let us now look into the many benefits of using essential oils for the skin. Mentioned here are just a few of them.
Skin Nourishment: Essential oils can be used to nourish your skin and make it feel naturally ‘healthy’.
Body and facial oils are prominently used on a daily basis by many people, who have reported satisfying results.
By Irina Bg / shutterstock.com
Generally, it is recommended that a blend of 1% essential oil to carrier oil is to be used for the face, and a blend of 3% essential oil to carrier oil is to be used for the body.
These ratios have been found to provide the best results.
The results will vary depending on your skin type (see below for more information on skin types), but as long as you use an oil which is suited to your skin type, you will get the desired results.
Some people might also have to use the oils for a longer period of time to see improvement in such cases do remember to wait for the required period before concluding that the oil isn’t working!
Traditional Aromatherapy: This was one of the original applications of essential oils.
Aromatherapy is a process which triggers the body’s natural healing process by means of lymphatic massages and of course, with essential oils.
These massages stimulate blood flow and lymph fluid.
If that sounds too complicated, then you might at least be interested in what that does for you! These messages affect the brain’s emotional centre, which means you can get rid of your blues, if at least temporarily.
Now who wouldn’t like that? And of course, a good massage is always a great way to nourish your skin, while getting relaxed at the same time.
Hot baths: If you’re not the kind of person who likes massages, then perhaps you could try using essential oils in your bath. They provide the same effect as massages.
Fill up your bath tub with hot water, and add 5-10 drops of your preferred essential oil.
Make sure not to allow the vapours to escape, because they contain the essence that you’re trying to capture. Soak in for around 15 minutes, and you should be feeling waves of relaxation upon you.
The pores in your skin will soak up the goodness of the essential oil, thus literally soaking in the benefits as well.
Room Sprays: You might have noticed that the room sprays available in the market smell a bit differently than an ordinary perfume. This is because most of them contain one or more kinds of essential oils.
The aroma lasts long and the room really smells good when you use these sprays.
You could make one on your own if you like. Just get a spray bottle, add 7 tablespoons of water to it, and then experiment with your favourite essential oils to find
the aroma that you like the most, and add 10 drops to the bottle.
Shake it up well and your own room spray is now ready. Not only does this freshen up the room, but when your skin is exposed to the fumes in the air, it soaks in the aroma.
In the sauna: Visiting a sauna in itself is very relaxing. But did you know that you can make it even better by using essential oils? Simply add 2 drops of eucalyptus oil to 300ml of water, and use the water over the coals to evaporate.
The resulting vapours will not only relax you, but also act as detoxifiers and cleansers for the skin, which is admittedly good!
The following benefits might not have anything to do with skincare directly, but while we’re on the topic of using essential oils, why not take a look at a few extra benefits?
Steam Inhalation: This is not recommended for asthmatics. Steam inhalation through essential oils is a well-known method of treating common respiratory problems such as cold and congestion.
This is in fact one of the medical uses of essential oils prescribed in the past.
It still does work! All you need to do is to take a bowl of steaming hot water, add 6-12 drops of the oil to it. Then place a towel over your head, so that you are in close proximity to the bowl, and then inhale deeply. You will begin to feel more comfortable in breathing immediately.
Curing headaches: At the end of a stressful day, have you found yourself having a severe headache that doesn’t leave you until long into the night? You can get rid of it easily by adding 6-10 drops of essential oil in around 150ml of warm water, and then soaking a clean cotton cloth in it, which you can use to form a compress.
Squeeze out the cloth and lay it across your head, and leave it there until it goes cold. You will be able to get immediate relief from your headache. This is a great method for treating sprains and bruises as well. Of course, if the pain persists, be sure to consult a doctor.
Curing Insomnia: if you’re having trouble falling asleep, you can use a relaxing essential oil to help you rest.
Use 2-3 drops of the oil on your pillow as a perfume. This will soothe you and help you fall asleep faster. And in case you’re wondering, this does not have any harmful side effects.
You are merely allowing the aroma of the oil to help you sleep. This is perfectly natural and safe.
Brainpower: Now this may seem a little surprising, but it has been scientifically proven that inhaling rosemary essential oil can help improve your memory recall rate and even increase your overall brainpower!
This has to be done with caution of course, because too much of anything can be bad. Inhale the essential oil with caution, and do not overdo it. Not only will you improve your brainpower, but this is also a great way to feel relaxed during stress-
ful times.
That was just a brief summary of how useful essential oils can be, not just for your skin but also for your whole body.
Do note however, that you need to be using the right essential oil for each of the above mentioned benefits, and you need to ensure that your body will not reject the oil.
In a later section, we will look at the different skin types, which require different types of precautions while using essential oils. Always be careful not to use an incompatible essential oil for your skin or any other part of your body, as it might lead to some unwanted effects.
Let this not scare you though, because there is more goodness in essential oils than the scary parts! Now let us take a look at some of the useful essential oils to be used in skincare.
