and is most commonly known for its ability to soften, soothe, and recondition the skin. It’s wonderful as a carrier oil and is just as fantastic in skin care creams.
- Argan oil is great for dry and maturing skin, it is rich in vitamin E, very protective and helps keep skin supple.
- Calendula is a very effective flower that makes for an excellent base for creams, salves, and facial recipes. It is cooling and gentle on the skin which also makes it fantastic for baby oil recipes. The infusion gives a soothing effect to the homemade wrinkle cream and is very useful for any dry or flakiness within the skin.
- Frankincense essential oil will help to slow down the appearance of wrinkles and maybe even help to reduce the extent of the wrinkles you already have.
- Lemon essential oil helps to banish facial wrinkles, clears the skin and helps to boost circulation. Lemon has a brightening effect on shallow skin, and a mild bleaching effect on age spots that can restore the tone back to your skin, giving it a more youthful look and feel.
Oil Substitutes:
Evening Primrose Oil and Wheat Germ are two more fantastic skincare oils, as are Peach Kernel and Sweet Almond oil. I would be happy to substitute the Argan and or Avocado for any of these four, although the latter two will make the cream take a little longer to absorb.
OK, let’s make a homemade wrinkle cream
Important Info
- I want to make it clear that I use these recipes as overnight treatments, they both contain citrus essential oils that are best avoided in sunlight. If you want to use one of these recipes as a daytime cream I would substitute the essential oils for non-citrus alternatives, or switch to my diy face cream recipe.
- Please remember to measure your ingredients using a digital scale, its important to be accurate when working oils and butters. For more info check out how to measure your ingredients.
- Please also note that the recipes contain water and oils, so it best used with a preservative at 1%. You can, however, make it without but please be aware that this will bring your shelf life down from 12 months to just a few days. For more info see this post on using preservatives.
- Having said that if you’re not giving it as a homemade gift and it’s just for you (and I’m not sure why anyone would give this away!) then there’s no problem. Simply halve or quarter the recipe so that you are making just enough to use in a week.
- If you are looking for other recipes that do not need a preservative you can create a moisturizer that is oil based which could give you a 12 month shelf life depending on the oils you use.
Homemade Wrinkle Cream Recipe
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Equipment
- Large, heavy-based saucepan
Ingredients
- 15 grams Avocado Oil
- 10 grams Argan Oil
- 15 grams Emulsifying Wax NF
- 60 grams Boiled water (or ready-made hydrosol )
- 1 handful Dried Calendula Flowers (not required if using the ready-made hydrosol )
- 1 grams Preservative (optional)
- 15 drops Frankincense Essential Oil
- 10 drops Lemon Essential Oil
- 1 Cosmetic Jar
Video
Instructions
- Gather all of the ingredients and tools listed above
- With a handful of Calendula flowers and 10 fl oz (300 grams) boiling water, make an herbal infusion. A herbal infusion is made by placing the flowers into a jug, pouring boiling water over them and then leaving it covered to cool. For this recipe, we will only need 60 grams of the infusion, so store the remaining mixture in your fridge for next time.Optionally, you can skip making the infusion and use a ready-made floral hydrosol.1 handful Dried Calendula Flowers, 60 grams Boiled water
- Weigh out your oils and wax into one of the heatproof containers.15 grams Avocado Oil, 10 grams Argan Oil, 15 grams Emulsifying Wax NF
- Now, pour 60 grams of the infused calendula water into the second heatproof container.
- Place both contains into a pan of simmering water, once the oils have melted heat them through but do not allow them to boil.
- Once the oils have melted and they are both warmed, remove them from the heat and combine the water with the oils.
- Now mix steadily with a spoon or whisk, if using a whisk try to keep it down to prevent air bubbles.
- As the cream starts to cool and thicken this would be a good time to add your preservative if you are using one (please check the instructions on your product for more guidance on this).1 grams Preservative
- Once the cream has reached room temperature add the frankincense and lemon essential oils and give it another good stir after each oil. To stop the oil and water separating you need to stir until the cream has completely cooled.15 drops Frankincense Essential Oil, 10 drops Lemon Essential Oil
- Spoon into airtight jars to ensure the essential oils are well preserved, clear jars need to be kept in a cool, dark place.1 Cosmetic Jar
Notes
Shelf Life:
The homemade wrinkle cream is truly great, it can be made fresh without any preservatives. But remember if you don’t add the preservative it should be kept in the fridge and used within a few days. If you would like something that will last longer try my favorite homemade anti-aging serum which contains a natural preservative to make it last up to one year! And don’t forget to take a look at my homemade face creams, homemade face masks, and other diy skin care recipes from scratch.Oil Substitutes:
Evening Primrose Oil and Wheat Germ Oil are two more fantastic skincare oils, as are Peach Kernel and Sweet Almond oil. I would be happy to substitute the Argan and or Avocado for any of these four, although the latter two will make the cream take a little longer to absorb.
