Get Glowing Skin with Essential Oils
Add essential oils to your beauty routine for glowing, radiant skin. (Photo: Henry Leutwyler)
Incorporating aromatherapy into your day can do much more than just liven up bath time. Using essential oils from plants for healing can reduce headaches, increase focus, release anxiety, help you sleep, and keep your skin radiant. Essential oils aren’t something your MD will write a prescription for, but they’ve been used for centuries to heal all types of ailments. Distillation pots have even been found from The Ancient Egyptians dating back to 3,500 BC — Cleopatra knew what’s up.
“Essential oils can support healthy skin by supporting cellular rejuvenation or they can be utilized to treat an imbalance,” says Jade Shutes, the founder of the East-West School for Herbal and Aromatic Studies. By offering an array of potential therapeutic actions for the skin including: antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, astringent, cell regenerative, wound healing, and more, a small amount of the oils below give a big bang for your beauty buck.
One of the best ways to get glowing skin is by using a scrub enhanced with essential oils. Combine two cups of fine sea salt or sugar with one cup of your favorite carrier oil (a base oil like grapeseed or olive oil) into a bowl. Add 30 drops of your favorite essential oil, stir all ingredients until blended, and apply below the neck (avoiding your legs if you’ve just shaved).
Here are four oils you can add to your favorite moisturizer or serum:
Carrot seed essential oil rejuvenates the skin, not only by helping smooth skin, but also by assisting cell regeneration.
Geranium helps regulate oil production and reduces acne breakouts. It also helps improve skin elasticity and reduces the appearance of wrinkles.
Basil is wonderful to soothe insect bites and is ideal for sensitive skin.
Frankincense is the ideal oil if you are treating aging skin, have elasticity issues, or need to regenerate skin cells. It can help with pigmentation, as well as tone and tighten skin. It also has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, making it ideal for acne-prone skin.
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