Are you tired of your eyes looking, well…tired? You’ll find plenty of conventional eye creams that promise more youthful-looking skin. However, this DIY shea butter eye cream delivers the naturally protective benefits of shea butter, without a hefty dose of harmful chemicals on the side.
Skipping harmful ingredients is just one benefit of choosing a homemade eye cream over storebought. Let’s look at some of the drawbacks of conventional undereye creams.
The Problem With Most Eye Creams
Conventional eye creams work by temporarily constricting blood vessels or coating the skin in a film to artificially tone it. This might perk your eyes for the day but not deliver skin-deep results.
In contrast, shea butter penetrates with anti-inflammatory compounds (cinnamic acid), natural vitamins, and deeply moisturizing fatty acids for results over the long term.
Also, unlike other formulas, this eye cream doesn’t contain any water. While water-based creams make your skin feel moisturized at first, they end up drying out the delicate undereye area. A waterless eye cream also has a much longer shelf life (and is easier to make!).
The Benefits of Natural Shea Butter Eye Cream
Studies show shea butter naturally stimulates collagen production to increase skin firmness. This can improve the appearance of wrinkles around the eyes. Even better, it helps reduce inflammation to combat puffiness. You’re also getting a nourishing dose of vitamins A and E for healthier skin.
I also add coconut oil to this shea butter eye cream recipe. Coconut oil is also fabulous for skin since it’s rich in lauric acid and essential fats. Not only does it boost circulation to clear up undereye circles, but it keeps connective tissue strong and supple. This means fewer fine lines and wrinkles.
Finally, we add a few other skin-soothing ingredients:
- The beeswax in this recipe prevents moisture loss that can cause wrinkles.
- Rosehip seed oil is very nourishing for aging skin. Since it’s a dry oil, it helps to reduce the overall greasy feel of this eye cream.
- To finish it off, we’re using geranium essential oil for its ability to help diminish wrinkles and inflammation and clear up dark circles.
DIY pro tip: Also try my DIY under eye cream made with coffee!
Other Anti-Aging Natural Recipes
Warning: Once you see how well they work (and how much money they save!), you might become addicted to making your own natural beauty products! These are some of my favorite easy-to-make recipes and beauty tips:
- Luscious Lashes Eyelash Growth Serum
- Anti-Aging Rosehip Seed Oil Facial Moisturizer (Better Than Botox)
- 5 Types of Facial Massage for Naturally Beautiful Skin
- 8 DIY Face Mask Recipes You Can Make at Home
Shea Butter Eye Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 TBSP shea butter
- 1 TBSP coconut oil
- 1 tsp beeswax pellets
- 1 ½ tsp rosehip oil
- 4 drops geranium essential oil
Instructions
- In a wide-mouth mason jar, combine the shea butter, coconut oil, and beeswax.
- Fill a saucepan halfway with water and place it on the stove.
- Place the mason jar in the pan of water.
- Bring the water to a gentle simmer to melt the ingredients in the mason jar, swirling the jar ever so often to gently mix the ingredients.
- As soon as the ingredients are melted and combined, remove the jar from the water bath.
- Pour the mixture in a small mixing bowl and let it cool for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the rosehip and geranium oils.
- Scoop the mixture into a glass or steel jar and use a tiny amount under the eyebrow and under eye area at night.
Notes
- If you prefer glass, use these 2 oz round jars.
- No beeswax? Substitute with extra shea butter. The result will be softer but still nourishing!
- You can also use this as a natural eye makeup remover.
- As with anything that’s not specifically for the eyeball, do NOT get this into your eye!
Have you ever made an eye cream? What are your favorite ingredients to use? Share below!
Does it matter whether you use raw or refined shea butter? The raw has such a strong smell I’ve had a hard time using it alone, but it might be countered by the heating process and adding the oils 🙂 Just wondering if there are any nutrients lost by the refining process/if that would be different with heating this way.
I have a hard time with the smell of raw shea butter too. It actually makes me gag a little, and I almost returned jar I bought, but I ended up really liking it in recipes. You can definitely still smell it, even after adding essential oils and cooling, but it’s toned down enough to make it pleasant instead of pungent.
