Over the recent past, essential oils have gained popularity due to the versatility attributed to them in relation to health. The application of essential oils that is most widespread is the use in the treatment of the skin. Given the fact that many of them claim that these oils can do everything starting from eradicating acne to lessening fine lines and wrinkles, it is not strange people want to include them in their list of natural skin care products. However, before I share with you the method of applying essential oils on the skin, there are some important facts that you should know.
What Are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are oil extracts that are gotten from plants, and they contain the same smell, taste, and benefits as the plant in question. Some of the widely known and used essential oils for skincare are tea tree, lavender, rose, chamomile, frankincense, jojoba and et cetera. They are obtained from flowers, leaves, stem, root, resins and other parts of the plants using processes such as steam distillation. The resulting essential oils include the life reproducing, health enhancing, and beautifying aspects of the plant. All these properties which go with this essential oil come with a lot of skin benefits when applied topically.
Benefits for Skin
There is considerable anecdotal and research-based evidence that essential oils can improve common skincare concerns, including:There is considerable anecdotal and research-based evidence that essential oils can improve common skincare concerns, including:
- Reducing acne and breakouts: Tea tree oil, clary sage, juniper berry, lemongrass, and thyme oil are good to use since they kill bacteria and reduce inflammation that is associated with acne.
- Minimizing fine lines and wrinkles: Some of the many benefits of rose, sandalwood, geranium, frankincense, patchouli oil are that they contain antioxidants that will help shield skin cells from harm. Using this cream may help to gradual the development of such lines with common utilization over time.
- Soothing dry, inflamed skin: Child, chamomile, lavender, rose, geranium, and helichrysum oil are helpful in reducing irritation and inflammation that accompany dry, sensitive skin. This makes skin to be able to better retain the necessary moisture.
- Fading dark spots and hyperpigmentation: These oils include lavender, frankincense, carrot seeds, lemon, and cypress oils all of which are effective in the process of reducing melanin formation hence helping to minimize the formation of age spots and discolorations.
- Speeding up wound healing: So tea tree, lavender, clove, rosemary and patchouli oil are anti septic which helps to protect the open wounds and burn area from infections and on the other hand increase the rate of skin regeneration hence skin heals quickly.
It is important to know how to use essential oils on Skin properly to avoid damaging our skin or getting worst skin conditions.
There are a couple ways you can incorporate essential oils into your skincare routine:
- It can be incorporated in your daily beauty regimes by mixing a couple of drops of essential oil in skincare products such as cleansers, serums and moisturizers. But just make sure that before applying it to your skin make sure you apply a small amount and let your skin check for any reaction.
- Create your skincare remedies with essential oils and base oils that include jojoba, coconut, avocado, Rosehip seed, or argan oil. Carrier oils are useful in ensuring that the essential oils can penetrate the skin without causing skin irritation due to their high concentration. Here are some simple homemade recipes that you can prepare; Skin toners with essential oils, Facial serums, Body butters, face masks among others.
- Consider doing a face steaming with some essential oils to clean out the face and create a calming face mask for sensitive skin that becomes easily irritated, especially when it gets red or for rosacea. For this easy method, simply place a few drops each of chamomile, lavender, rose oil or any other mild essential oil in a basin of hot water. Place your face over a basin of warm water and cover with a towel for the steam to treat your skin for ten minutes.
Although the products containing essential oils are great, one must remember that these oils can be quite aggressive on skin. It is wise to do a skin patch test before frequent or long-term use because even though essential oils are mostly safe, some individuals may develop allergies to specific plant extracts. Additionally, the following precautions apply when using essential oils in skincare:Additionally, the following precautions apply when using essential oils in skincare:
Some of the precautions that should be taken when using essential oils.
- Some people, however, can develop skin sensitization if exposed to essential oils on a daily basis; hence, it is advised to dilute the essential oils in a carrier oil or lotion base. When applied, they ought to be used in their full concentration because when used as such they cause skin reactions to people with sensitive skin.
- A few oils like citrus and spice oils may lead to photosensitivity meaning that one should avoid applying those before going for a tanning. They contain compounds that cause the skin to become sensitive to the sun, making users suffer from patches, uneven skin tone, and problems with pigmentation whenever they use them.
- If you encounter any sensations of stinging or burning, redness, itching, swelling, or any form of discomfort at the regions where the essential oils were used, cease usage immediately. This may be in form of an allergy or maybe a chemical burn on the skin.
- To minimize contact dermatitis when using the oils, especially for individuals with sensitive skin, it is recommended that one performs a patch test before using a new essential oil.
- This means that it is advisable to introduce new essential oils one at a time and if you find that your skin has reacted to an oil, then you will have an easy time pointing out which one of the new oils it was.
- Always opt for approved and recommended therapeutic-grade essential oils for skincare use only from well-established companies and distributors. Unfortunately, some cheap oils are bogus and may be watered down or contain synthetic substances that cause skin reactions and rashes.
The Bottom Line
In their proper utilization, quality and genuine essential oils can be used effectively in natural skincare regimen that harness the power of plants to regenerate skin. But for that, please ensure that you learn how to use it correctly and under what circumstances to use it since it greatly enhances your writing. Introduce the new oils singly to check if there exists skin irritation, ensure that one uses right proportions of the oils and if there is any sign of irritation, one should quit using the oils. If you have questions about how your skin will react to the oils, you can also consult with a dermatologist or an esthetician to get recommendations about how best to use the oils in a skincare routine. By doing so, you’ll be able to reap all the cosmetic and curative benefits that are associated with these plant-based oils on skin.