Using essential oils for skin care
Everyone wants ageless skin! While we can’t turn back the clock, good skin care will aid in counteracting a number of factors that can significantly speed the process of aging, especially on your skin.
What happens as skin ages?
As you age, so does your skin. One look in the mirror confirms this! With advancing years, the layers of cells that form clear, firm, youthful skin begin to thin. The result is the wrinkled, sagging, thinner skin of old age. With this, healing can be slower and other problems might appear, such as sun damage and age spots.
This occurs to some extent in everyone, but there are several factors that will speed it up. These include:
- Sun damage
- Exposure to toxins
- Over-drying of the skin (such as in air-conditioned environments)
- High levels of stress can enhance aging – mainly due to lower circulation of blood to the skin
By changing your skin care products and the way you care for your skin, you can affect the aging process.
Steps to follow for younger, firmer skin
Eat a healthful diet
Beauty truly comes from within, and this is particularly applicable for skin care. While topical applications are certainly important, ensuring your diet is packed with good skin-food is the first step in ensuring your body has the right nutrition to build and repair your skin.
Get adequate, restful sleep
It’s not called “beauty sleep” for nothing! Your skin cells are constantly regenerating and this happens best when you are asleep! If you have trouble sleeping please make an appointment.
Ensure your digestion is working for you!
A mounting body of research links gut dysfunction to skin problems. Acne, rosacea, psoriasis, eczema and other skin issues can be a direct result of problems in the digestive system. At House of Health, we specialise in digestive problems – an appointment to see one of our qualified consultants might be the best thing you ever did for your skin!
Follow a regular skin care regime
The steps for good skin care are outlined below, along with examples of great products you can use:
1. Cleanse We recommend a natural cleanser, such as the Gentle Foaming Cleanser we make in-house using pure Castille soap and natural oils. This does not strip your skin of it’s own oils, but cleans gently. Jojoba oil is excellent at dissolving sebum, and is excellent as a makeup remover.
2. Exfoliate It has been said that there are three key steps to younger skin – Exfoliate. Exfoliate. Exfoliate! We recommend gentle exfoliation at least 3 times a week. You can use one of the natural fibre exfoliation pads or get our Gentle Foaming Cleanser with added exfoliant. We can also add essential oils to suit your skin type.
3. Tone
Using pure Rosewater or Orange flower water, depending on your skin type. This removes residues of the cleanser and helps to close the pores again.
4. Moisturise
There are lots of options here. Rich Earth Rich Moisture cream for mature or dry skin, Rich Earth Rose & Sandalwood cream for younger skin.
Rosehip oil is immensely beneficial to reduce the appearance of fine lines and scars (such as from acne), and a Skin Serum blend is particularly useful for those with older, dryer skin, as it contains macadamia nut oil, which is high in palmitoleic acid – an important fatty acid that is made in the skin, but unfortunately production declines as we age.
5. Special treatments
There are a number of essential oils that can be added to your face cream or skin oil that enhance skin cell regeneration and can help slow the aging process. These include:
Everlasting Essential Oil
– also known as Immortelle or Helichrysum oil. This is a somewhat precious oil that acts at a cellular level, restoring the structures that thin with age. Rich Earth Immortelle oil is certified organic and available as a 10% dilution (in pure organic jojoba oil) or 100% pure, undiluted.
Everlasting oil has an earthy, straw-like aroma. It is best mixed with Geranium, Fragonia, Rose, Lime, Neroli, Orange, Petitgrain, and Ylang ylang essential il.
Lavender Fine Essential Oil
Lavender essential oil comes in many flavours. The best oil is grown at high altitudes in France, such as Rich Earth Lavender Fine, a certified organic lavender oil. Lavender has a long history of use skin healing and rejuvenation. Lavender essential oil is particularly useful for acne, as it inhibits the bacteria that cause the initial infection as well as helping to regulate some of the over-excretion of sebum. It can also reduce the signs of scarring after the acne has begun to heal. Mixing with Geranium oil and blending with jojoba is a great treatment for acne-prone skin.
Adding a small amount of lavender essential oil to other skin creams can greatly increase the potential for relief and healing.
Lavender oil is also useful for anxiety and stress (which is damaging to both your general health and your skin), and is well endorsed to support deep and restful (beauty) sleep – especially when mixed with Roman chamomile or Marjoram essential oils.
Lavender essential oil blends well with Chamomile, Cedarwood, Pine, Marjoram and Frankincense oils.
Neroli Essential Oil
This precious oil is steam distilled from the flowers of the bitter orange tree (the by product of this is orange blossom water – a fabulous toner). Rich Earth Neroli essential oil is certified organic. It is both cicatrisant (reduces the size of scars and spots) and cytophylactic (encourages new cell growth). It also has emollient properties, which help keep your skin soft and supple. A super-precious oil, we currently only offer it diluted in jojoba oil.
Blends well with Mandarin, Benzoin, Jasmine and Sandalwood oils
Rose Absolute Oil
The Queen of the essential oils! Rose is slightly astringent, which tones and lifts the skin and is excellent for those with broken surface capillaries.
Generally nourishing, Rose oil is one of the best for shining, fresh and youthful skin. The delightful aroma of Rose oil also keeps you charged and feeling happy giving a very feminine feeling. As an added bonus, it can aid in lowering the stress response!
Rich Earth Rose Absolute oil is untreated, from organically grown roses. It is available as a 10% dilution (in pure organic jojoba oil) or you can purchase 100% pure, undiluted Rose oil as well.
Blends well with Sandalwood, Patchouli or Geranium essential oils.
