Healing Oils for Your Skin
Carrier Oils Your Face Will Love
Essential Oils are wonderful for the skin, but it's also vital to choose the right carrier oil. Carrier, or base oils, are simply the vegetable oil in which you dilute your essential oils. They have incredible regenerating and healing benefits in their own right. Today we're going to talk about two of our absolute favorite anti-aging and healing oils for your skin. You can use these straight or combine them with skin-friendly essential oils like Carrot Seed, Lavender and Rose, to name just a few.
There are so, so many wonderful carrier oils that it can be overwhelming to narrow them down. But in this blog, we're going to restrain ourselves by talking about two oils that are especially fantastic for your face if you're trying to prevent and minimize the effects of aging (ie, wrinkles).
So, our two favorite healing oils for healthy, vibrant and glowing skin are:
#1 Tamanu Oil
I've been handing samples of this oil to my friends like crazy because I'm just so, so in love with this stuff. If you're not familiar with it, Tamanu (also known as Foraha and Calophyllum) comes from the South Pacific and has a long history of use there for promoting healthy skin and hair. It's an amazingly effective healing oil for skin problems ranging from rashes, scars, stretch marks, sun damage, premature aging and more. Tamanu also has anti-neuralgic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antibiotic, and analgesic properties.
The smell is distinctive and hard to describe--I've heard it compared to butter pecan, buttercream frosting and even curry (I personally think butter pecan is the best description). If I had to pick just one oil for mature skin, this would be it. Tamanu is also an excellent choice for helping treat burns, eczema, acne, psoriasis and the fading of scars.
How to Use Tamanu Oil:
You can use it straight (it's thick and a little goes a long way--just a drop or two applied to your neck and face is enough). You can also combine it with a lighter oil like Argan or Grapeseed and add a few drops of Lavender or Frankincense if you're not crazy about the smell.
#2 Rosehip Seed Oil
Rosehip Seed Oil (Rosa Mosqueta) comes from the seeds of a wild rose plant which grows in Chile (among other places). It's a medium to heavy oil with a beautiful amber hue and a rather distinctive, fatty-nutty aroma. Rosehip oil is rich in essential fatty acids and helps nurture damaged and aging skin.
Rosehip has been studied quite a bit for its amazing regenerative and healing properties. In 1983,The University of Santiago studied 180 individuals with extensive facial scarring, acne scarring, deep wrinkles, UV damage, radiation damage, scars, premature aging, and other skin related problems. In this study, Rosehip oil was found to help regenerate the skin, reduce scars and wrinkles, and help skin to regain its natural color and tone. Further research has shown similar results. In 1988 a study was conducted on a group of women in their twenties and thirties with sun-damaged skin (premature aging, wrinkles and sun spots). After four months of applying rosehip oil daily, their wrinkles and sun spots had almost completely disappeared and their complexions looked generally fresher and healthier.
How to Use Rosehip Oil:
You can use Rosehip 'straight' or blend it with essential oil. For helping to heal/fade scars, we recommend mixing 10-15 drops of Helichrysum essential oil to one ounce Rosehip oil. Use a small amount three to four times per day.
Note that because Rosehip is a heavier oil, we don't recommend it for those with acne or oily skin.
Recipe for a Nourishing, Restoring, Healing Oil Blend:
Combine 6 drops helichrysum essential oil, 6 drops carrot seed essential oil, 8 drops lavender essential oil with one tablespoon rosehip seed oil and one tablespoon tamanu oil. Apply to face and neck two times a day with light, upward strokes for glowing, beautiful skin.
And there you have it - a simple and affordable moisturizer your skin will love (and best of all, you know exactly what's in it!).