It is so easy to use essential oils and aromatherapy in your daily skincare regimen. Now that we’ve covered some of the many essential oils that are great for your skin, you may be wondering, “How the heck do I incorporate this knowledge into my skincare routine?” I’m so glad you asked!
Let’s go over some ideas for making aromatherapy and natural skincare a part of every day.
For the healing, nourishing oils -
Are you looking to add to your skin’s hydration? Maybe you have dry skin or aging skin with fine lines and wrinkles. Try adding the nourishing essential oils to a hydrating face oil or moisturizer that you like. One or two drops per application is enough for your face, and maybe one or two more for your neck and décolleté. Try out different essential oils or even combos of two, to see what you like best. Always try a small patch test first to make sure you don’t have a negative reaction.
It’s best to stick with something fragrance free, so that you don’t have too many different scents going on. You could end up with a fragrance you don’t care for, or have too much fragrance going on and give yourself a headache! Also, you don’t want to use something that already has essential oils in it if you are planning to add more oils. You can find an unscented facial lotion or moisturizer, or use a plant based carrier oil. This is my favorite option and the ones I like best are jojoba oil and olive oil. Coconut oil, apricot oil, and shea butter are also wonderful for your skin. Some of these do have a slight scent, except jojoba which has almost no scent at all. So if you use one of these oils, (besides jojoba), check to make sure you like the combo of scents with the carrier oil and essential oils combined.
Using the “toning” oils -
The obvious way to incorporate these essential oils into your natural skincare routine is to add them into your toner. Again, the toner you’re using might already be scented so you might want to try an unscented version. Adding the oils to straight witch hazel might work. Witch hazel has great astringent properties and is a popular skin toning product. I don’t care for the scent of witch hazel myself but if you add essential oils to it that might help improve the scent!
I use just plain water and some aloe vera gel for my toner, and add the essential oils to the bottle. A rule of thumb is about 10 to 20 drops per 1 ounce, or a 1% to 2% ratio. Essential oils are potent, you don’t need a ton!
For blemish assistance -
As I mentioned, with many of the essential oils for acne-prone skin, you can sometimes put a drop of oil directly on the blemish. I’ve done this with Tea Tree and Lavender. The acne fighting oils are good at drying up zits, but they can be too drying if used in too great of quantity. Go gently and use sparingly at first to make sure you don’t have a reaction. If you need help over a larger area of skin, and not just one or two blemishes, try using the acne oils like the healing oils above. Add them to an unscented, light lotion that won’t clog your pores.
A lot of people with acne prone skin have oily skin, and they would never think of using carrier oils like jojoba on their face. Sometimes though our skin is oily because we have been stripping it of its natural oils and it starts over producing oil in order to compensate. It could be helpful to add oil to your skin to help it balance itself. Check with your dermatologist if you have questions about what your skin is needing. And if you do have oily skin, don’t worry too much. I had oily skin when I was younger and I learned that our skin’s oils help to preserve the health of our skin. People with oilier skin stay looking younger longer!
I want to take a minute to talk about essential oils that are “skin penetrating” helpers. These are especially good oils to add to products that you really want to get deep into the skin, like hydrating moisturizers. Basil, Spike Lavender, and Ravintsara are all skin penetration enhancing oils. Eucalyptus is as well and is also helpful for your fight against blemishes. Many of the citrus oils are skin penetrating helpers and also work well in toners such as Grapefruit, Lemon, and Orange.
When using essential oils in natural skincare and aromatherapy remember that less is usually more. Go gently at first, and make sure your skin is happy with what you’re putting on it. Have fun trying out different oil combos for both scent and effect. And if you don’t have time to make your own skincare, remember that Pasithea’s Garden has you covered with healing and nourishing skin care products!