Creamy, natural face moisturizer made from simple, non-toxic ingredients will leave your skin feeling hydrated and smooth. Plus, it's easy to make and very cost-effective!

open jar of natural homemade face moisturizer on counter — *This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure policy here.*

I'm a pretty low-maintenance girl when it comes to skincare and makeup. I like to keep things simple, just using a few products consistently. No day cream, night creams, serum, etc for me! (No judgment if you do use those things in your skin care routine, they're just not for me right now!) That's why I love this moisturizer recipe made with natural ingredients. I wash my face and moisturize with this moisturizer in the morning, then apply my primer and makeup. In the evening I use a tallow balm before bed.

I love natural moisturizers because I want to know that what I put on my face twice a day isn't damaging to my skin or my health in any way.

Most skin care products are full of harmful chemicals and other toxic ingredients - just look at the ingredient list! There are natural skincare products out there, but they cost a lot more than I think most people are willing to spend (including me). This is an affordable moisturizer without harmful ingredients and is really easy to whip up!

Why Use Face Moisturizer?

We've all grown up hearing it's important to moisturize our faces, but why?

When you moisturize your face on a daily basis, it's less likely your skin will become extremely dry or oily. The skin on the face and neck are especially sensitive, so giving a regular dose of moisture can help the skin cells to repair and remain healthy. Moisturizing also gives skin a healthy shine, which can help to camouflage blemishes and improve skin tone. Lastly, properly moisturized skin will age more gracefully- moisturizing fights fine lines and wrinkles by maintaining elasticity!

When you use high quality natural organic ingredients, you can be confident that they are only doing good things for your skin!

When trying a new product, it's always wise to test on a small inconspicuous area for at least 24 hours to ensure no skin irritation or allergic reactions occur. Here is a handy article about how to properly do a patch test for a new product.

When To Use Face Moisturizer

Apply face moisturizer directly after washing your face, ideally both in the morning and before bed. This will help to keep the moisture content constant in your skin, keeping it healthy and supple.

How Do You Apply Face Moisturizer?

After cleansing your face, gently pat your face and neck with a towel to dry, leaving a little bit of water on the skin. Take the amount about the size of a nickel and rub it between your hands to warm and ensure the ingredients are evenly distributed. Very gently apply to the face and neck, working upward in a circular motion.

finger taking some homemade moisturizer out of jar

Can Face Moisturizer Be Used on Eyes?

Some people use a separate eye cream along with their facial moisturizer. I use this moisturizer around my eyes and it keeps the delicate eye skin looking hydrated and smooth. Of course, avoid getting the cream INTO your eyes and be very gentle when applying on this sensitive area of the face. They say the ring finger is the weakest, so the best to apply moisturizer around your eyes!

Can Face Moisturizer Be Used on Hands and Body?

This moisturizer does work great as a hand lotion or body cream if you so desire to use it that way as well! It's light, moisturizing and smells amazing.

Can Natural Face Moisturizer Expire?

This recipe is made from ingredients with fairly long shelf lives, around 2-3 years. I wouldn't recommend keeping the moisturizer longer than 1 year after making it, just to be safe, but if it's used every day, you'll use it up before then. To extend the shelf life be sure not to get any water in the moisturizer and keep it in the fridge.

Will Natural Face Moisturizer Cause Acne?

I have been using this great moisturizer recipe for more than 4 years and it has never caused acne for me. It has definitely been the best moisturizer I've ever tried on my skin! I would say I have average or normal skin that is sometimes dry. Everybody's skin is different, so you really won't know until you try.

I will say that sometimes when you switch to a new product your skin can break out (aka skin purge) as a reaction to the switch. So once you try it, give it 4-6 weeks before judging if it will work for you or not. Skin purging should be done after 6 weeks. If your skin is still purging and breaking out, you may need to switch to a different product.

diy natural moisturizer on hand blender whisks

Variations of Natural Face Moisturizer Recipe

Substitute the sweet almond oil with avocado oil, olive oil or jojoba oil
If you have very dry skin, add 1 teaspoon vitamin e oil to the beeswax/oil mixture when melting
If you are out in the sun often, add 2 tablespoon non-nano zinc oxide to the mixture before blending. This will give the moisturizer an SPF of 12-19.
In theory, you could replace the virgin coconut oil with cocoa butter or shea butter, although I have not tried it with this recipe.

Essential Oils For Different Skin Types

Use essential oils suggested below based on your skin type or use a combination. For example, I have dry and acne-prone skin, so I've opted to use lavender (2 drops), tea tree (3 drops) and lemongrass (2 drops) in my moisturizer.

