Kakadu Plum Skin Benefits: How to use Kakadu plum for its anti-ageing skin benefits

Kakadu Plum Skin Benefits: How to use Kakadu plum for its anti-ageing skin benefits

Discover Kakadu plum, a potent Australian superfruit now a skincare staple for its exceptional vitamin C content. This natural ingredient offers a powerful boost for brighter, more even-toned skin, helping to fade pigmentation and defend against daily environmental stressors. Incorporating it into your routine, especially via serums, can significantly improve skin’s appearance over time. If you’ve been even slightly into skincare lately, you’ve probably noticed one ingredient quietly showing up everywhere—serums, face masks, moisturisers, basically everything: Kakadu plum. It sounds a bit fancy (and honestly, it is), but there’s a reason it’s suddenly become such a big deal. People are calling it a natural anti-ageing hero, and this time, the hype isn’t completely random.Let’s keep it simple and talk about what it actually is, what it does, and how you can use it without overthinking your skincare routine.

So, what is Kakadu plum?

Kakadu plum is a small fruit from Australia. Nothing fancy to look at, but it has one big thing going for it – it’s packed with vitamin C. Like, way more than oranges or lemons.And if you’ve been around skincare even a little, you already know vitamin C is that one ingredient everyone trusts. It helps with glow, dullness, uneven skin tone, all of it. That’s exactly why Kakadu plum has started popping up in so many serums and creams lately – it’s basically a supercharged natural source of vitamin C.

Why is everyone suddenly obsessed with it?

Simple answer: it works.Vitamin C helps your skin produce collagen (which keeps it firm and bouncy), fades dark spots, and generally brings back that healthy glow when your skin looks tired. Kakadu plum brings all of that, plus antioxidants that help your skin deal with pollution, sun exposure, and just everyday stress.And if you live in India, you know your skin goes through a lot – heat, dust, humidity, UV rays, all of it, every single day. So ingredients like this naturally make sense in our routine.

What can it realistically do for ageing skin?

Let’s be real for a second. No skincare ingredient is going to erase wrinkles overnight. That’s just not how skin works.But Kakadu plum can definitely improve how your skin looks over time if you’re consistent.Here’s what it can help with:1. Brighter, fresher-looking skinIf your face looks dull or tired, vitamin C helps bring back that natural glow.2. Softens fine lines (slowly)It supports collagen, so lines don’t magically disappear, but they can look less visible over time.3. Fades pigmentation and marksVery relevant for Indian skin – acne marks, tanning, sunspots. With regular use, skin tone starts looking more even.4. Helps defend against daily damagePollution and UV rays create damage every day without us realising. Antioxidants in Kakadu plum help reduce that stress on the skin.

How do you actually use it?

Good news – you don’t need to find the fruit or do any DIY experiments. The easiest way is through skincare products, especially serums.Step 1: Start with a serum (this is the main one)This is where Kakadu plum really shows results.Look for a vitamin C serum that includes Kakadu plum extract in the ingredient list. A lot of Indian and international skincare brands are using it now because it’s often gentler compared to stronger synthetic vitamin C formulas.How to use it:Take 2–3 drops on clean, dry skinUse it in the morning (that’s when vitamin C works best)Follow it with moisturiserAnd always finish with sunscreenStep 2: Don’t skip sunscreen (seriously)This is where most people mess up.Vitamin C and sunscreen work together. If you’re using a Kakadu plum serum but not using SPF, you’re basically not getting the full benefit. In fact, your skin can become more sensitive.In Indian weather, SPF 30 or higher is non-negotiable. No shortcuts here.Step 3: If serums feel too much, try moisturisersNot everyone likes layering products, and that’s okay.You’ll also find moisturisers and creams that contain Kakadu plum. They’re usually more subtle in effect but still helpful, especially if you’re just starting out or have sensitive skin.Step 4: Face masks for a quick glow Sheet masks or wash-off masks with Kakadu plum are great for days when you want your skin to look a little extra fresh—before an event, a function, or just self-care weekends.They won’t replace your routine, but they do give a short-term glow boost.

Is it good for Indian skin?

Yes, mostly.It generally works well for:Oily skinDry skinCombination skinEven sensitive skin can usually tolerate it, but doing a patch test is always a good idea before going all in.

When will you see results?

This is where patience matters.Glow and brightness: 2–3 weeksPigmentation: 4–8 weeksFine lines: takes longer, depending on consistencySkincare is less about instant results and more about showing up every day.

Common mistakes to avoid

A few small things that can mess up your results:Mixing too many actives at onceSkipping sunscreenExpecting overnight changesLeaving vitamin C products open or in sunlight (they can lose potency faster)Is it actually worth it?Short answer: yes, if you’re consistent.Kakadu plum isn’t magic in a bottle, but it is a solid ingredient if you want brighter, healthier, more even-looking skin. And the fact that it’s now being used in so many mainstream serums says a lot about how skincare is evolving.Skincare doesn’t have to be complicated or overwhelming. You really don’t need a 10-step routine or a shelf full of products.If you want to keep it simple, this is enough:CleanserKakadu plum serumMoisturiserSunscreenThat’s it.At the end of the day, good skin isn’t about chasing every trending ingredient. It’s about finding a routine you can actually stick to. Kakadu plum just happens to be one of those ingredients that fits in easily and actually does something over time.

