Anti-Ageing Eye Serum

Crows feet, age spots and possibly dark circles – these are some of the inevitable things that come with age, but there are natural solutions which will help turn back the clock. My natural secret to a youthful appearance is: moisturise your skin, drink a lot of water and wear sun protection every single day. As part of the “moisturise your skin” routine, I use this eye serum which helps lighten age spots and dark circles, and also protects the sensitive skin around your eyes from free radicals that lead to signs of aged skin.

Anti-Ageing Eye Serum

A natural eye serum recipe that helps treat signs of ageing and aids visual stress.

Ingredients

• 60ml Grapeseed oil
• 30ml Sweet Almond oil
• 1 Tablespoon (15ml) Vitamin E oil
• 30 drops (1.5ml) Chamomile essential oil
• 10 drops (0.5ml) Sandalwood essential oil
• 5 drops (0.25ml) Carrot Seed essential oil
• 2 Teabags of Green Tea (or 2 tablespoons of loose leaf green tea )

Instructions

1. Makes about 100ml.
2. To infuse the carrier oils with green tea: Warm the grapeseed and sweet almond oil over a double boiler (i.e. water bath) and submerge the teabags in the oil. Simmer over the double boiler until the oil becomes warm, but not boiling hot. Boiling the oil will destroy its beneficial nutrients. Turn off the heat, but allow the oil to continue simmering over the hot water for as long as possible (at least one hour, but you can even let it infuse overnight. The longer, the better.). Once the water in the double boiler is completely cool, keep reheating the water until enough time has passed for the green tea to infuse.
3. After infusing, remove the teabags and squeeze any oil out of the teabags. Be careful not to break the teabags when you squeeze out the oil. If you used loose leaf tea, then strain out the leaves using a fine sieve, gauze or coffee filter paper.
4. Allow the oil to cool, and then pour it into your desired container.
5. Add the vitamin E oil and essential oils. Mix well.
6. Store away from direct sunlight, and use within 6 months.

Notes

1.) Tip: Store your eye serum in the refrigerator. The cold effect will revitalise your eyes and also help treat and prevent dark circles.
2.) Substitutes: Rooibos tea instead of green tea. Argan, jojoba or coconut oil can be substituted in place of the sweet almond or grapeseed oil. Choose a light oil for best results.
3.) Do not get the eye serum into your eyes. If you do, flush out quickly with cold milk.
4.) Carrot seed essential oil is very strong and should be generously diluted. Do not use more than 5 drops per 100ml, as you risk irritating the sensitive skin around your eyes. I know this from personal experience. It burns! Read more about how to use essential oils safely here.
5.) How to make your own double boiler: You need a pot and a heat proof bowl, or two pots. Fill a pot about half way with water. Once the water has come to a boil, place your heat-proof bowl on top of the pot of water. Leave the stove on a low heat. Place your ingredients in the suspended bowl, and wait for the ingredients to melt. It's that simple. It's the same concept as melting chocolate.

Recipe Variations & Substitutions

Since the skin around your eyes is thin, you need to use a light and highly absorptive oil for this eye serum to ensure that your skin gets the nutrients it needs. For this reason, I recommend that the best base oils for this particular recipe are:

• Grapeseed oil: is one of the lightest oils, and therefore it is readily absorbed into the skin. It suits all skin types, and also has astringent properties that help improve skin tone. (buy here)
• Sweet almond oil: is a light oil that has a high vitamin E content, helps treat and prevent sun damage, evens out skin tone, improves complexion, helps lighten scars and age spots. (buy here)
• Argan oil: Rich in vitamin E and the anti-oxidants prevent oxidative damage from environmental pollution and UV radiation. The unsaturated fatty acids help soften the skin, fight free radicals and improve elasticity and cell strength of facial skin. (buy here)
• Jojoba oil: Has a similar structure to that of sebum, which allows it to absorb easily and readily into your skin. It is not technically an oil, but a wax that mimics collagen, which makes it a gentle moisturizer for all skin types. (buy here).
• Coconut oil:  Contains saturated fatty acids and vitamin E which help prevent and reverse signs of aging. This is also a thin oil, however it will become solid at room temperature so you may not be able to store it in a pump bottle if you live in a colder area. If the oil does solidify, simply melt it between your fingertips and apply. (buy here)

COST & SHELF LIFE

Cost Price: R62 per 100ml.
Lasted me about: 2 months using everyday
Estimated shelf life: 6 months if stored away direct sunlight and moisture.

*Costs accurate at the time of writing this blog post, and based on the best retail prices I’ve found.

CHALLENGE

• Price of essential oil blend: If you don’t already have the essential oils used in this blend, you may find these items expensive to buy once-off, especially the carrot seed essential oil. You can use one essential oil rather than my blend, but if you can afford to make my blend – it’s definitely worth it.
• Infusion time: The time it takes to infuse the base oils with green tea may not be your cup of tea. 

CHERRY ON TOP

• Aids visual stress: Chamomile and carrot seed essential oil will also treat visual stress from staring at a computer screen all day.

• Long eyelashes: The base oils will also strengthen, condition and promote the growth of your eyelashes.

INGREDIENT BENEFITS

• Chamomile essential oil (EO):  helps lighten skin pigmentation like age spots and dark circles, and also treats visual stress. (buy here).
  
• Carrot seed EO: rich in Carotene and Vitamin-A, both of which are very beneficial for the eyes and are effective antioxidants. Repairs a lot of the damages done to your tissues by free radicals and prevents them from doing further harm. Also treats visual stress caused by computer screens and TVs. (buy here)
  
• Sandalwood EO: has anti-inflammatory properties which help treat puffy eyes and dark circles. It will also soothes the skin, and help heal scars and spots. It is also said to treat stress, anxiety and hypertension which also causes people to show the signs of aging faster! (buy here).
  
• Vitamin E oil: An antioxidant that protects the skin from further sun damage and helps to decrease the signs of lines and wrinkles. (buy here)
  
• Green Tea: rich in antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties. Studies show that topical application of green tea offers protection against the detrimental effects of ultraviolet light, UV radiation, on skin. Vitamins  C and E in green tea also stimulate skin repair and rejuvenation. (buy here).

Need help finding these, or other ingredients? My shopping guide may help you. If you are pregnant, nursing or new to essential oils please read how to use them safely.

Please share your feedback about this recipe in the comments below.