Today we’re making a simple, fragrant facial gel starring ceramides. This gel not only moisturizes and hydrates the skin immediately, but it also helps strengthen your moisture barrier. This leads to stronger, more resilient skin and less transepidermal water loss (TEWL) over time—fantastic! It’s wonderful for all types of skin—dry, irritation-prone, aging, acneic, and even just generally well-behaved skin that could use a bit of pampering and plumping up.
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Ceramides are one of those ingredients I’ve been using for a while in store bought products, and have been slowly working up the nerve to DIY with—mostly because of the cost. 30mL (1fl oz) of ceramide complex is close to $30USD, and the shelf life is only about six months. So, somewhat understandably, I wanted to use ceramides in some store bought things to make sure they’re worth it. I tried the classic Cerave Moisturizing Cream (recommended by r/SkinCareAddiction) and the Rosette Ceramide Gel (a favourite over at r/AsianBeauty), and really liked them both. I found the addition of ceramides to my skin care routine left my skin more resilient—it broke out less, healed faster when it did, and seemed less prone to dryness and irritation.
So, what are ceramides? They’re naturally occurring fats that comprise over half of the skin’s barrier, helping protect the skin and retain moisture. Pretty much every article I’ve read about ceramides describes them as the “mortar” to your skin cell “bricks”. While your body does make ceramides, they can be depleted by everything from age to to hot water to UV exposure. Supplementing your body’s natural supply (and encouraging it to produce more ceramides) through topical application can help rejuvenate and strengthen the skin. The product we’re using four our ceramide hit is called “ceramide complex”—both LotionCrafter and Making Cosmetics sell it. It contains a blend of different types of ceramides as well as ceramide precursor phytosphingosine, which encourages our skin to make more of its own ceramides.
Basically, ceramides are a thing we have, but also a thing most of us could use more of. If your skin is aging, dry, sensitive, break-out prone, whatever—ceramides are probably a good idea. Ceramides are like the leafy green vegetables of your skin care diet.
I designed this formula to really let the ceramide complex shine, so it’s pretty simple—a stage for a star. The bulk this gel is water, with some rose hydrosol for a soft scent. You could easily use a different hydrosol in its place for a different scent, or replace it with more distilled water for an unscented end product. Some velvety propanediol 1,3 provides some humectant-y goodness, helping keep the skin hydrated and moisturized.
The gelling agent is Aristoflex AVC, which also emulsifies our oil-based ingredients. I’ve included a bit of both dimethicone 350 and cyclomethicone—two silky silicones—to ensure the end product is ultra silky and not at all sticky. While dimethicone 350 and cyclomethicone are both silicones, they’re quite different in terms of function and feel. Dimethicone 350 is a heavier, non-volatile silicone; it sticks around on the skin to offer long-lasting slip and skin protection, similar to a carrier oil. Cyclomethicone is very volatile and fast-evaporating, so once it’s been spread out over the skin it will quickly evaporate away, leaving only a hint of its beautiful slippy skin feel. I’ve paired the two for a really luxurious feeling product. If you don’t have either, please read the substitutions list at the end of the formula.
Making this gel is super simple—it requires no heat and fairly little attention. I like to mix everything together, leave the Aristoflex AVC to fully hydrate, and then blend it again. That’s it! You will find that this Rose Ceramide Facial Gel is less viscous than the Gel Micellar Water we made earlier this month despite having twice as much Aristoflex AVC, and that’s because of the ceramide complex—it’s known to reduce the viscosity of products.
The end product is a slightly cloudy gel that delivers some fantastic skin-boosting benefits. I hope you love it as much as I do! If you’re looking for something else to make with the ceramide complex, I highly recommend this DIY Moisture Barrier Serum from The Acid Queen. The formulator also sells a next-generation version of this formula as Liquid Gold through her brand Stratia, but she’s also left the original formula on her blog so you can make it if you’re so inclined!
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Rose Ceramide Facial Gel
13.54g | 67.7% distilled water
4g | 20% rose hydrosol
0.4g | 2% dimethicone 350 (USA / Canada)
0.6g | 3% cyclomethicone (USA / Canada)
1g | 5% ceramide complex (USA / Canada)
0.2g | 1% Propanediol 1,3 (USA / Canada)
0.06g | 0.3% Liquid Germall Plus™ (USA / Canada)0.2g | 1% Aristoflex AVC (USA / Canada)
Weigh the first seven ingredients into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup or beaker and stir to combine.
Sprinkle the Aristolflex AVC overtop and blend with a mini mixer or whisk until the entire mixture has thickened and emulsified. That’s it!
To use, spread a small amount of the ceramide gel over your skin. I like to apply this after cleansing and before any heavier creams or oil serums.