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Sugar Plum Fairy Shimmer Oil

Sugar Plum Fairy Shimmer Oil

Today we are making a beautiful, fragrant, versatile shimmer oil that is perfect for winter skincare! I’ve given mine a “Sugar Plum Fairy” holiday theme, but you can easily theme yours differently with a few small changes. You can also have some fun with what “type” of oil this is; I initially designed this formulation as a body oil, but you can absolutely use it as a facial oil serum or even a rich hair oil—it’s up to you!

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The bulk of this shimmer oil is—no surprise here—oil! Two oils make up 97% of the formulation.

Our star is plum kernel oil; the oil expressed from the kernels of plums. What could be more perfect for a “Sugar Plum Fairy” themed formulation? The super special thing about this oil is its scent: it smells wonderfully of marzipan, and that comes through in the finished shimmer oil. You can let the scent shine on its own, but it will also mingle beautifully with a thoughtfully chosen fragrance or essential oil.

The downside of plum kernel oil is its price; it isn’t cheap. If you adore the scent of marzipan and are ok with a bit of a splurge, it will last a long time if you keep it in the fridge. I’ve had the bottle I’m using for seven years now, and it’s still fresh! Thankfully, if you don’t have plum kernel oil, you can easily swap it for the second carrier oil in our formula: apricot kernel oil. I chose apricot kernel oil because its fatty acid composition is quite similar to plum oil, but it’s a lot cheaper. Of course, you will obviously lose that beautiful marzipan-y scent if you don’t use plum kernel oil, but you might prefer that if you don’t want to roll with the same “Sugar Plum Fairy” theme—and you can still make your shimmer oil smell wonderful a fragrance or essential oil!

The remaining 3% of the formulation is where we get our shimmer, the rest of the scent blend, some antioxidant goodness, and the magic that keeps the shimmer from drifting to the bottom of the bottle to form a sad layer of sparkly sludge. There’s a lot happening!

The plummy mica I used in an earlier batch.

For that “Sugar Plum Fairy” shimmer, you’ll need a fine mica—that is, one with a small particle size. It should look “glowy” rather than glittery or sparkly, and if the data sheet mentions a particle size, ideally it’ll be below 50 micrometers. This will help prevent the mica from clogging a mister/spray top (if you opt to use one) and creates a subtle shimmery/glowy appearance on the skin. I made one version using a rich plum-coloured mica, and a second using a duo-chrome mica that looks silver-white at first, and then shifts to violet when the light catches it. That colour changing, iridescent loveliness brings to mind ballerina’s tutus and the beauty of freshly fallen snow in low light. Sugar Plum Fairy perfection!

The colour-shifting mica I used in the video.

Another note on mica: make sure you only purchase ethically sourced micas as some is mined in truly horrific conditions. This information is usually in the FAQ of a shop’s website, and if it isn’t, ask before purchasing. TKB Trading, Bramble Berry, and YellowBee all sell exclusively ethically sourced micas.

When it comes to scent, there’s plenty of room to have fun + use what you have (and love)! I’m using the gorgeously juicy and complex Spicy Plum Pudding fragrance oil from Bulk Apothecary, which melds wonderfully with the natural scent of plum oil. For other sugar-plummy ideas, I think something vanilla-y would be great with the scent of plum oil, or something with a bit of a ‘spice’ note. I think it could be really fun to infuse your apricot kernel oil with vanilla beans for an indulgent, all-natural scent blend!

You can also adjust how much scent you use. If you’re planning on using this as a facial oil serum, I’d drop the fragrance entirely and replace it with more apricot oil—but if you’re using it as a hair oil, you might want to double the fragrance to 1% for more of a scent kick. Whatever you use, make sure it is safe at whatever usage level you go with for whatever sort of product you’re making. And if you’re using plum oil, make sure it’ll work with that marzipan smell!

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Our last ingredient is the one that keeps the shimmer floating in the oil rather than sinking down to the bottom of the bottle: TKB Trading’s Crystal Clear Wax (INCI: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (and) Polyurethane-79). This really neat ingredient thickens the oil a tiny bit, but its real super power is its incredible suspending abilities.

If you look closely you can see the ghostly blobs of Crystal Clear Wax at the bottom of the beaker.

Just because an ingredient thickens doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good at suspending. If you’ve ever tried to use a small amount of solid fatty thing, like a bit of cetyl alcohol or a touch of a butter in a liquid oil to suspend a mica, you’ll know those ingredients eventually precipitate out of the oil as hard little fatty blobs and sink to the bottom along with the mica. Crystal Clear Wax’s ability to suspend mica in oil this well is rare, so I’m afraid I don’t have a good substitution for this ingredient. If you don’t have it or don’t want to use it, you can go the non-shimmer route by replacing both the mica and the crystal clear wax with more apricot kernel oil. You can also keep the mica, knowing it’ll sink to the bottom, and shake the bottle before every use. Or you could make a shimmery body butter bar instead—where the mica can’t settle out because it’s suspended in a solid bar. I think this body butter bar formulation would be a lovely choice to shimmer-ify.

