If the skin around your eyes is starting to look dry, crepey, or with more fine lines than it used to, you do not necessarily need an expensive eye cream to make it look better.
Sometimes, the simplest fix is a rich, gentle eye serum that helps soften the area, lock in moisture, and make fine lines look less obvious.
In this post, I’ll show you the homemade eye serum I use, who it is best for, what it can realistically help with, and what it will not do.
If your main problem is dark circles or puffiness, lifestyle habits and targeted ingredients often matter more than a DIY oil blend.
Page Contents
Why Should I Make My Own Anti-Wrinkle Eye Serum?
A simple homemade eye serum can make sense if:
- You want a richer, simpler formula for dry under-eyes
- You prefer knowing exactly what you are putting around the eye area
- You want something low-cost for nighttime moisture
- You like DIY skincare, and your skin tolerates facial oils well
This kind of serum is mainly about comfort, softness, and moisture.
👉 If you like simple DIY anti-aging ingredients, you should also see how I use aloe vera for wrinkles and sagging skin.
What This Homemade Eye Serum Can Actually Help With
This serum is best for:
- Dry under-eyes
- Crepey-looking skin
- Fine lines that look worse when the area is dehydrated
- A rough or tired-looking eye area
It is less helpful for:
- Genetically dark under-eyes
- puffiness from fluid retention
- Deeper crow’s feet
- Very sensitive eyes that react easily to oils
👉 If your main goal is deeper wrinkle care rather than simple moisture, you may also want to look at my favorite red light therapy options for aging skin.
The 2-in-1 Anti-Aging Eye Serum Recipe
This Eye serum (that works!) is good enough to fade both crow’s feet and dark circles (hence the 2 in 1 title…) and takes less than 2 minutes to prepare.
What You’ll Need:
1 oz. Sweet Almond Oil – lightweight base oil for softness and slip
3 Tsp. Vitamin E Oil – antioxidant-rich and helps make the blend feel more protective
3 Tsp. Castor Oil – a thicker oil that helps the blend cling to the skin
1 Tsp. Rosehip Seed Oil – has some emerging evidence for improving skin quality over time
1 Evening Primrose Oil Capsule – for fatty acids and richness
Mix the ingredients and store them in a dark glass bottle. Apply every night before going to bed.
You will love this eye serum.
👉 Castor oil is one of my favorite rich oils for dry skin and hair, so if you want more ideas, here’s how I use castor oil in my beauty routine.
Simpler Version for Beginners
Start with this simpler version if you want the fewest ingredients and the lowest chance of irritating the eye area.
Mix 1 oz. Sweet Almond Oil with 3 Tbsp Castor Oil, 3 tsp Vitamin E Oil, and one Evening Primrose Capsule.
And… you’re done.
Store it in a dark glass bottle and apply it every night.
Before You Use Any DIY Eye Serum
The skin around the eyes is delicate, so patch-test first and apply only a tiny amount.
Important:
- Do not get the serum into your eyes
- Stop if you notice stinging, redness, swelling, or watering
- Avoid essential oils if your eye area is reactive
- Skip rich oils if you are prone to milia or eyelid irritation
Oils can often be used around the eyes carefully, but they should not be rubbed into the eyes themselves, and sensitive women need to be more cautious.
Bonus Tip
If you enjoy using a warm or gentle eye-area massager, it can make the routine feel more relaxing and may help reduce the tired, puffy look some people get around the eyes in the evening.
I use this low-cost anti-wrinkle heated eye massager to help my serum penetrate better and deeper into my skin.
👉 See my homemade organic mascara recipe
Eye Serum FAQ
Can a Homemade Eye Serum Really Reduce Wrinkles?
A homemade eye serum can help the under-eye area feel softer and more hydrated, which may make fine lines look less obvious. It is less likely to make a dramatic difference in deeper wrinkles than ingredients like retinoids or peptides.
What is the Best Homemade Eye Serum for Dry Under-Eyes?
A simple blend based on gentle oils like sweet almond oil, rosehip oil, or vitamin E can work well if your main issue is dryness and crepey-looking skin.
What Helps Dark Circles More Than Eye Serum?
Depending on the cause, better sleep, sunscreen, cold compresses, head elevation, and targeted ingredients like caffeine or vitamin C may help more.
Is It Safe to Put Oils Around the Eyes?
Sometimes yes, but only carefully. Patch-test first, use a very small amount, and avoid getting the product into your eyes.
To your health and happiness
Meital
P.S
Update: I’m thrilled to find yet another excellent anti-wrinkle solution for the eye area… Go here to find out what it is!
It’s an oz.
Is it a fl oz of sweet almond oil or an oz?
yes, you can leave the Carrot seed oil out, but it’s not true about Castor oil clogging pores. It’s actually a well-known remedy for acne and many other skin issues. You can see my post about Castor Oil on Face
The pill goes in the mixture.
Just a question, I make the serum and use at night and then take the pill? Or do I cut open the.pill and put it into mixture?
Wonderful recipe. Any chance we can leave out the carrot seed oil (I am very sensitive to essential oils ) and replace the castor oil with a different oil? From reading the comments about castor oil, it seems that it clogs pores, and you’ll end up with lots of acne (not something I’m looking forward to)
Also, can we add some liquid co-q10 and bisabolol drops?
Thank you.
having recently spent over £40 on an eye serum only to find out it has PEG in it I have high hopes for this serum. buying all the ingredients was cheaper than the wee jar of the nasty stuff. Am trying to go as toxin-free as poss with menopause fast approaching. lol
Hi,
I already made a homemade face mask and lip scrub and now I’ll be making this anti-wrinkle eye serum. This is an addition to my DIY beauty secrets to having healthy and glowing skin. Thank you for sharing this post. Will be making this by next week.