Thank you, I will definitely give it a shot!
Do you know if there is anything I can replace the beeswax with?
In this recipe, you can actually omit it or use extra shea butter instead. You’ll have a slightly softer final product but it should still work just as well.
Where do you get your rosehip oil from?
Here: https://www.amazon.com/Radha-Beauty-Rosehip-Oil-moisturizer/dp/B00LNOV8JO/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=wellnessmama-20&linkId=0648d7eceeff158b74097fddc31c203a&language=en_US
Any substitute for rose hip oil?
You could omit or replace with any other liquid oil like jajoba or sea buckthorn or argan oil
I take a plant based omega that has sea buckthorn berry oil along with some other healthy oils (algal, pomegranate, etc). Could I use it as well?
Could you use ylang ylang oil in place of the two oils in thus recipe?
Tamanu oil has healing properties and can be substituted for rosehip oil. It has a strong scent though, so use it sparingly and maybe add some vanilla to counteract.
What would be good substitute options for the geranium EO? (I don’t have that one.)
You could omit or use lavender
I’ve been told no lavender for us estrogen dominant gals, especially those of us having to deal with breast cancer. Your thoughts on this?
You can always omit the lavender but I also don’t worry in small amounts
What essential oil can I sub for Geranium?
You can omit or use lavender
Nice recipe! I normally just use aloe gel, but I’m going to try it! I have everything but the rosehip oil, what would you suggest as a substitute? Thanks
This seems like it would be good for a face or lip cream. Do you agree?
Hey love, depending on your skin type for face, no. The beeswax and Shea Butter together would be to occlusive (heavy) on the skin which would then create congestion (Black Heads/Whiteheads) or even worse, acne. But the lips would be fine in my opinion because most commercial lip balms are beeswax based. ?
Actually, on the comdogenic scale, (0-5), shea butter is a 0 (will not clog pores), beeswax is a 2 (mild possibility it will clog pores).
However, coconut oil is a 4 (likely to clog pores). I’m one of those that can’t use coconut oil, even if it should be amazing.
You can make this without the coconut oil and it’s just fine :).
any suggestions for an alternative to the coconut oil in this recipe?
Hi,
I’m not sure if this is helpful to anyone or will work in the recipe with Shea butter, but I would suggest almond oil or this Jason vitamin e oil that is very good for skin, not pricey and however is quite thick so you may want to change the ratio of oil to Shea butter.
Also, I have read that beeswax is too occlusive for kip products for some people and can dry their skin out – I use a coconut oil based lip balm from Hurrah that I am absolutely obsessed with, as well as castor oil for various parts of the face.
Other alternatives could be avocado oil or maracuja oil (more slip); argan oil (IMO just ok, but might work as a less comedogenic substitute); and the ever popular marula oil (seems differently fragranced depending on the brand: Acure makes an affordable one but it seems thicker/smells like sesame oil to me).
I also find coconut oil extremely comedogenic and only use it in lip balm, hair and the occasional body spray. The area around the eyes doesn’t have the same pores as the rest of the face but almost all eye creams do migrate whereas a lip balm often doesn’t for whatever reason.
I hope people will update if they try anything!
Actually, you shouldn’t ingest rose hip/rose hip seed oil, so putting this on your lips would probably not be a good idea. 🙂
Looks like a great cream for the eye area though – I’m going try this out today. Thanks, Katie!
Sounds amazing! Can’t wait to make and use this! Thanks for posting!
How long will that amount stay good? Thank you. Pat
What is the shelf life of this product? Thanks!!
I would like to know that also?
Hi Katie? Can you use frankincense oil instead of geranium?
I just wanted to point out that at the end you say you can skip the whipping process . . . . but a whipping step was never actually noted 😉 But I plan to make this soon!
Thanks for the catch!
You are simply adorable Wellness Mama ?
It doesn’t say when to add the rose hip oil. I’m assuming it would be added after the mixture is melted through? Or at the time the EO is added?
After it is melted. 🙂