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this gel contains water, you must include a broad-spectrum preservative to ward off microbial growth. This is non-optional. Even with a preservative this project is likely to eventually spoil as our kitchens are not sterile laboratories, so in the event you notice any change in colour, scent, or texture, chuck it out and make a fresh batch.
Substitutions
As always, be aware that making substitutions will change the final product. While these swaps won’t break the recipe, you will get a different final product than I did.
- As I’ve provided this recipe in percentages as well as grams you can easily calculate it to any size using a simple spreadsheet as I’ve explained in this post. As written in grams this recipe will make 20g.
- To learn more about the ingredients used in this recipe, including why they’re included and what you can substitute them with, please visit the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia. It doesn’t have everything in it yet, but there’s lots of good information there! If I have not given a specific substitution suggestion in this list please look up the ingredient in the encyclopedia before asking.
- Do not substitute the Aristoflex AVC.
- Aristoflex AVC is very sensitive to electrolytes; do not add anything to this formula that contains electrolytes.
- You can use a different hydrosol (or more water) in place of the rose hydrosol; just keep in mind this will impact the scent of the finished product.
- You can replace the dimethicone 350 with a natural silicone alternative like LuxGlide 350, or a very slippy oil. A non-silicone alternative will likely make the end product more sticky.
- You can replace the cyclomethicone with cyclopentasiloxane, a natural volatile silicone alternative like LuxGlide N5, or a very lightweight oil or ester (C12-15 alkyl benzoate, isopropyl myristate (IPM), Neossance® Hemisqualane, and squalane would all be good choices).
- Do not substitute the ceramide complex! This is our key ingredient.
- Vegetable glycerin would work in place of propanediol.
- If you’re like to use a different preservative, please review this page.
Thank you for posting this lovely formula!! I’ve been following all your videos and blogs for a while, and this gel came out right in time as I just purchased some ceramide complex. I have very dried skin, wondering if there’s a way to incorporate more hydrating ingredients to help better retain moisture?
For moisture retention, I’d recommend following up with something a bit heavier/more occlusive, like an oil serum or a facial lotion 🙂 This will add a good amount of moisture, so your next step is to lock it in so it doesn’t easily evaporate away.
Love this formula, I have been looking for something like this for a long time. Thanks for creating and sharing! Question though on the Aristoflex AVC. I done my research( limited ) and wondering your thoughts on it’s safety especially when it says it combustible.
Hey Erin! I don’t have any concerns about the safety of Aristoflex AVC when it is used as instructed by the manufacturer. The argan oil in this formula would also be combustible if heated enough 🙂 Cosmetics Info is a good resource for learning more! I’ve also written this FAQ 🙂 Happy making!
Could the Ceramides work mixing them into your Soothing HA facial serum formula?
Yup!
Hey Marie,
I’m team anti-cones in my skincare as it makes me break out if it’s on my skin too often, so I’m wondering if adding some coconut oil would do, especially if I plan to apply this at night.
Thanks!
-Nichole
It likely will, and in the evening I find a bit of tack bothers me a lot less. The silicones are really just in there for mega-slip, which you may not be too fussed about 🙂 Happy making!
Hey, Marie:
Thanks for a fantastic-sounding formula! Tell me something: I’m very fond of things I can spray on my face during the day to get/keep it moist and juicy. If I wanted to make this a spray, would lessening the amount of the Ariatoflex (which’d make it less gel-like) mean the product doesn’t emulsified (or emulsified enough)?
Thanks mucho for any pointers!
Binky, with the soon-to-be rose-scented face
Hey Binky! If you’re looking for a misty/spray-y type thing I’d probably experiment with dropping the Aristoflex and the silicones, and making a simple ceramide/hydrosol/water/humectant blend. The SDS for the ceramide complex states it is miscible in water, so if you don’t include the silicones you should be fine without the emulsifying element of the Aristoflex. I find even relatively low-viscosity products tend to jet-stream out of misters rather than mist, so I suspect you’d be much happier with the spray-at-your-face application method with the lowest viscosity version of this possible, ha. Happy making!
Hey, Marie:
Aha! This is why talking things through can help you to see past something that’s in your way. I’d not been crazy about the idea of the silicones (while I love them, I love them more at night, when I don’t mind if my face is shiny ☺️). This sounds like a *much* better solution than merely lowering the amount of Aristoflex. Thanks a million; I’m gonna get busy! It’s that time of year when I’m gonna be feeling parched from air conditioning, and will need the moisture.
I appreciate your help!
Binky
I hope you and your face love whatever you end up creating 🙂 Happy making!
Hi Marie – I was wondering why you say not to substitute the Aristoflex? I have HEC and Olivem 300 and CCT. Would those combinations work? Thanks.
Aristoflex both gels the product and emulsifies the silicones; hydroxyethylcellulose won’t do that. You could try using the Olivem300 instead of the silicones as it will self-distribute without an additional emulsifier but at that point, you are definitely in formula re-development territory.
