What Are the Benefits of Essential Oils in Skin Care

You may think of essential oils as the core ingredients of your daily skin care, and you won’t be wrong. Although these oils are called essential as they contain the essence – the taste and fragrance – of the plant they were extracted from, essential oils are vastly used in cosmetics, aromatherapy, and various dermatological treatments.   

The main reason for their use in skin care is the fact that essential oils have a high penetration ability through the epiderm, and they can nourish the skin perfectly. These oils can also balance the secretion of sebum and improve the tonus of the skin, and there is only one condition – oils need to be natural and pure if you want them to be effective.

Chemical Structure of Essential Oils

So, what are essential oils actually?

Take a look at some key points about their chemical structure and the use in skin care.

• Essential oils are non-greasy natural extracts from aromatic plants.
• Different parts of the plant are used to obtain oil, such as flowers, leaves, stems, bark, resins, seeds, or fruits.
• Obtaining method usually include distillation, extraction, or some other isolating process.
• Essential oils contain about 100 different compounds – alcohols, phenols, esters, aldehydes, ketones, etc.
• A so-called carrier oil is used as a dilution base for essential oils. For skin care, those are usually coconut, avocado, jojoba, or olive oil. Depending on a plant that oils are distilled or extracted from, such oils remains unrefined and highly nutritive, rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids, and omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids.
• Lavender oil is the only one that can be put directly on the skin, and it is useful for all skin types for the acne, wounds, eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, or other skin conditions.

Plant essences can be effectively used in hair care, as well, because preparations with essential oils may prevent the occurrence of dandruff and stimulate hair growth. Essential oils can also be found in high-end cosmetic and skin care products, such as body and hair lotions, creams, soaps, and sprays.

Besides soothing your skin, you may expect essential oils to bring up your energy level, good mood, and an overall state of your body. Essential oils can also help alleviate the more mild forms of anxiety, insomnia, emotional imbalances, headaches, etc.

Now, let us find out more on their contribution to skin care.

Core Skin Benefits of Essential Oils

Moisturizing Dry Skin

If you have dry skin, the best oils for your skin type would be cedarwood, sandalwood, geranium, or chamomile oil. As natural moisturizers, these essential oils could be vital for your daily skin care. The benefits you might experience after the regular use include making your skin glow and be more healthy and strong in structure.

Refining Oily Skin

Jojoba oil would be your best choice for oily skin, as well as acne or skin lesions treatments. This type of oil is known for its ability to mimic sebum on the skin, so the sebaceous gland would start producing less sebum itself. That way, your pores would open up and your skin may easily become well-balanced and mate. Be careful with the dosage, though, because too much of jojoba oil may cause the counter effect. So, try not to use it daily, but several times a week perhaps.

Besides jojoba oil, you may consider orange, lemon, bergamot, or lime oil, as those would also regulate oil production and normalize the state of your skin.

Calming Sensitive Skin

For highly sensitive skin that tends to breakout easily, or suffers from inflammation, blemishes and reactions to irritation, you should find the way to calm it down without causing any side effects. In such situations, you could benefit from chamomile, geranium, lavender, or patchouli oil. Unlike some aggressive cosmetic preparations, these oils would create gentle, protective, anti-inflammatory layer on your skin and make you feel better in no time.

Rejuvenating Aged Skin

If you are fed up with using different anti-aging cosmetic creams that aren’t giving you the expected results, you might want to try essential oils to regenerate aging skin. Argan oil might be your best carrier oil in that case, and you might try out essential oils like tangerine, patchouli, lavender, or rose oil. Those could smoothly fight the wrinkles and tighten up your skin to look and feel young again.

All in all

You can try out various oils to find the essential oils that fit your skin type the best. You can also mix them and experiment with some home-made recipes for skin balms, creams, or lotions. That way, you might find the perfect blend for yourself that could help you achieve significant positive outcomes for your skin health.

However, if you are experiencing any kind of more serious dermatological problems, you should consider visiting a specialist. For the right kind of treatment, you may also want to consider specialized medical centers in your country or abroad, and try to find the best dermatology clinics in the world.

Hopefully, specific essential oil-based preparations can help you in reaching the goal of perfectly smooth and healthy skin.

 Author Bio

Tara Morgensen is a freelance medical writer. After several years in the B2B publishing industry, covering mostly healthcare topics for specialized print and digital magazines, she has leaped towards the independent career in the area of medical writing.