Using Essential Oils on Your Face

photo from yankiki

Many of my friends know that I struggled with acne and problem skin through my teens and twenties.  I went to various dermatologists and I was willing to try anything to clear my skin.  Having skin that is blemished is embarrassing and often times I wanted to hide my face--I felt like I had no control over how I was presenting myself to the world.  On my various trips to the dermatologist, I was always told to use products that were "oil-free."  I became scared to put anything with oil on my face because I was sure oil products would make my skin look worse by creating more clogged pores.  I also used various kinds of prescription creams and medicines in hopes of repairing my skin.  Most of the time those products resulted in flaky, dry, and reddened skin.

As I got older and researched skin issues for myself, I began to see the beauty in a simple and holistic facial care routine.  According to my skin guru, Evan Healy, "The less you interfere with the skin's own ability to achieve balance, the better."  Your skin is your body's largest organ.  It regenerates itself every twenty-eight days and is one of your body's major pathways for releasing metabolic impurities from digestion. 

Your skin actually needs oil.  In fact, in chemistry terms, "like dissolves like."  When you strip your face of oils with harsh chemical-laden cleansers, lotions, and creams you are creating a vicious cycle by which your skin actually produces MORE oil.   My research into oils has led me full circle--I am no longer scared of oils and think the more the better when it comes to my skin!  Most recently, I have started cleansing my face with a mixture of castor and jojoba carrier oils with a few drops of lavender essential oil in the evening.   

I use essential oils in a carrier oil at night to moisturize and protect my skin. My favorite blend is lavender and frankincense suspended in jojoba oil. The lavender has a clean, fresh smell and aids in healing blemishes. It is calming to the skin. The restorative and regenerative properties of frankincense are useful for dry and/or sensitive skin to smooth lines and wrinkles or soften chapped skin. My mom, whose skin is "more mature," uses a blend of lavender, helichrysum, frankincense, lemon, and orange. Helichrysum decreases redness and inflammation and is restorative for mature skin. Mostly, she just likes the smell of the lemon and orange oils, but the lemon oil does balance overactive sebaceous glands that can lead to blemishes and orange oil balances both dry and oily skin. 

Do you use oil on your face?  What essential oils and carrier oils do you like best?