It is so interesting to read about your experiments with gelling agents. I just recieved some HEC and emulsigel eco to play with. Can’t wait to try some of these formulas! I’ve also purchased some olivem300, sodium lactate, silk and allantoin (thanks to you) and my dehydrated and irritated skin totally loves them all, esspecially in toners! Must have ingredients in soothing cosmetics. Just to let you know. Many thanks.
Oooh, how fun! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on hydroxyethylcellulose—I’ve got another formula using it coming out later this summer. And I’m stoked to hear that you and your skin are loving some of my favourite ingredients! Silk is an oldie-but-goodie for me—one of the first things I ever purchased and I still love it to bits 😀
Hi, yes I like silk too and was thinking of sneaking in a bit here too, along with allantoin and maybe even a touch of Polyquat as I like conditioners on my skin- but doesn’t silk proteins mess with Aristoflex? Thoughts? Thanks for great recipes and inspirations!
Silk will definitely snot-ify the Aristoflex. I tried it years ago to be sure and womp-womp 🙁 I haven’t tried quats yet, though given polyquat 7 is “is the copolymer of acrylamide and the quaternary ammonium salt diallyldimethylammonium chloride” I’m not terribly confident. Anything with the word “salt” makes me a bit suspicious if we’re on electrolyte watch. Happy making!
Btw, French Aroma-Zone sells their ceramide liquid (contains only 10-25 % sunflower derived ceramides), price is very low and usage rate 1-5 %. Could this be effective? I’m a quite suspicious considering these facts. https://www.aroma-zone.com/info/fiche-technique/actif-cosmetique-ceramides-vegetales-aroma-zone
To be honest, I’m really not sure. I do have this product but haven’t experimented with it yet. The price is definitely much lower than the other ceramide complex, and I’d agree that the large price difference does make me wonder. If it’s easy for you to get it might be worth a try since it is so inexpensive 🙂
Thank you, Marie. It might be worth trying. I feel lucky to find all these ingredients in Europe as Aromantic and Soap Kitchen sells them. I’ll keep you updated. HEC has nice skinfeel, I ended up liking it more than I expected in a simple face gel. PS. I’ve got some gentle clarifying/purifying toner recipes you might be intrested in. I’ve used them together with your more soothing/hydrating toners and serums to keep my combination skin balanced.
Hello Johanna…. I don’t mean to sound rude or blunt here, but the recipe for your toner? I am seriously keen on it!!!!!!!
Yes, that is correct. I have developed recipes for two different toners. They are very basic, though…I’ll send you an email about it, okay?
Hi Johanna!
Sounds good! I’m looking forward to seeing them!
If I am to add the Ceramide complex to a body cream, do I still need silicones? Or I shouldn’t worry about the tackiness you mentioned. Thanks a lot and just want to say I learn so much from you.
You shouldn’t—the tackiness comes from the super light gel nature of this product, not the ceramides 🙂 Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
I’ve made this twice now – once with silicones and once without (neither time using cyclomethicone as I don’t have it…yet). You were not kidding when you say it reduces the tack! I added 5% Niacinamide and 2% Sea Buckthorn Seed Oil to blend it a little with the Liquid Gold recipe. Thanks for an awesome recipe that’s actually very versatile! I have been using it for a little while now and my skin loves it – will probably be making a version of this for the foreseeable future!
This sounds absolutely stunning, Jillian! Thank you so much for sharing and for DIYing with me 😀
This looks like exactly what my skin needs! I’ll be making it because I’m dying to try this recipe on my skin. I’m just wondering about conservation. I bought rose hydrosol and it says to keep it in the fridge. Does this mean I should keep this moisturizer in the fridge or once everything is emulsified, it would be stable at room temperature?
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe and I’m really looking forward to try it out. I had a bag of Aristoflex that I bought on in impulse and I had no idea what to do with it!
Once the product is made and properly preserved it can be stored at room temperature 🙂 Happy making!
thank you for sharing this recipe. Is it possible to replace rose with aloe? if yes, what kind of aloe can I use? Thank you!!!
Hey! Aristoflex AVC is very sensitive to electrolytes; do not add anything to this formula that contains electrolytes—that includes aloe 🙂
ohhh– I haven’t visited here in a while, but I’ve been missing some REALLY good stuff? Rose + Gel moisturizer + Ceramides? YES pls. I’ve just loved your site for so long, I can’t believe I went so long as to miss this post!!
You use very similar ingredients to what I prefer to formulate with– mostly natural and ‘clean’, but also just effective and necessary ones when need be, instead of looking for “only all natural” subs for everything (even preservatives like other blogs I see– like eww? omg lmao)
Your blog has just given me awesome guideposts to learn from as I’ve figured out creating my own formulas for skincare, and I am so grateful to you!!
