Essential oils should definitely be part of your skin care routine. In fact, they should be high up on your list of substances to use. They're most commonly used in skincare products as natural perfuming agents - just like in our skincare range! While they're great for this use, they can be even more beneficial for your skin.
It's important to be careful when using essential oils on your skin, but if you use them properly, they're safer for your skin than synthetic products. As a general rule for using essential oils carefully, select the right carrier oil its ratio to essential oil. Each EO is different when it comes to safe quantities, so make sure you read up on how much carrier to essential oil to add when making serums for different skin issues.
Dry skin
Dry skin can be dull, rough, red, flaking, peeling or visible crinkly lines - not fun. The following oils can be gentle and soothing on dry skin:
- German Chamomile
- Geranium
- Patchouli
- Neroli
- Frankincense
- Palmarosa
To make your own dry skin serum, add 18 drops of the above oils (in total) to 2 ounces of carrier oil. This is a 1% dilution which makes it good for everyday use. Use any combination of the above - we love geranium, neroli and chamomile! A good carrier oil for dry skin is either avocado oil or sweet almond oil. You can use this on face and body. For an even deeper moisturizer on your body, use coconut oil, coconut butter or cocoa butter with the essential oils. Note: If you struggle with blemish-prone skin, stick to the lighter avocado or sweet almond oil! Sensitive skin If you struggle with sensitive skin, it's difficult to find products that don’t cause breakouts, redness or that sting. There are some essential oils which are gentle on the skin and might just be the answer you're looking for for your sensitive skin issues!
- German Chamomile
- Neroli
- Rose
- Palmarosa
Again, with these oils you'll want a 1% dilution, so 18 drops of essential oil in total with 2 ounces of carrier oil. On your face, use 1-3 drops of the serum morning and evening. If you find it too oily for underneath makeup, just use it at night and use a light certified organic moisturizer on your face in the morning. Some of our customers use our body lotion as face cream as it's gentle but smells divine! If these oils are still too harsh for your skin, you could try using hydrosols. These are the aromatic water that remains after steam-distilling botanical material. Hydrosols that are good for sensitive skin include lavender, tea tree (for blemishes), rose, chamomile or calendula (marigold).
Ageing skin
When dealing with ageing skin, it can feel like your skin is out of control and sometimes a little hopeless. Fear not! Essential oils can help nourish the skin and reduce the appearance of brown age spots. It's also important to remember moisturizer with a good SPF to protect against sun damage. The best EOs for ageing skin include:
- Patchouli
- Frankincense
- Neroli
- Sandalwood
- Clary sage
- Rosemary
For a homemade serum, add 18 drops of the above (in total remember!) to carrier oil of choice. We think a great combination would be frankincense, neroli and Argan oil. Jojoba oil, sweet almond oil and apricot kernel oil are also good carriers for ageing skin. Apply 2-3 drops this serum to your face and neck in the morning and evening.
Oily skin
It sounds strange curing oily skin with oil but weirdly it often works well. Sometimes when going through puberty our hormones cause spotty and oily skin, so we use harsh oil-stripping products as a remedy. Once we're out of those hormonal years (if not during), our body compensates for the loss of natural oil by producing more, causing unwanted blemishes! Using the same method as above, the below essential oils are good for oily skin:
- Geranium
- Neroli
- Sandalwood
- Palmarosa
When acne and blemishes strike, try these:
- Tea tree (melaluca)
- Geranium
- Rosemary
- Neroli
Appropriate carrier oils for this type of skin on your face include Argan oil, grape-seed oil or sweet almond oil. Avoid heavy oils like coconut oil which can lead to clogged pores! For a natural toner, use hydrosols as they are effective on blemish prone and oily skin.