How To Use The Wrinkle Cream
Before you go to bed, cleanse your face then gently rub your homemade wrinkle cream going from jaw to cheekbones, around your eyes and over your forehead. Massage the cream into your neck from the base to chin.
The Wrinkle Cream Recipe With Honey And Orange
Similar to my first homemade wrinkle cream this natural anti wrinkle cream is another great overnight treatment, it’s perfect for smoothing out fine lines and wrinkles in your facial skin. But you can also get some great results when using this cream on cracked heels or dry hands.
I’m going to make some of these.Do have anything for age spots. thank u for these. Darlene Revells 9
Hi Darlene,
Hyperpigmentation can be a difficult hurdle, and I don’t have any pre-formulated recipes for them. However, I would explore the power of carrot seed essential oil, as the research I’ve done on this oil suggest it’s perfect for tackling age spots.
Hi Andrea,
I am looking at your recipe for your “Home made wrinkle” cream and have a question with regards to the volume of ready made hydrosol. The hydrosol volume does not change as you cycle through the different batch sizes of your recipe. I’m assuming the 60 grams of ready made hydrosol is referencing batch size “1X”, please confirm. Thank you.
Hi Rummy, Unfortunately the recipe card does not change options in brackets, so yes, you are correct! You’d need to scale this bit yourself, so just times it by 2 or 3 or half if you wish to make 1/2.
Hi Andrea,
I’m new to making emulsified creams.
So far my first attempt has not worked out. My cream split whilst mixing well before it was cool. What could I do to prevent this?
I’m using beeswax from my hive.
Could I have added the essential oils or preserve to soon?
I look forward to your response.
Hi Bindi,
Are you using an emulsifying wax alongside your beeswax? As much as beeswax is a lovely ingredient, it’s not enough to actually emulsify a lotion. Try using an actual e-wax, like BTMS-50, Polarwax or NF for your lotions and save your lovely beeswax for some absolutely amazing lip balms.
The problem I had was with the boiled water (300) grams ND 60 GRAMS OF CALENDULA HYDROSOL.
Please explain why an excessive amount of boiled water would be required but 60 grams of hydrosol could replace the pint of boiled water.
Awaiting your response.
CAW
Hi there,
I make up a batch so I can use it for lots of different things, as calendula water is perfect in so many different recipes. Pop a preservative in and it’s good for many months too! I have, in general, found it much more difficult to make very small batches of infused herbal waters. The plant matter tends to suction up a lot of the water, and even with straining you never get the full amount back.
Hi I’ve made anti aging cream with the calendula flowers. I’ve noticed after a week there looks to be mould coming I’ve done everything right can you advice
Hi Jennifer, sometimes this happens lets troubleshoot together.
So, the reason there is mold growing in your creams is that the preservative system isn’t working properly. This can be for a few reasons, but the most common is that the preservative is not actually broad spectrum.
Make sure what you’re using is definitely a broad spectrum preservative, is 100% soluble in the product you are making, and that it isn’t just say an antioxidant. Another issue could be that the preservative is broad spectrum, except it has expired and so no longer works. If none of the other reasons sound right to you, this is probably the one.
Also, be sure to sterilize your cosmetics equipment (beakers, pipettes, spatulas, mixing bowls, stirrers, etc) properly before and after use. And make sure that you are storing your lotions in sterilized containers, jars, bottles, etc.
Hope this helps!
I just bought linatural as a preservative and the instructions recommend 0.5 -2% preservative for the water portion of the recipe. Given that this recipe calls for 300g of water, would it be safe to measure between 1.5 – 6g of preservative? I was thinking 2-3g of preservative would be the sweet spot but want to make sure I am doing these calculations correctly if you could confirm.
Hi Jenny,
I would go for 1% as it is a leave on face cream. So as this recipe makes 100g I would use 1g of preservative.
Thank you so much! I also realize we don’t use all of the boiled water for the hydrosol so that would have been so off. Thanks for confirming!
Hi Angela,
So I bought Geogard Ultra in powder form (!), it says to use at the ‘water stage’. Any ideas what point I should add this in? Many thanks. Lara.
Hi there! I’m looking forward to trying this recipe but am brand new to preservatives. Which one would you recommend for the wrinkle cream?
Thank you!
Hi Anne,
Honestly, it depends on what’s important to you, as each preservative is different. I would recommend taking a look at my post about preservatives, it’s quite informative and it’ll teach you all you really need to know.
Hi can you recommend a supplier for the argon and avocado oils please?
Hi Annie, you cant go wrong with Mountain Rose Ingredients.
Hello Can I use Almond Oil, Vitamin E or any oils directly to my face. Thank you
Hi Hope,
Yes, almond oil and vitamin e can be applied directly to the skin. However, vitamin e is a very thick, viscous liquid, so might take a long time for it to sink in. The only ingredients in this recipe that you should not apply directly to your face are the essential oils and the preservative.
