( Cloves and Vaseline — The Two-Ingredient Collagen Serum That Changes Everything )
The dermatologist had just told her something she was not expecting. That the serum she had been buying every month — the one in the elegant dark glass bottle, the one that cost more than her weekly food shop — contained, as its primary active ingredient, a synthetic version of a compound found abundantly in a common kitchen spice.
She drove home. She opened her kitchen cupboard. She found the spice. She looked up what to do with it.
That night she made her first jar. It took seven minutes.
Three months later, her skin looked the way it had a decade ago. Not because of luck. Not because of genetics. Because of what she had been applying every single night from that small jar on her bedside table.
And the two ingredients it contained had been available to her all along — for almost nothing.
The Serum Industry’s Best Kept Secret
There is a reason that the most advanced skincare laboratories in the world spend considerable resources studying a tiny, fragrant kitchen spice. It is not tradition. It is not folklore. It is science.
The compound at the heart of this spice — eugenol — is one of the most comprehensively studied natural skincare actives in existence. And what the research shows is remarkable.
Eugenol penetrates the skin more deeply than most synthetic compounds. Its molecular structure is small enough to pass through the skin’s lipid barrier and reach the living layers beneath — the dermis, where collagen is produced, where elastin keeps the skin supple, and where the fibroblast cells responsible for skin renewal are found.
Once there, eugenol does several things simultaneously that no single synthetic ingredient replicates.
It directly stimulates fibroblast activity — signalling the cells responsible for collagen production to work faster and more efficiently. In studies, eugenol-treated skin showed measurably increased collagen synthesis within weeks of consistent application. This is what firms the skin, plumps the fine lines, and restores the lifted, defined quality that the face loses as collagen production slows.
It is one of the most potent natural antioxidants known. With an ORAC value that places it among the highest of any natural substance, it neutralises the free radicals responsible for collagen degradation, cellular damage, and the accelerated ageing that shows on the surface of the skin as dullness, unevenness, and deepening lines.
It improves microcirculation in the skin. More blood flow to the surface means more oxygen, more nutrients, faster cell turnover — and the warm, vital, luminous glow that is the most visible sign of genuinely healthy skin.
And it is powerfully anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial — calming the chronic low-grade inflammation that drives premature ageing, clearing the bacteria that cause breakouts and texture irregularities, and creating the clean, balanced skin environment in which everything else works better.
Now — the second ingredient. The one that makes this serum work at a level that applying the spice alone never could.
It is the most effective occlusive agent ever discovered. When applied over an active ingredient, it creates a breathable seal across the skin’s surface — preventing the active compounds from evaporating and holding them in sustained, uninterrupted contact with the skin for hours. Dermatological research has confirmed what skincare formulators have known for years: that occluded actives penetrate deeper and work longer than unoccluded ones. This is why the most effective overnight treatments in professional skincare all use this principle.
Applied over the infused spice oil, this ingredient turns a serum into something that works through the entire night — delivering its collagen-stimulating, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory compounds continuously while you sleep and the skin’s own repair processes are at their most active.
Together, these two ingredients create a serum with a depth of action and a consistency of results that the elegant bottles on the pharmacy shelf — for all their beautiful packaging and scientific language — rarely match.
Are you ready?
The Two Ingredients
Cloves and Vaseline.
A fragrant kitchen spice with extraordinary dermatological science behind it. And plain, unscented petroleum jelly — humble, inexpensive, and now recognised by dermatologists worldwide as one of the most effective skincare ingredients available at any price.
What You Will Need
- 15 whole dried cloves
- 4 tablespoons of extra virgin coconut oil or sweet almond oil ( to infuse the cloves )
- 1 tablespoon of plain unscented Vaseline
- A small saucepan
- A fine mesh strainer or muslin cloth
- A clean small glass jar for storing
- Optional: 3 drops of pure vitamin E oil for additional antioxidant and barrier-repair benefit
- Optional: 3 drops of pure frankincense essential oil for added collagen-stimulating and skin-tightening power
How to Make It
Place the whole cloves and coconut oil in a small saucepan over the absolute lowest heat available. The oil should feel warm to a careful touch — never hot, never simmering. Allow the cloves to infuse in the warm oil for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring gently every few minutes. During this time the oil will gradually deepen in colour and the kitchen will fill with a rich, warm, spiced fragrance — the sign that eugenol is transferring fully into the oil.
Remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer or muslin cloth into a clean bowl, pressing the cloves firmly with a spoon to extract every last drop of the deeply infused oil. Discard the spent cloves.
While the oil is still slightly warm — not hot — add the Vaseline and stir continuously until the two are completely combined into a smooth, uniform serum. Add vitamin E and frankincense if using and fold in gently. The finished serum should have a silky, spreadable consistency — lighter than a balm, slightly thicker than a liquid serum.
Pour into a clean glass jar, allow to cool fully, and seal. Store at room temperature for up to three weeks.
How to Apply It
Every evening, after cleansing the face with warm water and patting dry, scoop a small amount — no larger than a pea — and warm it between clean fingertips until it softens. Press it gently into the skin using the pads of the fingers — never drag or pull. Work from the centre of the face outward and upward, across the forehead, cheeks, jaw, and down the neck. Give extra attention to areas of fine lines — around the eyes, the nasolabial folds, across the brow.
Leave it on overnight. Do not rinse. In the morning, cleanse as normal and continue with your usual routine.
Use every single night. Consistency is not a suggestion — it is the reason this works.
What to Expect and When
The first morning, the skin feels different. More hydrated than usual. More rested. Plumper in a way that is felt before it is seen — the way well-nourished skin always feels before the changes become visible.
By the end of the first week, fine lines look softer and less defined. The skin tone becomes more even. A quality of luminosity — a quiet, genuine glow — begins to emerge.
By week two to three, the collagen stimulation becomes visible. The skin feels firmer. The areas that had begun to sag and lose definition look more lifted. The wrinkles that had felt permanent begin to look like something that is changing.
By week six to eight, people start to ask. Not about products. Just — what has changed. What is different. What has she been doing.
Two ingredients. Seven minutes to make. A jar that sits on the bedside table and works quietly through the night.
And skin that tells the story of what was in it.