(PS: I see you also share my affinity for seigaiha patterns and washi tape– and especially seigaiha washi tape? It makes such a cute accent on these containers!!)
please never stop sharing your greatness!! love,
Niko
24yo || California, USA
Welcome back! 😀 My philosophy has definitely changed quite a lot in the past couple years, thanks in part to influences from reddit’s SkincareAddicition community, my Formula Botanica coursework, and lots more research and testing. I’ve really found those not-only-natural things work brilliantly for my skin, though I still love harmonizing them with beautiful botanicals 😀
Can one ever have enough washi tape?! LOL.
Hello, can I include a bit of the 1% HA stock I made recently? Or will that mess with the Aristoflex? I don’t have the silicones so I was thinking I’d use squalane oil
Yup, definitely! I’d replace 20% of the water with 20% of your 1% hyaluronic acid stock 🙂 happy making!
Thank you so much!!!
Hello Marie! Thank you a billion times for this recipe – this is exactly what I was looking for and it feels fantastic on my skin! I’m so happy with how it came out and how it feels on the skin. This time I followed the recipe exactly but I want to experiment now and add some other things to enrich it and add other properties and customize for various purposes. I am wondering if I could replace hydrosol with witch hazel, I am also wondering if I could add VItamin E or Panthenol to it and if yes which amounts would you suggest?
Hey Irina! I’m thrilled you’re loving this formulation 🙂 I recommend giving this FAQ a read. You can find the recommended usage rates in the Humblebee & Me DIY Encyclopedia (https://www.humblebeeandme.com/diy-encyclopedia/), and make sure to avoid anything with electrolytes. Happy making!
i made this a few weeks ago and my skin responds very well to it, i have dry skin and a few weeks of using this has made my skin look like glass, its is super hydrated and the texture looks like a polished surface. im now in love with ceramides, aristoflex, urea, sepimax, cranberry oil and HA….. and maybe allantoin too…
I think this is my favourite of all the love poems I’ve read 😀 Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂 (Pssst… I think you’ll like a project I’ve got coming out in a couple weeks!)
For anyone wondering, I used SepiMAX ZEN polymer as the gelling agent in place of Aristoflex AVC and it works just fine 🙂
Thank you so much, Gabrielle!
I know… we are not supposed to replace aristoflex.. but, what if I use xanthan gum ? Who tried? Thanks!
Hi Marie,
Wishing you in the best of health! Can I make this recipe without the gelling agent? As in it will be in liquid form.
Hope to hear from you soon and keep up the good work!!! I love your recipes
The gelling agent is also our emulsifier, so no—not without re-formulating, at least. Happy making!
Hi Marie, thank you for sharing this recipe. Is it possible to replace ceramide complex to peptides argireline ? or something similiar . Cos i m from malaysia and no easy to find ceramide complex here, but i like this kind of gel type recipe . Thank you!
You can definitely try it, but you’d be very firmly in re-development territory 🙂 Happy making!
Hi Marie,
Thank you for such a great formulation. I got all the ingredients and can’t wait to try it. However I hope you don’t mind to share where you got that cute and so much needed tiny blender?. I need one for sure. I will appreciate your reply.
Warm Regards,
Karla
I hope you like it 🙂 This is the mixer!
After trying your Winter Solstice Facial Gel Cream in January, and being sadly disappointed with the pilling that occurred (due to the Aristoflex AVC not playing nice with other layers of product containing electrolytes), I tried this simpler Ceramide facial Gel using Sepimax Zen rather than the Aristoflex, and my high hopes were happily rewarded with SUCCESSS! Nice gel moisture that I can enjoy–pill-free!!! I’ll look forward to re-making the lux Winter Solstice Facial Gel Cream again with the different gelling agent! Oh and by the way, Sepimax Zen worked great with your gel eye primer recipe in your book, too!
YAY! That’s some awesome troubleshooting—thank you so much for sharing ❤️
Hi ya
I am wanting to add ceremide into a body oil. Will it dissolve in the oil or only is water based serums & lotions?
Thank you
It is water-soluble and will not dissolve in oil.
When I tried this recipe for the first time, I felt pretty “meh” about it. I wound up deciding it probably wasn’t something I needed. My skin barrier was in good shape and I was getting hydration from other aqueous formulas. I needed more of the actives that I knew worked for my skin. So I stopped using this gel. Well… Then I decided to try over-the-counter chemical peels. According to Cassandra Bankson (a medical esthetician who gives out a lot of free advice on YouTube), you should follow a chemical peel with a very very simple moisturizer. No niacinamide, no retinol, etc. The only thing I had that was safe was this simple gel, and what could be better after literally peeling off part of my stratum corneum than some barrier repair? Now it’s part of my weekly routine. Peel, colloidal oatmeal mask to soothe irritation, ceramide gel, and a bit of oil on top to lock water in. Perfect.