Essential Oils for Skin Care

Apart from many great uses of essential oils, anti-allergic, anti-aging and skin care in general are quite popular ones! If you visit any neighbourhood drug store or beauty store, you shall find countless beauty products – creams, lotions and even oils that promise flawless and younger looking skin. While there is no shortcut to good health and skin, essential oils can help you in combating many skin ailments (including aging!). In the article, we will discuss essential oils for skin care.  

Pure and high quality essential oils can deeply nourish and balance the skin. Whether you’re battling with dry skin, oily skin or simply troubled by pesky acne or premature aging, essential oils can come to your rescue.

In the article, we will discuss the following topics:

• • Why Should We Care for Our Skin?

• • Consequences of Neglecting Skin Care

• • Factors Affecting Our Skin Health

• • Essential Oils Good for Skin

• • Using Essential Oils for Skin Care 
  • Things to Avoid

Why Should We Care for Our Skin?

Our skin acts as the largest barrier against infections that our body might be susceptible to. Further, our skin acts as a defence against many environmental hazards and regulates our body temperature too. Here are some of the main reasons for you to take good care of your skin.

• • Skin acts as a guard against air germs and even UV radiation. It prevents harmful bacteria from entering our body and causing infections.

• • Our skin works as a sponge absorbing oils and various substances while repelling water. This is the reason why we must choose products that are safe for our skin.
  • Our skin helps in regulating body temperature when it’s hot or cold.

Consequences of Neglecting Skin Care

Neglecting skin care regime is relatively easy! It becomes particularly tempting when you have to rush off to work in the morning or you’re too tired to take out a minute or two at bedtime. Being careless about your skin once in a blue moon can be harmless but making it a habit can bring in a boatload of negative effects sooner than you think.

• • The absence of effective cleaning of your skin will result in bacteria accumulation which will lead to acne and other skin infection.

• • Too much of sun exposure can result in destroying of skin cells and faster aging of skin. Excessive sun exposure can also lead to skin cancer.

• • Our skin needs external moisturising. Absence of adequate moisture will lead to drying out of skin and premature wrinkles and even breakouts.

• • Sleeping with makeup on is also a blunder that many of us are guilty of. This results in infection and breakouts too.
  • Consumption of excessive alcohol, smoking, drugs etc. can wreak havoc on your skin making it dull and lifeless.

Factors Affecting Our Skin Health

Whenever any skin problems hit us, we head towards the neighbourhood store and stock up on tons of new lotions and about a dozen new creams! Skin care is essential; however there are certain factors that affect the health of our skin.

• • Diet: A diet rich in nutrition will definitely lead to healthy skin. Adding colourful fruits and veggies to your diet will help you get healthy skin.

• • Exercise: Apart from diet, a good amount of exercise also helps in getting healthy skin and body.

• • Alcohol and Smoking: Excessive alcohol consumption and too much of smoking can lead to premature skin aging, uneven skin tone, sallow complexion and various other harmful consequences on your body.
  • Stress: Stress can be a big contributor in determining your skin health. Too much of stress can result in untimely breakouts and dull skin.

Essential Oils for Skin Care 

For the past hundreds of years people have been using essential oils for skin care and to maintain health and treat various ailments. These essential oils are potent and concentrated and are advised to be used with carrier oil for best results.  

Lavender Oil

One of the most popular essential oils, lavender oil can help with most skin irritations and is suitable for all skin types. It can be used for cuts and scrapes and also helps with dull and tired skin.

Basil Oil

Basil oil is an antiseptic and helps in soothing insect bites and stings. It works well for sensitive skin as well.

Geranium Oil

Geranium essential oil is versatile oil that helps in balancing oil glands, moisturises skin and works perfectly for all skin types. One can add geranium oil to moisturisers to help in adequate hydration of the skin.

Frankincense Oil

Frankincense oil is great for aging skin and preventing wrinkles. It makes skin more elastic, helps with regeneration of skin cells. It further eliminates pigmentation, scars, acne and tightens skin.

Chamomile Oil

Chamomile essential oil can help in treating a wide variety of skin conditions like cracked skin, eczema, and rosacea, inflamed and sensitive skin.

Tea Tree Oil

Although there are many uses for tea tree oil, it is great for soothing skin as well. It has anti-fungal and antibacterial properties which makes it great for acneic and oily skin.

Ylang Ylang Oil

Ylang Ylang essential oil is great for treating oily skin as well as for stimulating skin cell growth. It further helps in fighting wrinkles and treating aging skin.

All of the above essential oils are great for skin; however, it is important that one should use them properly and combine them with a carrier oil.

Using Essential Oils for Skin Care 

You can make use of one or more oils in your daily skincare regime for moisturising as well as treating certain skin ailments. Using essential oils on skin require primarily topical application or massaging in certain cases.

Moisturizer

One can whip up a potent mixture of essential oils for effective moisturising. You will need:

• 2 tablespoons of jojoba oil, 5 drops of melaleuca oil, 10 drops of patchouli oil, 5 drops of frankincense oil, 5 drops of bergamot oil and 5 drops of ylang-ylang oil

This mixture can be the best moisturising lotion that you have ever used. Since everyone’s skin is different, you will need to mix up oils and the portions to see what works best.

Anti-aging Potion

Many essential oils have anti-aging properties which make them rich and hydrating for your skin. You can prepare your own anti-aging serum using the following oils and use daily.

• • Anti-aging Potion I: Combine 5 drops of jojoba oil, 5 drops of pomegranate oil, 5 drops of frankincense oil, 5 drops of lavender oil and 5 drops of Vitamin E oil. Keep serum in a small glass jar and massage 4-5 drops of this mix into your skin for best results.
  • Anti-aging Potion II: Combine ½ cup apricot kernel oil, 10 drops of carrot seed oil, 10 drops of rose-hip seed oil, 10 drops of sandalwood oil, 5 drops of geranium oil, 5 drops of lemon oil, 5 drops of frankincense oil and 5 drops of rosemary oil and store in a glass vial. Take a few drops and massage your face and skin before bedtime.

Different people have different skin which will respond differently to these oils. So, don’t fret if you don’t experience amazing results from the start. A little bit of experiment will do you good and help you determine what suits your skin best.

Things to Avoid & Remember

Always make sure to use essential oils with a carrier oil when applying on your skin. Further, before you decide on altering your skincare regime by replacing your regular moisturiser with essential oils, remember to do a patch test and see whether you’re allergic or sensitive to any of them.

Always keep essential oils out of reach of children and avoid contact with eyes and nose. Also, avoid using citrus oils on your skin before you are exposed to UV light. This may cause a reaction. Make sure to do your research as everyone’s skin behaves and responds differently to varied essential oils.

Learn about more usages of essential oils – Pain Relief, Stress Management, Sleep Disorder.