The Power of Essential Oils: Enhancing Skin Elasticity and Radiance
The benefits of essential oils are endless! They can reduce stress, relieve headaches, and increase sleeping quality for many years. But did you know they can also enhance skin elasticity and radiance? From frankincense to tea tree oil, here is a guide for understanding the power of essential oils for skin and how to use them safely as topicals or ingredients.
What Are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are highly concentrated plant extracts. They’re made by steaming or pressing different parts of a plant and they contain different aromatic compounds. It can take several pounds of a plant to produce just a single bottle of essential oil, which is why some can be very expensive. Since they are made of a wide range of different plants and their parts, they can be useful for almost everything. Essential oils are far more than just a smell. They have a healing effect that can be mental, physical, or emotional. They can be used in aromatherapy, personal care products, and even household applications.
Benefits of Essential Oils
Essential oils offer a wide range of benefits for both the body and mind. Each oil has its unique properties making them useful for different conditions. They can help with:
- Reducing the Effects of Stress and Anxiety
- Improving Sleep Quality
- Enhancing Respiratory Quality
- Boosting Mood
- Killing Bacteria, Fungi, and Viruses
- Supporting Hair and Scalp Health
- Used as an Alternative Treatment for Some Skin Conditions
- Supporting Overall Skin Health and Care
Which Essential Oils Are Best?
When it comes to choosing essential oils for skincare, it’s important to consider your skin type. Essential oils have different benefits due to their different properties, so selecting the right ones can make a significant difference in your skin elasticity and skin radiance.
Dry Skin
Dry skin requires extra hydration and nourishment to balance its moisture and prevent dehydration. Dehydration can cause sensitivity, irritation, acne, and pimple formation, and aging due to loss of skin elasticity. Here are some essential oils to prevent this damage to your skin barrier:
Jojoba Oil: Jojoba oil closely resembles the skin’s natural sebum, making it an excellent moisturizer. It helps restore moisture and promote skin elasticity as well as skin radiance.
Lavender Oil: Lavender oil is renowned for its calming and soothing properties. It can help alleviate dryness and irritation, making it beneficial for dry, sensitive skin.
Combination and Oily Skin
The most important thing in skin care for combination and oily skin types is to maintain the sebum balance as well as the moisture. When the moisture and sebum balance is not maintained, effects such as excessive oiliness on the skin, clogged pores, pimples, and acne formation may be observed. To protect yourself from these effects, you can try the following oils:
Frankincense Oil: Frankincense oil has astringent properties that can help reduce the appearance of pores and regulate sebum production. It is beneficial for oily and combination skin types.
Tea Tree Oil: Tea tree oil has powerful antibacterial properties that can help control excess oil production and prevent acne breakouts. It is ideal for oily and acne-prone skin.
Ylang-Ylang Oil: Ylang-ylang oil balances sebum production, improves skin elasticity, and has a soothing effect, making it suitable for oily and combination skin.
Rosemary Oil: Rosemary oil can help reduce problems such as acne and pimples on oily skin due to its antiseptic properties. A few drops of rosemary oil can be mixed with a carrier oil and massaged into the skin.
You can also use sage oil to prevent hormonal acne and lavender oil to help heal wounds.
Sensitive Skin
If you have a sensitive skin type, you already know how hard it is to find a soothing product that does not irritate your skin. While it is hard to find these products, essential oils may be really helpful and easily accessible. In order to avoid redness, itching, and even dermatitis you may try these oils:
Chamomile Oil: Chamomile oil soothes and reduces inflammation, making it helpful for sensitive or irritated skin conditions like eczema or rosacea.
Oregano Oil: Oregano oil has antimicrobial properties that can help alleviate skin irritation and inflammation. It is beneficial for sensitive and acne-prone skin.
How to Use Essential Oils Safely?
Although essential oils have numerous benefits, they also need to be used with caution. To prevent these risks, you may want to use these oils within the skincare products as an ingridient.
When applying essential oils to an area, it is necessary to apply it with a carrier oil such as coconut oil, olive oil, or avocado oil. Otherwise, you may irritate your skin and seriously damage your skin barrier.
Also, before using the oils directly on a large area, be sure to try them on a very small area, such as the inside of your arm. In case of redness, itching, or burning, it is not recommended to use that essential oil.
Always consult with a healthcare professional before using essential oils, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or have underlying health conditions.