Jennie,
I recommend that you make this anti-aging serum.
Freckles (if they bother you…I think they are beautiful) – you can brighten with lemon and baking soda. But don’t go out to the sun after you apply it.
I would also start with red light therapy as a preventative, for me, it works great. You can read about it here: https://www.infrared-light-therapy.com/red-light-therapy-skin-benefits/
The last thing – don’t worry about it. The less stressed you are, the younger your skin looks..that’s just my personal experience 🙂
Just turned 35 and starting to see a few lines coming through (mostly in my forehead) and would like to start to use an anti-wrinkle cream. I guess all my early years of sun-worshipping and not moisturizing is coming to smack me in the ass 🙁
I have a fair complexion with plenty of freckles.
Any advice at all would be great as there is so much out there not sure which way to go
I would say about a month or so.
It’s so interesting to read the recipe. I will try for sure. What is the shelf life of this serum?
Crystal,
Adding aloe would be awesome, can’t hurt, right? I would add 1 tbsp.
If I add aloe vera gel to the serum, would this be ok? Or is it not necessary to add it because the other Oils would do the exact same thing as the aloe vera gel?
If I can add aloe vera gel, how much would you recommend?
Lori,
The castor oil should make this much less runny. When I do it the consistency is fine. But, this is not critical. You can play with and reduce the amount of almond oil, it won’t hurt the balance, since the almond oil is mostly functioning as a carrier oil, not the main active ingredient.
I made this, sort of; I’m waiting for the rosehip seed oil & carrot seed oil to arrive from Amazon. I went ahead and used it without those ingredients. The consistency is thin, kind of runny. I’m wondering if there’s too much almond oil. There is so much more of it than the other oils. 1 oz is approx 6 times more than 1 tsp, a big difference. Is it really supposed to be a whole ounce of almond oil? If the oil ratios were more balanced, it would thicken up and be easier to use, but would the ingredient balance then be counter-productive?
Twice a day Erika:)
How many times a day do you apply the serum?
Thank you!
I would say about 6 capsules.
I have vitamin E capsule 400 IU. With how much capsules I can substitute 3tsp vit e oil??
Yes, you can use Argan oil, no problem.
Could I use Argan Oil in place of the Sweet Almond or is that an important component?
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe for your Anti-aging Eye Serum. Like you mentioned in your post, the skin under & around our eye area is extremely delicate. We need to be extremely careful how we apply our serums, creams & lotions in that area. The way I was taught by my aunt when I was about 18 yrs old was to use our ring finger and gently dab (not rub) our beauty product around the eye area. Using our ring finger because it has the least amount of strength… the weakest of all the fingers, which will prevent us from being able to apply too much pressure around such a delicate area. One of the great things about having the internet…. you can just Google it!
Thanks again!
Dottie H.
Yes, it’s safe. It may promote longer and stronger eye lashes.
Good luck!
Just a warning about the rosehip oil: I never break out on my cheeks and using rosehip oil once gave me a huge cystic pimple right under my eye. It’s highly comedogenic.
Jessica,
The Castor Oil is the major moisturizer in this recipe, I wouldn’t make it without it. It’s a great wrinkle-preventor…I apply it to my face every night in fact, and it’s wonderful.
I hope this helps:)
Just wondering if this works as well without the castor oil and if you could tell me what function the castor oil has in this eye serum recipe?
Tsp. stands for teaspoon… 🙂
Hi. Can you please tell me if the castor oil and vitiman e oil are tablespoons or teaspoons? Thanks
Anna,
I just order all of these from Amazon (prices are good and free shipping) – The links are in the post, but you can probably find them at Trader Joe’s as well.
Let me know how it works for you, o.k?:)
Hi Meital, thank you for sharing this great recipe! I was looking into a eye cream to buy and then thought that maybe it would be best to make one out of natural products and luckily ran into your link.
Where would I find all the oils? Would you know if trader joes would be a good place to start looking?
Ashwini,
To my knowledge, the best home remedy for dark under-eye circles is cold pressed Castor Oil.
I hope this helps and let me know how it has worked out for you…:)
How to make serum to vanish dark circles. Thank u
Alina,
Yes, you can.:)
Hello, can you please tell me If i can use olive oil whith the almond? I meen half tsp almond and half olive?
Thx
Hi James,
Yes, this works for men too!
Hi, Will these recipes work for men too, or need different ingredients? Thx
Hey Marle:)
I know…isn’t it fabulous? I’m so glad it works for you too!:)
I made this serum today and applied it to my eyes. Within 15 minutes the wrinkles had disappeared! I’m not exaggerating. THIS IS WONDERFUL STUFF! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I recommend this to everyone. One little change I made, I didn’t have the Evening Primrose oil but did have Pomegranate Oil. So I substituted that.
Much appreciation,
Marly
Hi Laura:)
Yup, I agree…neck line is very important as well and I admit, it’s another place I look at too…:)
Thanks for sharing the recipe and book! I like how you called it a strange hobby…on checking out the lines around the eyes..I look at the neck (and decollete/neckline if showing) those areas really show a woman’s age. Some women have taken amazing care of their face & eyes but the neckline shows way more age…so don’t forget to keep that area moisturized too 🙂
Hi Elly:)
You are quite right, usually the clear kind of Castor oil is “purified” so people would be able to digest it (ususally works great for constipation…), but the link that I’m sending to is actually for the Black Jamaican Castor Oil, which is natural.
Thanks for visiting:)
Meital
Thanks for sharing. Think I will leave out the castor oil (not a natural oil) and stick to the natural ones.