If you want to look younger for longer, one of the most critical things you can do is to take good care of your skin. A lot of that involves a quality skin care regimen using products that are specifically chosen for your skin type, protecting your skin from the sun, eating a nutritious diet, and drinking plenty of water. Those aren’t the only things you can do to help your skin though. The topical application of certain essential oils can be beneficial for your skin as well.
Properties of Essential Oils
In order to better understand why essential oils are good for your skin it helps to have an understanding of the properties of essential oils and how they interact with your skin. Arguably the most important property of essential oils when it comes to interacting with your skin is its lipophilicity. That means that it is able to dissolve in fats, oils, and non-polar solvents. It makes sense, given the fact that the word “oil” is included in the very name of the substance.
So why does this matter? Think about the purposes of your skin. It’s intended to be a barrier that prevents harmful substances from getting into your body. It’s also meant to keep everything in your body. On a much smaller scale, one of the jobs it has is to retain water. Sure, you sweat some water out, but the majority of it stays underneath your skin. In order for it to do that, it needs to be hydrophobic (repels water or scared of water—whichever makes sense to you) in nature, which means it generally tends to prevent water from passing through. In the case of your skin, it’s not only hydrophobic, but also lipophilic, which means that essential oils are more readily able to move through your skin and be absorbed by it.
Penetration Enhancers
Now that you have a better idea of how essential oils are able to penetrate the skin, what can be done to make the level of penetration even more effective? Remember, essential oils are lipophilic, which makes it a lot easier for them to be absorbed. This means, if you mix essential oils with something you want to have absorbed, it’ll absorb easier! But just because they work well on their own doesn’t mean that they can’t be helped. There are a few things that you can do to enhance penetration and absorption. Applying essential oils topically to a large area of skin can help more of it penetrate your skin. That means using a carrier oil. Keep in mind that carrier oils with lower viscosities will absorb better, as will the essential oils mixed into them. Fractionated coconut oil can be a penetration enhancer for this exact reason. Turn the application into a massage. The warmth produced by the massage will further enhance the absorption of the oil.
How Collagen Works
Anyone who’s spent much time looking into skin care has probably heard about collagen before. Do you really understand it though? If not, we’ve got you covered. Collagen is a structural protein and is a main component of connective tissue, which includes bodily structures like tendons, ligaments, bone, cartilage, and skin. In the case of your skin, collagen is located in the dermis. It helps your skin look youthful by preventing sagging. It keeps your skin smooth and elastic. While collagen is naturally produced by the body, production decreases as you age, leading to the appearance of aged skin. Things like wearing sunscreen and eating foods high in antioxidants can help protect the collagen you have and reduce the rate at which it breaks down.
Effects of Essential Oils
Essential oils can have multiple effects that benefit the skin. Oils like Frankincense and Lavender help improve the appearance of your skin. One of the ways they may do this is by promoting collagen growth and protecting what you already have. Then there’s our Facial Oil, which includes these as well as other great essential oils for collagen such as Carrot Seed, Geranium, Rose, Ylang Ylang, and Sandalwood, along with many others that offer plenty of appearance-boosting skin benefits. Other oils that improve the appearance of your skin include Tea Tree, Helichrysum, and our skin rejuvenation blend, Soothing.
It’s also worth noting that one of the most well-known effects of essential oils are their aromatherapy benefits, many of which focus on soothing, relaxing, and uplifting. This benefits the skin indirectly as we tend to behave in ways that are more conducive to having healthy, beautiful skin when we aren’t stressed or depressed.
Taking care of your skin is a lifelong process, or at least it is if you want it to be as healthy and look as beautiful as it can throughout your life. There are plenty of products out there to choose from, but not all of them are going to have the same purity and impact that essential oils can. Be sure to work beneficial essential oils into your skin care to reap the appearance-boosting benefits they offer.
