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Healing Your Skin With Essential Oils
Pure essential oils have a long history of use in natural
skin care. These wonderful phytochemicals provide a great
breadth of natural, medicinal components well-known for
healing damaged skin, as well as reducing the appearance of
stretch marks, old scars from wounds, bouts of acne and
other incidents. Essential oil blends for these
applications are gentle, safe for regular use, and have a
wonderful aroma to boot! These oils and blends are
described in the French medical aromatherapy liturature, an
excellent source for true therapeutic use of essential oils.
There are a few primary oils used in skin repair.
Additional oils may be added to your liking (to improve
aroma, or add further skin-supportive properties), but
here, we'll concentrate just on the commonly used oils for
skin damage. First, and likely most important, is
Helichrysum Italicum, also known as Everlasting. This oil
with a lovely earthy and floral aroma is distilled from the
brightly-colored, daisy-like flowers native to the
Mediterranean region. Helichrysum is highly regarded in
medical aromatherapy for it's range of healing properties.
It is strongly anti-inflammatory, and has a high
concentration of regenerative diketones found only in this
oil. It is a bit more expensive due to it's low yield in
processing, but produces it's wonderful effects in very
small doses.
Helichrysum essential oil is the cornerstone for many
blends for healing the skin, and is the only one necessary
for supporting currently healing skin damage - it should be
used at appropriate concentrations with Rosehip Seed and
Hazelnut oils, as mentioned later in this article. As noted
by well-known aromatherapist Kurt Schnaubelt, "The triple
unsaturated fatty acids (of Rosehip Seed oil) strengthen
the cell membranes and, combined with the regenerative
qualities of Everlasting oil (Helichrysum), heal wounds
with minimal or no scarring".
Lavender essential oil is another very commonly used
aromatic with a pleasant, soothing aroma and well-known
healing effects. The specific type of lavender oil is
distilled from the flowers of the Lavendula angustifolia
species. It is included in many skin care blends as it also
contains ketone molecules which stimulate tissue
regeneration. Lavender, also like Helichrysum, is an
anti-inflammatory, and is generally thought to bring
synergy (enhancing the overal effect) to essential oil
blends.
The essential oil distilled from common Sage is included
for skin damage that is 'old' - where the healing happened
some time ago and has left some unsightly scars. Thie oil
can be effective on keloid scars, acne scars, etc, though
application need be regular and should continue for 3 to 6
months. Sage oil is used to break up the scar tissue and to
stimulate regeneration with it's powerful components. Sage
oil should be used with great care and in small amounts.
While it is called for in formulas for stretch marks, it
should only be use after pregnancy, and not during by
expectant mothers.
Rosemary is the final essential oil we'll cover here for
skin healing and scar treatment. Rosemary of the Verbenone
chemotype (rather than Cineol, which does not have the same
properties) contains regenerative ketones like Lavender and
Helichrysum, plus has the added benefit of stimulating the
skin's metabolic process. This oil can bring greater
circulation to skin tissues, delivering nutrients and
eliminating cellular waste and toxins.
All these essential oils should be diluted in carrier oils,
different than essential oils in that they are made up of
fatty acids, rather than volatile aromatic compounds.
Carrier oils help the skin absorb the essential oils, and
provide important nutrients to help the skin heal and look
its best. The most healing of these is Rosehip Seed oil,
cold-pressed from seeds of plants native to mountainous
regions of South America. In addition to healthy
unsaturated fatty acids, the oil contains natural vitamin A
compounds similar to the pharmaceutical preparation Retin-A
but without the over drying or redness that often
accompanies its use. Hazelnut oil is also a wonderful
carrier well tolerated by all skin types; its gentle
astringent qualities prevent the skin from feeling oily
upon application.
Now for the recipes. For effective wound healing of recent
cuts and scrapes (and for surgical incisions), in 1 ounce
Hazelnut oil and 1 ounce Rosehip seed oil add 1 milliliter
(25 drops) of Helichrysum essential oil and 1 milliliter of
Lavender essential oil - apply twice a day for 7 to 10
days. For older scars from wounds or acne, including keloid
scars, replace the Lavender in the previous recipe with
Sage essential oil. Apply regularly for 3 to 6 months. For
the healing of stretch marks post partum, use 1 ounce
Rosehip seed and 1 ounce Hazelnut oil with 1 milliliter
Sage essential oil and 2 milliliters with Rosemary
Verbenone essential oil; again use for 3 to 6 months.
These effective recipes are derived from the French medical
aromatherapy liturature specifically for wound healing
applications. With some research, you will find wonderful
recipes using essential oils for a broad range of skin
care applications - they work, and they're heavenly to use!
As with all aromatherapy use, go slowly, watch for any
(rare) skin reactions, and remember that less is more with
essential oils - almost all have been noted to work in very
low, well tolerated concentrations.
