Making Natural Serum: Can I use homemade yogurt?

Hello! Thank you for your interest in making your own natural serum.

I understand you have homemade natural yogurt and would like to use it as an ingredient in a serum. It's a great thought to utilize natural ingredients from home.

However, using homemade fresh yogurt directly as a primary ingredient in a skincare product like a serum is strongly not recommended due to:

1. Instability and Shelf Life: Fresh yogurt is highly perishable and lacks sufficient preservation for use in cosmetics that need to be stored and used over time.
2. Risk of Microbial Contamination: Even with careful preparation, homemade yogurt can still contain bacteria or fungi that are not skin-friendly, potentially causing irritation or infection.
3. Difficulty in Formulation and Stability: It is challenging to mix yogurt with other ingredients to achieve a stable serum texture that absorbs well into the skin in a home setting.

Instead of using fresh yogurt directly, I recommend considering stable, safe, cosmetic-grade ingredients that offer similar benefits. For example:

• Humectants: Such as Hyaluronic Acid (HA) or Glycerin, which help draw water into the skin for hydration.
• Natural Extracts: Choose plant extracts suitable for your skin type and concerns, such as Green Tea Extract (antioxidant), Centella Asiatica Extract (soothing), or various fruit extracts (vitamins).
• Natural Oils: If you prefer an oil-based serum, choose non-comedogenic oils suitable for facial skin, like Jojoba Oil, Squalane, or Rosehip Oil.
• Yogurt-like Ingredients: There are cosmetic-grade Probiotic Ferments or Postbiotics available that have been processed and stabilized, which can be safely used in serum formulations to benefit the skin's microbiome.

Making your own serum requires knowledge of selecting safe ingredients, calculating appropriate proportions, maintaining a clean environment, and most importantly, using a preservative in the correct amount to prevent microbial growth and extend the product's shelf life.

If you are interested in specific ingredients or would like more information about cosmetic-grade natural ingredients, feel free to ask! We are happy to provide guidance.