Tools & Equipment for Making DIY Skincare Products at Home

Making your own cannabis skincare products can be a really fun and satisfying experience! But to make sure everything goes off without a hitch and your products come out great, it’s important to have the right tools.

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Essential Measuring Tools

Here is my personal list of must-haves and handy-to-haves.

Digital Scales

Digital scales are an essential tool for making DIY skincare products. These allow me to measure ingredients accurately and ensure that I’m using the right amount of each ingredient. These are essential equipment needed because I weigh everything – whether they are powdered or liquids.

You will see lots of formulations online that call for teaspoons, cups, and a pinch of something else. This is not safe when you formulate using ingredients like essential oils and preservatives. When you make a good product, you want to be able to do it just the same next time. Grams are accurate, and they allow you to know the percentage ratio exactly, every single time.

Choose a digital scale that is highly accurate and can measure small ingredient amounts. They need to weigh from 0.01g upwards. Try to get a set that weighs up to about 500g. More than that and they tend to jump up in price hugely, less than that, and they are really annoying having to measure everything separately.

Use a digital scale with a tare function to reset the scale to zero after adding an ingredient. This makes it easier to measure multiple ingredients without having to use multiple bowls or containers.

The “M” button on many scales means “mode” and allows you to change to ounces, Troy ounces, and so on. They are for jewellers and drug dealers LOL. Always remember to check the settings before you use it to make sure you are weighing in grams and not carats! 

Digital Thermometer

A digital thermometer is another essential tool for making DIY skincare and cannabis products. It allows you to measure the temperature of your ingredients accurately, which is important for ensuring that your products are properly emulsified, and also not damaged by excessive heat.

Some emulsifiers need to be at a certain temperature before they function properly. Some active ingredients and preservatives must be kept below a specific temperature to function properly and avoid heat damage. Don’t be tempted to use that old meat thermometer with the picture of a chicken, pig, and a cow in the back of the kitchen drawer. Yep, I tried that, and it doesn’t work well. You need to know the exact temperature.

Every temperature in my book is given in Fahrenheit and Centigrade. A digital thermometer will have a button, so you can choose which one you want to use. They do not need to be expensive ones from a chef supply shop. I don’t like the glass ones because I used to break too many of them. You can certainly use them if you want, and are less clumsy than me.

Plastic Pipettes

When you are adding very small amounts of liquid ingredients, a plastic pipette is ideal. Concentrated actives or essential oils can be very difficult to get out of a dropper bottle. Use a paper towel to remove the dropper, weigh the ingredient with the pipette, and then return the dropper to the bottle.

Mixing and Heating Equipment

When it comes to making DIY cannabis skin care products, having the right mixing and heating equipment is essential. In this section, I will discuss the different types of equipment you will need to create your own skincare products.

Saucepan

You will need a saucepan to heat up ingredients such as oils, waxes, and butters as part of a double boiler or Bain Marie. Using one of your existing saucepans is a cheap and simple way to make your own Bain Marie. You can use any type of saucepan since it only serves as the base for the boiler and your product won’t come into contact with it.

Silicone Trivet

This can be used to protect your work surface from heat damage when using a saucepan. It is also useful for holding hot glass or metal jugs when using your saucepan as a double boiler.

Half fill your saucepan with boiling tap water and drop a silicone trivet in the base. This means that the bottom of the container you are going to make your products in does not touch the bottom of the saucepan, and there is your double boiler.

Borosilicate Glass Jugs

Borosilicate glass jugs are heat-resistant and can be used to melt ingredients in your double boiler. You will need at least two borosilicate glass jugs of different sizes to make DIY skin care products.

These are for heating your fat phase, water phase, and for making gels. You can safely use an immersion blender / stick blender in a borosilicate glass jug, just be careful. They clean up easily in a dishwasher, and if you are careful with them, they are very durable. The measurements on the side are just guides, but it doesn’t affect us since we’re weighing everything. 

Stainless Steel Jugs

Stainless steel jugs are another possibility instead of the borosilicate glass jugs. Stainless steel is very durable, and you will need at least two jugs of different sizes. Try to avoid really heavy-duty ones as the digital scales will take the weight into account.

No other metals please, no plastic, copper, enamel, and definitely no aluminium. You may not realise, but the measures on the sides of these items are also not usually very accurate. 

When cooling the borosilicate or stainless steel jugs down, use the saucepan with cold water as a water bath.

Mixing Implements

Having the right mixing implements is crucial. Here are three essential tools you should consider adding to your collection.

