Evaluation of Your DIY Gel Formulation

Thank you for sharing your proposed formulation! It's great that you're exploring DIY skincare to meet your specific needs for moisture, brightening, and slight firming, while keeping your routine simple. Based on your skin type (normal, 33, slightly oily T-zone, not sensitive) and goals, your chosen ingredients and concentrations are generally well-selected and align with your objectives.

Let's look at the ingredients you've included:

• Alpha Arbutin (2%): This is an excellent choice for brightening and addressing uneven skin tone. 2% is a standard and effective concentration for this ingredient.
• Panthenol (Vitamin B5) (5%): A fantastic humectant and skin conditioner. 5% provides significant hydration and helps support the skin barrier, which is beneficial for all skin types, including normal skin that gets slightly oily. It also pairs well with DMAE.
• Bio-Yeast Essence (1%): Ingredients derived from yeast fermentation, like MYFerment™ Balance or Yeast Radiance™, are known for their hydrating, soothing, and potentially brightening properties. 1% is a reasonable starting concentration.
• Allantoin (0.2-0.5%): A classic soothing and anti-irritant ingredient. Including this helps calm the skin and reduce potential irritation from other active ingredients in the formula. The concentration range you chose is appropriate.
• Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) (5%): This is a powerhouse ingredient at 5%. It contributes to brightening (complementing Alpha Arbutin), strengthens the skin barrier (enhancing moisture), helps regulate oil production (beneficial for your slightly oily T-zone), has anti-inflammatory properties, and offers anti-aging benefits. It also has a positive effect on the appearance of pores over time.
• DMAE (4%): Known for providing a temporary skin-firming and tightening effect. 4% is within the commonly used range, though some find higher concentrations irritating. Since your skin isn't sensitive, this concentration is likely acceptable, but always patch test.
• Snail Secretion (4%): This ingredient, such as Snail Secretion Filtrate, is rich in beneficial compounds like Allantoin, collagen, elastin, and glycolic acid. It aids in hydration, skin repair, soothing, and gentle exfoliation. 4% is a good concentration to reap its benefits.
• Phenoxyethanol: Essential as a preservative to keep your DIY formulation safe from microbial growth. The typical usage rate is 0.5-1%.

Overall Suitability:

Your formula is well-rounded, targeting hydration, brightening, and firming effectively with proven ingredients at suitable concentrations. The combination of Panthenol, Allantoin, Bio-Yeast Essence, and Snail Secretion provides ample hydration and soothing properties, balancing the more active ingredients like Alpha Arbutin, Niacinamide, and DMAE. This aligns well with your goal of a multi-benefit daytime product that simplifies your routine.

Addressing Clogged Pores and Adding Salicylic Acid:

You mentioned wanting to address clogged pores on your nose. While Niacinamide at 5% can help improve pore appearance over time, Salicylic Acid (BHA) is specifically effective for this concern because it's oil-soluble and can penetrate pores to exfoliate from within.

Adding Salicylic Acid (BHA) to your current gel base might be possible, but it depends on the specific type of Salicylic Acid and the compatibility with your Aloe Vera gel base. Standard Salicylic Acid powder is not water-soluble and requires specific solvents. Water-soluble forms like Complex Salicylic Acid (Powder, Water-Soluble) or Liquid Salicylic Acid (40% Active Salicylic) are easier to incorporate into water-based formulas like gels.

If you decide to add Salicylic Acid, start with a low concentration (e.g., 0.5-1% active Salicylic Acid). Be mindful of the pH requirements for Salicylic Acid to be effective (typically pH 3-4). Adjusting the pH of your final gel might be necessary, which can be tricky in DIY formulations and could affect the stability or efficacy of other ingredients.

Alternatively, and perhaps simpler for a beginner, you could use a separate product containing Salicylic Acid specifically on your nose area, perhaps a spot treatment or a serum applied at night or a few times a week, rather than incorporating it into your main daytime gel.

Using Vitamin C Serum at Night:

Using a Vitamin C serum (like L-Ascorbic Acid) at night is an excellent complement to your daytime gel. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that helps protect against environmental damage, brightens skin, fades dark spots, and supports collagen production. This combination provides comprehensive care: your daytime gel focuses on hydration, barrier support, brightening, and firming, while the nighttime Vitamin C serum adds antioxidant protection and further brightening/anti-aging benefits. This routine sounds sufficient for your needs.

In summary, your proposed formula is solid and addresses your main goals. Consider adding Salicylic Acid as a separate spot treatment for your nose if needed, rather than complicating your main gel formulation. Your plan to pair it with a Vitamin C serum at night is also very suitable.

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