Moisturizing with oil? Although this may sound pretty scary to most people, moisturizing and cleansing with natural oils can work wonders for your skin, even for those who are blemish-prone and suffer from oily skin!
Essential oils are vitamin and fatty acid-infused and provide a budget-friendly solution for a wide range of skin complications. This includes acne, dryness, oily skin, hyperpigmentation and scaring, dark circles under the eyes, and they even can help stimulate eyelash growth! Not to mention, oil cleansing and moisturizing is great for those who suffer from extremely sensitive skin and are looking for a chemical-free, natural skin care solution. Here is a list of beauty benefits that essential oils provide, as well as the best type of oils to try for your, unique skin!
They help cure pesky under-eye dark circles
Essential oils that are high in Vitamin E help to treat those annoying dark circles under the eye. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin and is also a powerful source of antioxidants. Antioxidants protect cell tissues from free radical damage, environmental pollutants, and ultraviolet sunrays, all of which can contribute to dark circles. Vitamin E can also soften the appearance of small, purple-tinted veins under the eyes that provide the appearance of dark circles, in individuals with thin skin under their eyes. Vitamin E helps to increase circulation and blood flow in these veins around the eyes, helping to de-puff the under-eye area and make the appearance of unsightly under-eye veins a little bit less prominent.
Plant seed oils are known to contain high sources of vitamin E, such as Sunflower Seed Oil and Grape Seed Oil, as well as other essential oils like Argan Oil. You can also purchase pure vitamin E oil at many health food stores or at your local drug store in gel-capsule form. Just poke a hole in the Vitamin E capsule and apply topically.
Essential oils with Vitamin K in them are also proven to help with under-eye circles and darkness. Vitamin K is another fat-soluble vitamin that helps with the clotting of blood. In this way, it hinders the flow of blood from the tiny blood vessels in the thin skin under the eyes, making this area appear less dark and purple-tinted. Furthermore, a natural essential oil that also contains Vitamin K is Cactus Seed oil, which also goes by Prickly Pear Seed Oil.
In addition to this, essential oils also help restore moisture under the eyes. Dry skin around the eyes usually makes eyes appear more tired, and makes the appearance of fine lines around the eyes more visible.
They are great for acne prone skin and help clear blemishes
Although the idea of using oils on acne-prone skill seems a little bit scary to most people, many particular types of oils can actually help to improve acne-prone skin. First off, many individuals who suffer from blemishes and oily skin also suffer from overly dehydrated skin. When your skin is overly dry and dehydrated, it produces more oil as a natural response. Many individuals who over-use acne products with harsh chemicals that dry out your skin (such as sycillic acid and benzol peroxide) are more likely to suffer from oily skin and more breakouts as a result.
Adding in essential oils into your skin regime will help to regulate oily and combination skin, and help your skin retain its natural moisture barrier. However, it’s important to make sure that those who are using facial oils with acne-prone skin should pick an essential oil that is non-comedogenic and won’t clog your pores. Essential oils such as Jojoba Oil, Grape Seed Oil, Cactus Seed Oil, Argan Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, and Hemp Seed Oil are all non-comedogenic facial oils that won’t clog your pores. Unlike many other essential oils that are high in oleic acid, which often contributes to breakouts and clogged pores, these oils are high in linoleic acid. Individuals who suffer from acne tend to have low amounts of low linoleic acid in their skin, so essential oils that are high linoleic acid are proven to help clear blemish-prone skin.
They help to quickly clear hyperpigmentation and discoloration of the skin
Many essential face oils can also fast track the healing of dark spots and hyperpigmentation from aging, sun exposure, and acne scaring, making your overall complexion brighter and clearer. Essential oils that are high in Vitamin E have vital healing properties that can not only help with dark circles under the eyes, but can also diminish dark spots and heal light facial scaring and hyperpigmentation. Vitamin E works to heal discoloration by blocking free radicals from the skin and by speeding up cell regeneration. As mentioned above, Sunflower Seed Oil, Grape Seed Oil, and Argan Oil are all essential oils that contain high contents of Vitamin E.
The antioxidant properties of Vitamin C also trigger collagen production (say yes to firmer, younger-looking skin), stimulate cell turnover, as well as fight against free radicles that damage and age skin. Vitamin C contains ascorbic acid, which is powerful antioxidant that helps heal damaged skin and interferes with the over-production of melanin in the skin. This helps to lessen the appearance of dark spots and discoloration and will give your skin a bright and flawless, even-toned glow.
Rose Hip Oil is a non-comdogenic essential oil that contains high contents of Vitamin C as well as Vitamin A (Retinol), which also helps stimulate cell turnover and fade discoloration. Like Rose Hip Oil, you can also purchase pure Vitamin C and E oil at select health food stores.
They work wonders for dry skin and provide a healthy, radiant glow
In addition to all of the anti-aging and skin care benefits that essential oils provide for your skin, the most common and obvious use for all essentials oils is to moisturize skin. If you are one who suffers from extremely dry skin in the cold winter months, or have overly sensitive skin that tends to react badly to many harsh cleansers and moisturizers, essential oils are definitely a good option for you! To combat dry skin, you can either use your favorite essential oil as a moisturizer, a facial cleanser, or as a night serum after your regular skin care regime. Adding essential oils into your skin care regime also provides a healthy, dewy, and radiant glow that you can’t achieve with most regular face moisturizers. Just take Miranda Kerr for instance, who attributes her flawless glow to essential oils!
There you have it, fellow skin care junkies! You can find most of these natural essential oils at your nearest health food store, or purchase them on Amazon.ca. You can get the best results from natural oils when they are cold-pressed and organic, so make sure you are reading the labels!