Dry skin - lavender, chamomile, sandalwood

Oily skin - rosemary, clary sage, geranium

Combination skin - lavender, sandalwood, frankincense

Acne-prone skin - rosemary, tea tree, frankincense, lemongrass

Aging/ mature skin - rosemary, jojoba, rose, myrrh

essential oil bottles and jar of moisturizer

Tools You May Need

Double boiler

Hand mixer or blender

Natural Face Moisturizer Ingredients

2 tablespoon sweet almond oil

2 tablespoon virgin coconut oil or tallow

¾ tablespoon beeswax

½ cup pure aloe vera gel

5-8 drops essential oils (optional)

How to Make DIY Face Moisturizer

Fill bottom pot of double boiler halfway with water and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to medium low. Add beeswax, coconut oil (or tallow) and almond oil together in the top pot of the double boiler and heat until the ingredients are completely melted.

beeswax, coconut oil and almond oil melting in a double boiler

If using a blender, pour the mixture into the blender. If using a hand mixer, pour the mixture into a glass bowl or large glass liquid measuring cup. STOP. WALK AWAY. Don't touch it for at least the next hour and 30 minutes. It is very important for the mixture to cool before the next step!

cooled beeswax and oil mixture — Cooled beeswax and oil mixture

Measure out aloe vera gel and mix essential oils of choice (if using) into the gel.

Use a spoon to break up the beeswax/oil mixture and make as smooth as possible.

Cooled beeswax/oil mixture that has been stirred smooth — Cooled beeswax and oil mixture that has been stirred smooth

Using your blender or hand mixer, slowly incorporate the aloe vera gel into the beeswax/oil mixture, one spoonful at a time. Eventually, you'll see your creation transforming into a lovely white fluffy texture! Once all the aloe vera is incorporated, you are done!

hand blender mixing diy moisturizer ingredients

How to Store Natural Face Moisturizer

Your homemade face moisturizer is made from ingredients with shelf lives of 2-3 years (if stored in cool, dry places). So, in theory, the moisturizer has the same shelf life as long as it's not exposed to water, which would introduce bacteria. If you use this moisturizer daily, you should use it up in under 6 months, so shelf life shouldn't be a concern.

I keep a small jar in my bathroom cupboard with moisturizer in it for daily use and I keep the rest of the batch in a larger jar in the fridge. I refill my small jar as needed. This is not really necessary, but it's how I do it, just to be safe!

PRINT A LABEL

Did you try this recipe and love it? I would so appreciate it if you give it a 5 star rating and pin it to Pinterest!

More Tips for Healthy Skin

Drink lots of water! This will do much more for your skin than the best moisturizing creams!
Eat a clean diet low in refined sugars and carbohydrates. Dairy also causes skin issues in some people, so experiment and see what kinds of foods make your skin better or worse.
Be gentle to your skin. Never aggressively scrub or rub it.
Use only warm, never hot water, to wash your face.
Exfoliate (gently!) regularly.
Get adequate sleep.
Work on reducing your stress levels.

More Natural Personal Care

📖 Recipe

Natural Face Moisturizer

Yield: ~ ¾ cup

Active Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Creamy, natural face moisturizer made from simple, non-toxic ingredients will leave your skin feeling hydrated and smooth.

Materials

2 tablespoon sweet almond oil
2 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
¾ tablespoon beeswax pellets
½ cup pure aloe vera gel
5-8 drops essential oils (optional)

Tools

Double boiler
Hand mixer or blender

Instructions

Fill bottom pot of double boiler halfway with water and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to medium low. Add beeswax, coconut oil and almond oil together in the top pot of the double boiler and heat until the ingredients are completely melted.
If using a blender, pour the mixture into the blender. If using a hand mixer, pour the mixture into a glass bowl or large glass liquid measuring cup. STOP. WALK AWAY. Don't touch it for at least the next hour and 30 minutes. It is very important for the mixture to cool before the next step!
Measure out aloe vera gel and mix essential oils of choice (if using) into the gel.
Use a spoon to break up the beeswax/oil mixture and make as smooth as possible.
Using your blender or hand mixer, slowly incorporate the aloe vera gel into the beeswax/oil mixture, one spoonful at a time. Eventually, you'll see your creation transforming into a lovely white fluffy texture! Once all the aloe vera is incorporated, you are done!

Notes

Dry skin - lavender, chamomile, sandalwood

Oily skin - rosemary, clary sage, geranium