Silicone Spatulas

Silicone spatulas are a must-have for any skincare DIY-er. They are perfect for scraping every last bit of product out of containers, and their flexible heads make them ideal for mixing and spreading. Plus, they’re easy to clean and won’t absorb any of your skincare ingredients. Definitely do not use a wooden spoon – it’s not at all hygienic!

Flat Bottomed Whisk

This is often called a sauce whisk, and it is definitely not a balloon whisk. A balloon whisk is specifically designed to aerate and lift a cake mix or batter. This is the exact opposite of what we want. A flat-bottomed whisk stays lower in the emulsion, and when used slowly, does not aerate. It does, however, move the emulsion around so that it comes into contact with the fat and water. The goal is to get as much contact as possible with the fat and water. You could use the silicone spatula if you don’t have this. 

Immersion Blender

An immersion blender, also known as a stick blender, is a powerful tool that can make quick work of mixing and emulsifying your skincare ingredients. Some emulsifiers require high shear to form an emulsion successfully. You and a hand whisk are not going to get anywhere near the speed you need.

Don’t even think of using your kitchen mixer because, just like the balloon whisk, it is designed to aerate. This is not desirable for most emulsification systems, and the finished product is likely to separate or split.

An immersion blender is especially useful for creating creamy lotions and body butters, as it can blend even the thickest ingredients into a smooth and silky texture. Just be sure to choose a model with a detachable head for easy cleaning.

 It does not need to be a fancy one with all the attachments or endorsed by some celebrity chef – just a basic, cheap one is all you need.

Straining and Clean-Up

You only require a strainer if you are doing formulations that involve straining herbal infusions and decoctions. Your cannabis is going to be processed in the POT by NOIDS and the included strainer in that package is the best I have ever used. For the infusion of other herbs, like Calendula or Horsetail, a conical strainer is a good choice.

Ethanol

Not strictly equipment, but worth having in your kit. I recommend 70% ethanol for disinfecting clean, alcohol-compatible tools and surfaces. The water helps it work, so pure ethanol isn’t better for this job.

70% isopropyl alcohol is another option. Whichever you use, keep the surface wet for the disinfectant’s stated contact time and let it dry fully before use.

Keep alcohol away from flames and heat, and use it somewhere well ventilated. Cleaning alcohol belongs in your cleaning kit, not in your tinctures or anything you’ll swallow.

Containers

Once you’ve finished making your skincare, you’ll need tubes, lotion pumps or jars to put it in. Choose containers designed for cosmetics and suited to your formulation.

Start with clean containers, and don’t touch the insides or lids with your bare fingers. Use 70% ethanol to disinfect glass jars and alcohol-compatible plastic containers and lids. Keep the surfaces wet for the disinfectant’s stated contact time, then let them dry fully before filling. We’re reducing contamination here, not making everything sterile.

When you’ve finished, wash your tools thoroughly with warm soapy water, rinse well and disinfect suitable surfaces. Let everything dry completely before putting it away, ready for your next batch. The alcohol is for your containers and equipment, so don’t spray it onto your finished skincare.

Kitchen Paper

I really want to emphasise the importance of good hygiene here. Clean your work surface first and wash your hands. Lay down some kitchen paper to put your tools and equipment on after you have cleaned it with the alcohol. Don’t pick the ingredients up with your fingers – use the clean tools you have.

I have seen articles and videos using some of the ingredients I use on a regular basis. In their video, the person is pushing ingredients off the spoon with their fingers and not using ingredients correctly.

A preservative won’t rescue a dirty batch, so start with clean equipment and handle your ingredients carefully. Use a preservative suited to your formulation at the correct percentage and pH. Good hygiene and preservation work together, but they don’t guarantee a shelf life of 12 to 18 months. That needs stability and microbiological testing of the finished product.

Conclusion

Mastering DIY skincare successfully and safely, especially with cannabis, hinges on having the right tools. Accurate measuring tools like digital scales and thermometers ensure precise ingredient ratios and optimal temperatures. Using quality mixing equipment such as saucepans, silicone trivets, and borosilicate glass jugs is really helpful for perfecting formulations, and none of it is expensive.

Hygiene is paramount – use ethanol for disinfection and select cosmetic-grade containers. By following these practices, you can craft premium cannabis skincare with confidence and a good shelf-life. Once your kit is ready, my Skincare Formulation Essentials guide explains how to choose ingredients that work together, including emulsifiers, preservatives and actives. Then explore my DIY Cannabis Products Guide for recipes to put it all into practice.

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