Are Essential Oils Beneficial in Skincare?

"All-natural" skincare has become more and more popular over the years, with most brands adding essential oils to their products. The terms "all-natural", "toxin-free", and "100% organic" are featured by most skincare brands. But how safe and effective are essential oils? Let's take a closer look.

What is an essential oil?

Essential oils are the essences of plants that have been distilled into a highly concentrated oil. Essential oils can be sourced from many different parts of the plant. For example, rose oil is obtained from rose petals while orange and lemon are sourced from refining their peels.

Are essential oils are safe for your skin?

There are hundreds off essential oils. Finding an oil that suits you will first depend on your skin type. Placing most essential oils directly onto your skin, no matter what your skin type is, can cause severe irritation, especially for sensitive skin types. Diluting essential oils in a carrier oil, like jojoba or coconut oil before using them on your skin is the safest way to use essential oils. All of the citrus oils, including lemon, lime, tangerine, grapefruit, mandarin, and bergamot, are a big problem for all skin types. Also extremely problematic are mint oils such as peppermint, Our lips do not contain pores therefore, peppermint is safer used in lip products because the skin on the lips is less reactive than the skin on our bodies.

What are the benefits of essential oils in skincare?

Essential oils differ from nutritive oils like jojoba, coconut oil, rosehip, and sweet almond oil. Nutritive oils are seed and/or vegetable sourced oils that are rich in skin-benefiting fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. On he other hand essential oils are usually pure fragrance. Essential oils are distilled through an extraction process that leaves behind all of the potential fatty acids and minerals of the original plant. Most nutritive oils have significant benefits when applied to the skin alone. Adding essential oils often increase or enrich the benefits that are already found in the nutritive oils.

Some oils are better suited for skincare and others are better suited for non-beauty purposes.

stress and anxiety: Lavender, cedarwood, lemon, bergamot, orange, and valerian.

skin care: Lavender, carrot seed, rose, rosehip, frankincense, geranium, tea tree, ylang-ylang, and patchouli.

cleaning: Cinnamon, pine, and lemon.

mood enhancing: Lemon and peppermint.

immune-boosting: Lemon, lavender, tea tree, eucalyptus, oregano, thyme, orange, and cinnamon.

In other words: Do your homework!

Many essential oils have been shown to be beneficial to skin, but remember it’s important to dilute them in a carrier oil so they’re safe to apply. Read labels carefully. Always look for blends created with 100 percent essential oils, like our Blue Bliss Beauty Oil and our Bloom Beauty Oil. Be careful of unregulated terms like ‘all-natural,’ ‘therapeutic grade,’ and ‘fragrance oil. And of coarse, do a patch test on a small area of your skin before you apply oils to your entire face. If you experience any irritation stop using immediately!