It’s been several years since I first shared my recipe for a homemade glycerin and water moisturizing spray. It’s a super simple mixture but it’s an option I think many people don’t realize is available to them. It can give your skin a different kind of moisturizing than the store bought lotions and it’s a great option to have around especially during the long cold winter months than can be so drying on our skin. It’s also a nice way to make a homemade moisturizer that’s not oily or greasy.
So once again this winter I’m mixing up a batch of this glycerin moisturizer that I’ve really come to love, but wanted to give it a slightly different twist. This year I’m adding some rosewater to the mixture too.
Can you use Glycerin as a moisturizer?
The first thing you may be wondering is if you can really use glycerin as a moisturizer. The answer is yes, and it makes a very good one! That’s because glycerin is a “humectant” meaning it can attract and draw water which is good news for dry skin. However glycerin is a somewhat sticky substance so the trick I use is to dilute it with distilled water in a 4:1 ratio (4 parts water to 1 part glycerin). This also puts it into a form that can be misted on your skin for hydration.
And if you are wondering “what can I mix with glycerin for my face?”, this dilution method is a great option too! By diluting the sticky glycerin with some distilled water it makes a perfect mist for hydrating faces.
Now, what about adding some rosewater?
What is Rosewater good for?
My first thought with adding some rosewater is that I simply wanted some fragrance. However after a little research I learned that rosewater has anti-inflammatory properties as well as being a good toner and cleanser for the skin that can help clean clogged pores. This is more good news for our faces and our skin in general!
Once I bought some rosewater (I bought the 4 oz Heritage Store Rosewater brand), I also learned that the fragrance is quite subtle, which I liked. I’m not one who likes heavy perfumes or smells so this also made rosewater a good fit for me. (Eventually I’m hoping to learn how to make my own rosewater!)
One more item to note is that you may think from looking at the bottles of rosewater that you are buying a pink liquid. Nope. My experience was that just the bottle is pink and the liquid inside is clear.
How to Make a Glycerin and Rosewater Moisturizer
As already mentioned above, the strategy for making a glycerin moisturizer is to dilute the glycerin with some distilled water in a 4:1 ratio. It’s important to use distilled water (rather than tap water) to keep bacteria from growing in your mixture as it sits. Distilled water is an easy and cheap product you can find in almost all grocery stores, usually sold in gallon size jugs. To make a rosewater version, I simply subbed in rosewater for half of the distilled water. Here are the measurements I used:
- 1/4 cup Distilled Water
- 1/4 cup Rosewater
- 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Glycerin
- Mist Bottle (I used this 8 oz glass bottle)
To make the spray: Pour the distilled water and the rosewater into your mist bottle. Then add the glycerin and gently swirl to mix the contents. (You may find a funnel helpful for getting your ingredients into your bottle).
To use: Mist the mixture onto your skin and then gently rub into your skin until absorbed.
A Few More Notes:
~ ~ I find the 4:1 ratio to be a good mix of the liquid and glycerin. However if you find the mixture still too sticky, simply dilute it with a bit more distilled water – OR – if you want more moisturizing, add a bit more glycerin. When you make your own you can customize it as needed!
~ ~ Also, if you don’t want to add the rosewater, simply do 1/2 cup distilled water + 2 tablespoons of glycerin. ( I often make a larger batch too using 1 cup liquid + 1/4 cup glycerin).
~ ~ I much prefer mist bottles for this mixture as opposed to spray bottles. The mist bottles provide a gentler, friendlier way to apply this to your skin as opposed to a blast from a spray bottle. Mist bottles are not always easy to find in the stores though, and like me, you may have to order what you want online. Another place to look for mist bottles is at beauty supply stores. Also if using a glass bottle, use care as your hands will become a little wet after rubbing the mixture onto your skin and you don’t want the glass bottle to slip out of your hands.
I hope you enjoy this quick, easy, and natural approach to keeping dry skin hydrated. It’s been a great homemade solution for me, and I think you’ll enjoy it too!
DIY Natural Rosewater Glycerin Moisturizing Spray
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup Distilled Water
- 1/4 cup Rosewater
- 2 Tbl Vegetable Glycerin
- Empty Mist (or spray) Bottle (at least 6 oz size)
Instructions:
- Pour the distilled water and the rosewater into your mist bottle.
- Add the glycerin and slowly swirl to mix the contents
- To use: Mist the mixture onto your skin and then gently rub into your skin until absorbed.
Notes:
Related Reading:
Hi, found your site while googling skin moisturizers with glycerine, made the one you are using a month ago and..wow, really really good. Does great on my aging spots also, and the crinkly skin on my arms is looking so much better, now misting post shower for that lovely all over feeling of wellbeing.
Thank you for sharing,
Chris
Hi I’m trying to make a natural toner for my customers and I was wondering do we have to put a preservative in the toner
I always use distilled water in my mixtures and they stay fine for the several months it takes me to use them up. So if you use distilled water, I don’t think you would need to add a preservative.
Hello.
I just want to know if I can add pure GLYCERINE to my body lotion. It’s not moisturizing at all . It also has sunscreen inside.
Will adding the glycerine affect anything in the lotion?
I also want to know if I can use glycerine and rosewater as my moisturizer daily going out with it. Can I apply sunscreen after using the mixture or I should add sunscreen to the mixture.
Hmmm, I’ve never tried to add glycerin to a ready-made lotion but perhaps that would work. I think though that you could all the benefits of glycerin by just mixing it with distilled water and have a more natural mixture too. If you also want to use sunscreen, I would use your rosewater/glycerin spray first and rub it into your skin, and then finish up with a later of sunscreen.
Great recipe, if we added a hyaluronic acid to this mix would it work too?
I’m not familiar with the consistency of hyaluronic acid, but I think you could add it to this mixture if it is not so thick that it would make the mixture hard to spray.
What if I don’t want to add the distilled water and just want to use the Rosewater? Is that ok? Or is it a MUST to add the distilled water?
I think you could use all Rosewater if you wished. My preference is to dilute the rosewater, but I don’t think you necessarily have to.
Thanks Beverly for your great recipe.
Do we still need a preservative?
No preservative is needed. The distilled water keeps the mixture good, and it’s always stayed fine for me during the several months it takes me to use it up.
What if i add some dried flowers/flower powders to the mixture? Will i need a preservative?
Hmm, I’m not sure if that would work. Because this is a liquid mixture, I tend to think that any ingredient should be in a liquid form.
Thanks for the recipe. How long will this mixture last, approximately?
It usually takes me about 6 months to use up a batch and it does not go bad in any way during that time. I think it would actually last and stay good for many months beyond this too because of the distilled water in the mixture.
I add Rose Water to my Witch Hazel for a toner (they sell EXPENSIVE toners identical to this). For my Rose Water I go to a local grocery that sells foods from all over the world. I find it in the Middle Eastern section of the store. A bottle that’s probably 16 oz is a mere $1.75
Yes, adding rosewater to witch hazel is also an option, especially if you want to make a homemade toner for your face. And lucky for you that you can find rosewater for only $1.75 in your local store. That’s a great deal!
The rose water sold in grocery stores is rose water flavor which is an artificial flavor not actually rose water. It is mainly used in cooking. It is best to buy pure rose water for use on the skin.