This is the oil after it’s been heating for a while. See the tiny clear bits? That’s not-quite-melted Crystal Clear Wax, so the oil needs to be heated for longer.

To make the oil all you’ve got to do is melt the heat phase ingredients together, stir until cool, and then mix in the cool down phase ingredients. Easy peasy! Enjoy

Relevant links & further reading

Sugar Plum Fairy Shimmer Oil

Heated phase
20g | 20% plum kernel oil (USA / Canada / UK / Bulgaria / Aus / NZ)
77g | 77% apricot kernel oil (USA / Canada)
0.5g | 0.5% Crystal Clear Wax

Cool down phase
1g | 1% Sugar-Plummy coloured mica
0.5g | 0.5% Spicy Plum Pudding fragrance oil
1g | 1% Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)

Combine the heated phase ingredients in something you’ll be able to heat directly. I find this formula needs to get up to ~100°C (212°F) to melt, and that’s a tall order for a water bath.

If you don’t have beakers and a lab hot plate that you can set to a reliably low(ish) temperature, you can put everything in a small saucepan and melt it on low on your stovetop. Alternatively, combine the ingredients in a heat resistant glass measuring cup, put that on a cookie sheet, and then bake it in a ~100°C (212°F) oven. No matter how you heat the mixture, make sure you keep an eye on it as you don’t want to scorch your oils!

Once you think the Crystal Clear Wax has melted, examine the mixture really closely to ensure it has—stirring around and pulling up your spoon to see if you can find any blobs. It’s so clear it vanishes into the oils even if it’s still a semi-solid blob.

When you are certain the Crystal Clear Wax has melted, remove the beaker from the heat and stir in the mica.

Stir the mixture occasionally until cools to room temperature to ensure a uniform final product.

Weigh in the cool down phase, stir to combine, and package the oil in a bottle some sort of orifice reducer cap like a treatment pump, a spray cap, or a disc cap.

To use, apply to your skin and massage in. Enjoy the shimmer! You can also use this as a hair oil, but apply sparingly—this formula is nearly pure oil, so it’s very rich.

Shelf Life & Storage

Because this product does not contain any water, it does not require a broad-spectrum preservative (broad spectrum preservatives ward off microbial growth, and microbes require water to live—no water, no microbes!). Kept reasonably cool and dry, it should last at least a year before any of the oils go rancid. If you notice it starts to smell like old nuts or crayons, that’s a sign that the oils have begun to oxidize; chuck it out and make a fresh batch if that happens.

Substitutions

As always, be aware that making substitutions will change the final product. While these swaps won’t break the formulation, you will get a different final product than I did.

  • As I’ve provided this formulation in percentages as well as grams you can easily calculate it to any size using a simple spreadsheet as I’ve explained in this post. As written in grams, this formulation will make 100g, which will fill three or four 30mL (1 fl oz) bottles, depending on how much you fill each bottle.
  • To learn more about the ingredients used in this formulation, including why they’re included and what you can substitute them with, please visit the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia. It doesn’t have everything in it yet, but there’s lots of good information there! If I have not given a specific substitution suggestion in this list (Crystal Clear Wax!) please look up the ingredient in the encyclopedia before asking.
  • You can customize the oil blend; I recommend sticking to relatively lightweight “real” oils like sweet almond, grapeseed, or safflower oil.
    • If you’re looking for oils with a fatty acid composition close to plum oil, try sweet almond oil, apricot kernel oil, or peach kernel oil.
    • If you want to include more delicate oils like rosehip oil, add them with the mica rather than heating them to 100°C.
  • Please have fun with the scent! What makes sense for a “sugar plum fairy” theme to you? You can use any essential oil or fragrance oil you like that is safe for use at 0.5% in IFRA category 5A, 5B, and/or 7B (depending on how you plan to use the formula). If you aren’t sure how to check those guidelines, please read this blog post.
  • You can replace the fragrance with more liquid oil for an unscented product.
  • I recommend keeping the vitamin E as this product is primarily made from oils that can and will oxidize (aka go rancid and start smelling disgusting). Vitamin E will slow that process down.

Gifting Disclosure

The vitamin E and apricot kernel oil were gifted by YellowBee.
The mica and Crystal Clear Wax were gifted by TKB Trading. Links to TKB Trading are affiliate links.
The fragrance was gifted by Bulk Apothecary. Links to Bulk Apothecary are affiliate links.
The plum oil was gifted by Essential Wholesale. As of 2025, Essential Wholesale has been purchased by NourishUs Naturals, and they do not sell plum oil.
Links to Amazon are affiliate links.

 

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