Hello Angela
I love your Diy wrinkle cream. Do you think I can change the 40ml sweet almond oil and put instead 40 ml of sea buckthorn oil ? Thanks Andree
Hi Andree,
While theoretically, I’m sure you would end up with an emulsified cream, in practice I’m unsure how good this would be. Keep in mind that Sea Buckthorn has a very deep, orange/red hue. In a concentration such as you’ve suggested, you’re going to get an almost florescent-colored wrinkle cream. Beyond that, I couldn’t really say what it would be like. But experimentation is always so important, so I would say give it a try and see how it goes.
Hello
What can I use to get rid of dark circles under my eyes?
Your recipes are healthful and splendid.
Thank you,
Andrea
Hi Andrea,
Take a look at my cream for hyperpigmentation. However, dark circles under the eyes are often caused eyes that are deep-set, which isn’t something that is easily fixed. Let me know how you get on.
Hello!
Can I use Argain oil butter instead of Argain oil?
Hi Kristina,
I’ve never worked with argan butter before, but nevertheless I would worry about the overall consistency of the product. If you want to make use of Argan butter, I would recommend splitting the original 10g of argan oil across said argan butter and another liquid oil (so 5g butter and 5g some other liquid oil suitable for your skin type). More than 5g of cosmetic butter could make your cream much heavier and a lot thicker.
I hope this helps.
81 years old, make it and I will buy. Way to complicated for me with all the weighing,etc
Hi Lois,
I get a lot of requests from people to make these products commercially. But unfortunately, I don’t think I have the means to do it. There’s a lot of red tape involved with making and selling cosmetics, and I also don’t think I have the time to commit to such a project. Perhaps you have someone in your life that would be helpful enough to lend you a hand making these products? Otherwise, there are lots of natural skincare cosmetics companies that sell their products online. I encourage you to check them out and see what they have to offer.
I’m loving your website, thank you.
A question about the Night Wrinkle Cream above – isn’t 15g EWax quite a high percentage compared to the other oils – 10g Argan and 15g Avo . I know that they are both soft oils but still? I’ve just made it as is and will wait and see how it turns out.
Is there any other benefit to EWax other than an emulsifier?
Hi Lindsay,
The amount of E Wax needed depends on the type of E Wax you’re using. For the type in this recipe, 15g is a good amount. You can take this down a few grams and replace it with something such as Cetyl Alcohol if you prefer a lighter cream. You shouldn’t lose body to the cream by doing this.
In terms of e wax properties, again it depends on the type you’re using. Something like BTMS-50, while totally unnatural, does have some skin softening and conditioning properties. I would recommend reading what the supplier/manufacturer says about their product. When I do this, I always find out new interesting things I never knew about a particular ingredient.
Hope this helps!
Thanks for the reply. I used Polawax and the cream has turned out really well! I used Rose and Lavender EO – smells really good. I reckon it is the perfect texture for a non-greasy hand cream too – maybe using citrus scents.
That’s great Lindsay, I’m so happy you’ve found a formulated cream that works for you! The combination of Rose and Lavender sounds heavenly, the Rose especially. There is no ingredient in skincare that’s better for anti-aging than Rose EO! Keep me updated on how to go about formulating for your hand cream, I love to hear other peoples experiences. I link something like that would be great for the summer.
When it comes to winter, I would suggest experimenting with using some beeswax or candelilla wax (although do not substitute any of the E Wax, it’s just an additional ingredient). This will give your hands an extra layer of protection from the chilly weather. It also shouldn’t be greasy if you get the ratio right.
Hi, first off I love all this information from your site. I was so excited to know that I finally hit jack pot with having all ingredients on hand than having to go buy them. I’m new at this. Have never made any type of cream or lotion ever! So when I went to go make it today and measures out the 15g of emulsifying wax, it seemed like such a small amount. I will admit I’ve never measured anything none the less on a scale. Maybe I’m measuring wrong? Yours definitely looks way more than mine. Anyway I got scared to continue for fear of messing up. So I packed it all up and away. Awaiting patiently for you to hopefully answer me. Also, I wanted to substitute the infusion with hibiscus flower which I read has wonderful health benefits both inside and out. How to hear from you! Thanks ??
Hi Jessi,
Don’t worry so much about how it compares to mine. Sometimes it may look more or less depending on what type of e-wax you have and whether or not it’s in pellet or flake form. Either way, if it isn’t enough you can always heat up the mixture again and add a little more e-wax, providing you haven’t already added the essential oils or preservatives.
As for the hibiscus flower, that sounds lovely! I always encourage people to experiment. We all have unique skin, and this may be heavenly in your cream. Is that an infusion or a hydrosol, I wonder? Either way, sounds great!
Also, thank you for your lovely words, they’re much appreciated.
Will ground Calendula work instead of Calendula flowers?
Hi Margaret,
Yes! It totally will work. Let me know how it turns out.