----------------------------------------------------
The author is a natural wellness professional with a
private practice specializing in women's health and natural
health education. She is the owner of Ananda Integrative
Wellness, and can be reached through
http://www.anandaapothecary.com
Pure essential oils have a long history of use in natural
skin care. These wonderful phytochemicals provide a great
breadth of natural, medicinal components well-known for
healing damaged skin, as well as reducing the appearance of
stretch marks, old scars from wounds, bouts of acne and
other incidents. Essential oil blends for these
applications are gentle, safe for regular use, and have a
wonderful aroma to boot! These oils and blends are
described in the French medical aromatherapy liturature, an
excellent source for true therapeutic use of essential oils.
There are a few primary oils used in skin repair.
Additional oils may be added to your liking (to improve
aroma, or add further skin-supportive properties), but
here, we'll concentrate just on the commonly used oils for
skin damage. First, and likely most important, is
Helichrysum Italicum, also known as Everlasting. This oil
with a lovely earthy and floral aroma is distilled from the
brightly-colored, daisy-like flowers native to the
Mediterranean region. Helichrysum is highly regarded in
medical aromatherapy for it's range of healing properties.
It is strongly anti-inflammatory, and has a high
concentration of regenerative diketones found only in this
oil. It is a bit more expensive due to it's low yield in
processing, but produces it's wonderful effects in very
small doses.
Helichrysum essential oil is the cornerstone for many
blends for healing the skin, and is the only one necessary
for supporting currently healing skin damage - it should be
used at appropriate concentrations with Rosehip Seed and
Hazelnut oils, as mentioned later in this article. As noted
by well-known aromatherapist Kurt Schnaubelt, "The triple
unsaturated fatty acids (of Rosehip Seed oil) strengthen
the cell membranes and, combined with the regenerative
qualities of Everlasting oil (Helichrysum), heal wounds
with minimal or no scarring".
Lavender essential oil is another very commonly used
aromatic with a pleasant, soothing aroma and well-known
healing effects. The specific type of lavender oil is
distilled from the flowers of the Lavendula angustifolia
species. It is included in many skin care blends as it also
contains ketone molecules which stimulate tissue
regeneration. Lavender, also like Helichrysum, is an
anti-inflammatory, and is generally thought to bring
synergy (enhancing the overal effect) to essential oil
blends.
The essential oil distilled from common Sage is included
for skin damage that is 'old' - where the healing happened
some time ago and has left some unsightly scars. Thie oil
can be effective on keloid scars, acne scars, etc, though
application need be regular and should continue for 3 to 6
months. Sage oil is used to break up the scar tissue and to
stimulate regeneration with it's powerful components. Sage
oil should be used with great care and in small amounts.
While it is called for in formulas for stretch marks, it
should only be use after pregnancy, and not during by
expectant mothers.
Rosemary is the final essential oil we'll cover here for
skin healing and scar treatment. Rosemary of the Verbenone
chemotype (rather than Cineol, which does not have the same
properties) contains regenerative ketones like Lavender and
Helichrysum, plus has the added benefit of stimulating the
skin's metabolic process. This oil can bring greater
circulation to skin tissues, delivering nutrients and
eliminating cellular waste and toxins.
All these essential oils should be diluted in carrier oils,
different than essential oils in that they are made up of
fatty acids, rather than volatile aromatic compounds.
Carrier oils help the skin absorb the essential oils, and
provide important nutrients to help the skin heal and look
its best. The most healing of these is Rosehip Seed oil,
cold-pressed from seeds of plants native to mountainous
regions of South America. In addition to healthy
unsaturated fatty acids, the oil contains natural vitamin A
compounds similar to the pharmaceutical preparation Retin-A
but without the over drying or redness that often
accompanies its use. Hazelnut oil is also a wonderful
carrier well tolerated by all skin types; its gentle
astringent qualities prevent the skin from feeling oily
upon application.
Now for the recipes. For effective wound healing of recent
cuts and scrapes (and for surgical incisions), in 1 ounce
Hazelnut oil and 1 ounce Rosehip seed oil add 1 milliliter
(25 drops) of Helichrysum essential oil and 1 milliliter of
Lavender essential oil - apply twice a day for 7 to 10
days. For older scars from wounds or acne, including keloid
scars, replace the Lavender in the previous recipe with
Sage essential oil. Apply regularly for 3 to 6 months. For
the healing of stretch marks post partum, use 1 ounce
Rosehip seed and 1 ounce Hazelnut oil with 1 milliliter
Sage essential oil and 2 milliliters with Rosemary
Verbenone essential oil; again use for 3 to 6 months.
These effective recipes are derived from the French medical
aromatherapy liturature specifically for wound healing
applications. With some research, you will find wonderful
recipes using essential oils for a broad range of skin
care applications - they work, and they're heavenly to use!
As with all aromatherapy use, go slowly, watch for any
(rare) skin reactions, and remember that less is more with
essential oils - almost all have been noted to work in very
low, well tolerated concentrations.
----------------------------------------------------
The author is a natural wellness professional with a
private practice specializing in women's health and natural
health education. She is the owner of Ananda Integrative
Wellness, and can be reached through
http://www.anandaapothecary.com