Natural Oils for skin: a God’s Land!

Natural oils are the way nature has to show us that it loves us and it gives us everything we need to be nurtured and healthy and like Dr. Josh Axe said: “Essential oils are the most powerful form of plant-based medicine.”

Before we look further into the benefits of the oils, it is important to be aware what we talk about when we mention natural oils. Oils can be essential or vegetable.

Essential oils are extremely thick, so a few drops are more than enough. They are usually diluted in water or in a vegetable oil.

Essential oils are extracted from leaves, roots, flowers, stems and fruits. Essential oils evaporate and not all essential oils can be ingested directly. They may cause some allergies or irritations. The scent is quite strong and they are therefore used in aromatherapy. They are highly concentrated, for example it may take 10 to 15kg of flowers to produce 10mL of an oil.

Vegetable oils are more liquid and they can be used as the base of the oils combinations. Vegetable oils are made of fat extracted from seeds and fruits. Vegetable oils do not evaporate and they can be ingested. They rarely cause any type of allergy and they penetrate fast in the skin. The scent is usually light. Vegetable oils are usually the carrier oil, which means they are the base of the recipe when we use essential oils, it is in vegetable oils that the essential oils are diluted to be applied on the skin.

The oils can interact with the human body in three ways:

• Aromatically: the scent of essential oils can be quite powerful and helpful in several situations, such as mood regulator or breathing issues.

• Topically: we can apply a combination of vegetable oils and essential oils in our skin, both in specific skin areas to relieve symptoms (burns, swelling) or as a everyday moisturizer.

• Internally: we can take few drops of some essential oils and we can use vegetable oils to cook and get their benefits directly in our blood stream.

Amongst the great benefits of the oils we find:

• Chronic illnesses: essential oils are high in therapeutic compounds. They can be used to destroy viruses and pathogenic bacteria.

• Balance energy levels: essential oils can help your moods and also your whole body to feel energize. They can also balance the hormones, either by breathing them or applying them directly on the skin.

• Beauty: a combination of essential oils and vegetable oils can be used as a powerful moisturizer both for the face and for the body.

• Weight loss: a few drops of the right essential oil on the water may be what you need to control appetite or to digest food better.

• Household cleaning: some drops of essential oils such as tea tree oil or lemon oil can be added to water and used for housecleaning instead of all those chemicals we usually buy to clean the house.

Emotional therapies: cases such as insomnia or sadness can be handled by oil technique applications by applying them directly in the skin (it is very effective when applied in the feet soles) or by breathing their scent through house diffusers.

The skin is our biggest organ and, as such, reflects everything that happens inside our organism: hormones, food habits, stress, physical exercice (or lack of it). The great secret to a young and healthy skin is to feed ourselves as if our body is a temple. If we only consume foods rich in constituents which contribute to the youth of the organs (fruits, vegetables) that will reflect in the skin, helping to keep its elasticity. The same goes for the products we apply on the skin, since this organ will absorb whatever you put in it.

There are so many products to take care of the skin that some times we don’t really know which ones to use. I have always been addicted in cosmetics and in the miracles that these delicious bottles promise, until I realized that most of the time, cosmetics are only selling promises. It’s possible to have an excellent skin using natural oils. It is cheaper and the oils take care of the skin without harming it.

The word oil sounds scary, especially if you have oily or combination skin (which is my case) because we think we’re putting more oil into it and therefore it will be even worse. That has happened because cosmetics have made us get used to the term oil-free, used in the cosmetics for oily to combination skin. This term only makes sense when we’re talking about refined oils that we find in cosmetics. When the issue is natural oils, although the word stands “oil”, the meaning is totally different. Natural oils will naturally balance the skin and there are several types of oils that can be lighter or thicker and therefore used accordingly.

The right selection of natural oils can make wonders to any skin. Why? Because the natural oils balance the skin, unlike the artificially produced oils that will worsen the oiliness and hence the oil-free option to the oily skin consumers. Natural oils – when well chosen – will adapt to the skin and will help its natural balance. For example, in my case (I am 31 and I have a combination skin) the mixture that works for me now is:

For 50mL:

For the base oil:

1/4 greapeseed oil (thin oil)

1/4 avocado oil (thick oil)

1/2 sweet almond oil (in between)

Avocado oil is quite thick and therefore it is adequate for skins that require more moisture.

Grape seed oil is perfect for young skins or for oily skins because it is very light.

Sweet almond oil is medium. It has a lot of beneficial properties and I am actually applying it in the eye area (a powerful reducer of dark circles) and on the body.

And for the essential oils:

Lavander 12 drops

Geranium 10 drops

Sandalwood 3 drops

Lavender calms the body and the skin, relieves different emotional and physical symptoms such as anxiety, digestion diseases, burns, cuts or bug bites.

Geranium helps to relieve dermatitis and eczema, it is adequate for combination skin or congested skin, it balances hormones, it reduces wrinkles and it tones the muscles.

Sandalwood can be used to cure sunburns, to clear skin complexion, it is also adequate for a good skin texture, preventing sagging and aging skin, it is a powerful smoother leaving the skin very soft, it is adequate for acne treatments because it has antibacterial properties and it relieves itching and infections, like skin redness and sore skin.

This suits me perfectly and my skin has never been so smooth. This happens because the oils both hydrate and clean the skin.

There are many possibilities. Oils made from trees are often stronger therefore use less drops of those. Oils made from blossoms always go together. Any oils made from citrus peels should not bee used in the face, since it may be too strong, but lemongrass is fine in small portions.

For the eyes I have started to use the same mixture as I used for the face. It burnt a little bit (probably the sandalwood properties, since it is antiseptic and anti-inflammatory) plus I was not being given the high amount of moisture that my eye contour area required (I had eczema in the eyelids in the past and ever since I need a richer moisturizer on this area than in the rest of the face). So I have tried sweet almond oil for the eye contouring area and it is perfect. Sweet almond oil is quite gentle in the skin and it is also particularly recommended for the eye area, since it reduces dark circles.

I would say there is only one inconvenient for this solution, in case you are not used to it, immediately after you apply the oils your skin is a bit oily. In the summertime this may mean that you have to be careful with the clothes you put on yourself right after applying the oil since they may stain. On the face if you don’t use anything else you’re great to go. If you use foundation the oil will help the foundation spread. However if you only wish to use face powder you may have to wait a bit longer until the oil is completely absorbed or remove the excess with a tissue. But if you do that the oil may not give you the moisture that your skin requires. You just have to try it as you go along, but either way I would recommend you to do it right after the shower or as soon as you wash your face so you give it time to sink in as you do the rest of your morning routine.

There is something I can guarantee for sure: once you start applying natural oils on the skin you'll love the texture and you'll feel like you’ve entered in a God’s land! So welcome to the marvelous world of natural oils!

#oils #beauty #naturaloils #life