DIY Anti-Aging Day Cream for Fine Lines: Daisy's Natural Blend

An oil is wonderful at night, but you cannot wear it to work or put makeup over it. Daisy wanted her anti-aging oil blend to stay on her skin through the day as well. So she built a light cream from the same key ingredients, with extra antioxidants added. She says it vanishes into the skin, works as a makeup base and has kept her forehead lines from showing. That is notable, she says, because she uses her brows a lot as an actor.

Why Daisy made a day cream

Daisy rides often in strong sun, so she wanted a formula that protects the skin barrier and supports collagen. She describes it as firming and antioxidant, and says it helps bring her skin back to its normal complexion. In her words, it is “not just a moisturizer with a nice smell.”

She wears it with foundation and says the finish is smooth. She also says you can apply it on the neck and the backs of the hands, where lines show too.

What each ingredient does, according to Daisy

Castor oil is the base. Daisy says its thick, slow-flowing texture fills in dry cracks and locks in moisture, which plumps lines “like a filler”. She adds that it is rich in ricinoleic acid, and that it carries other ingredients deeper into the skin.

Frankincense resin is the gum of the Boswellia tree. It is not frankincense essential oil, and Daisy says the two are very different. She explains that as we age, the body makes more of an enzyme called matrix metalloproteinase. It breaks down collagen and elastin. She says boswellic acids in the resin slow that enzyme.

Saffron (kesar) brings crocin and crocetin, which Daisy calls powerful antioxidants. Carrot and beetroot juice give a rosy glow. Green tea adds more antioxidants. For turmeric she uses kasturi haldi, or wild turmeric, which stains the skin less than regular haldi. She says regular haldi has more anti-inflammatory compounds, so choose by your own need.

Rosehip oil is what Daisy calls the skincare industry’s natural stand-in for retinoids. She describes it as a vitamin A source that gives a glow and supports collagen and elasticity. Lemon essential oil helps her clear a tan. Aloe gel and rice starch finish the cream, and rice starch also thickens it.

What research says

Research on this exact blend does not exist, but some single ingredients have been studied. In a small, double-blind trial, a cream with 0.5% boswellic acids was applied to half the face of 15 women for 30 days. It improved fine lines, roughness and elasticity compared with the same cream without boswellic acids. This was a purified cream, not powdered resin in oil, and the study did not measure collagen breakdown.

A recent review of castor oil in dermatology says it may help with signs of aging, and it describes one study with an improvement in fine lines around the eyes. It also calls for more clinical trials. A safety assessment found that castor oil can boost the skin absorption of other substances, which supports Daisy’s point about carrying ingredients deeper.

For rosehip, a systematic review says more research is needed to define the best rosehip seed oil for skin use. Evidence for the other ingredients here is mostly traditional or from lab work.

Common questions Daisy answers

Castor oil does not suit everyone, so Daisy suggests choosing a base oil for your skin type. For acne-prone skin she mentions jojoba oil, which has a low comedogenic rating, meaning it is less likely to clog pores. She calls hemp seed oil the best choice and says you can raise the rosehip oil in the same recipe. She offered to make a video on oils for acne if viewers ask for one.

Viewers also asked if castor oil will grow hair on the face. Daisy says it is strong for hair growth on the scalp, but facial hair follows different hormonal signals. If a woman has high androgen levels, as in PCOS, she says the hormones are the cause, not the oil. If you take medicine for PCOS or any hormone problem, keep your doctor in the loop.

Daisy also admits that the castor and rosehip oils she showed were not her usual brands, because she was working to a deadline. The brands she links are the ones she recommends.

How and when to use it

Daisy uses the cream every day. She applies it in the morning before leaving home and again at night. She keeps it in the fridge and says it feels cooling.

She says the oil is still better for sleep. The oil is thicker and more potent, in her words, so she keeps it for night. Use the cream at night only if you dislike oil on your pillow.

When she travels, she skips the cream. She mixes castor oil and frankincense extract into whatever cream she carries.

Daisy’s tips

• Make a small batch first. She prepares double every month, which lasts a little under a month.
• Keep it in the fridge. It has no preservatives, no colour and no fragrance.
• Do not heat the resin on direct flame.
• Patch test every time. If lemon oil irritates you, leave it out.
• Buy castor oil in a dark glass bottle, and note that real rosehip oil is slightly coloured, not clear.

Daisy shows every step in the video above. It takes about 16 minutes.