When most people hear that they can apply essential oils to their skin to help support clear skin, they immediately think that the oils will make their skin more oily and cause more breakouts. This is completely false because essential oils are not really oils. Essential oils are not made up of the fatty acids that we find in actual oils. Valerie Gennari Cooksley, who is the author of the book, Aromatherapy: Soothing Remedies to Restore, Rejuvenate, and Heal, describes essential oils as “highly concentrated plant constituents possessing potent medicinal and cosmetic qualities.” You must treat essential oils with extreme care and caution as they are very concentrated but diluted properly, they can have amazing benefits for your skin! Let’s delve into the real deal facts about essential oils.
Essential oils have amazing cleansing properties
Most are antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal which will help clear your skin of breakouts and minimize acne breakouts and blackheads. Some of the most effective essential oils to fight acne include tea tree oil, bergamot, clary sage, rose, lavender, grapefruit, and frankincense.
They’re incredibly versatile
If your skin becomes easily irritated by most home cleaning products and laundry detergents, you can easily make your own homemade cleaning products and laundry detergent with essential oils that will clean your home and wash your clothes – naturally. *Laundry detergent recipe posted below.*
Never apply an essential oil directly to your skin without diluting it
“Why dilute it and with what?,” is the question we’re sure you’re asking right about now. The reason you shouldn’t apply any essential oil directly to your skin without diluting it is because these oils are extremely potent and can cause serious damage to your skin including burns, rashes, and severely dry skin if not diluted/mixed with a pure carrier oil. For example, never apply tea tree oil right on your skin. Tea tree oil is stronger than benzoyl peroxide even though it is from nature. ALWAYS mix tea tree oil with a carrier oil like cold-pressed organic coconut oil or jojoba oil. Don’t dilute it by combining equal parts of both – your skin only needs 2-4 drops of an essential oil so either first apply the carrier oil to the affected areas then apply the 2-4 drops of the potent oil over the carrier oil with a q-tip; or combine about a ½ a tablespoon of a carrier oil to a bowl and add about 2 drops of potent oil to the bowl and mix together then apply to affected areas. Make sure to avoid the eye area if using tea tree essential oil.
Always test out a small patch of skin for 30 minutes before applying everywhere. If a reaction occurs, rinse off gently with a mild natural cleanser like this charcoal bar soap from Young Living and warm water.
Always read the label. Because each essential oil serves a different purpose, it’s important to read all labels, instructions, and cautions before freely using them.
Never ingest essential oils. In rare cases, a few essential oils can be ingested but again, it is important to read the labels first. If you’re unsure if you can ingest the oil or not, it is best to contact the company and find out. Never assume you can because the extremely concentrated essential oils can truly damage your internal body functions. Young Living carries a line of vitality oils which are safe for ingestion. But again, proceed with caution and these oils, though pure, are EXTREMELY CONCENTRATED. So if you want peppermint water, you only need 1 drop in a glass pitcher of clean filtered water.
You may become sensitive to the sun. Because essential oils are so strong, it can cause your skin to become very sensitive to the sun, mainly when applying citrus oils like lemon and orange to the skin. Avoid wearing these oils in the sun and if you are going out in the sun, cleanse your skin to remove the essential oils before direct contact with sunlight. Again, some may be more sensitive than others since each body is different and uniquely made.
Essential oils do not buildup in your body. Do not be concerned that essential oils will accumulate in your body over a certain length of time. As long as they are pure, they will absorb beautifully into the skin, won’t harm your cells, and then pass through the body, making them safer to use than synthetic topical and ingestible acne medications.
Essential oils are different than fragrance. Even if the bottle reads “Natural Fragrance,” do not apply to your face. The ingredient, ‘fragrance,’ can contain up to 3,000 toxic chemicals that can harm your body inside and out. Enough said.
Dermatologists won’t recommend essential oils. Why is this? Essential oils are natural, aren’t FDA-approved, and can’t have a patent placed on them – which doesn’t benefit the pharmaceutical companies or the government. The facts we have regarding the benefits of essential oils come from thousands of years of personal use by people.
DIY Laundry Detergent:
Ingredients:
5 gallon glass jug/jar
2 cups Young Living Thieves Laundry Detergent
1 cup Young Living Thieves household cleaner
1 cup washing soda/soda crystals
1 cup baking soda
enough hot water to cover the baking soda and washing soda
60 drops Young Living Lavender essential oil
Prep:
Use a 5 gallon-sized glass ball jar and combine all the ingredients. Then fill the rest of the jar with hot water and shake it up. Then transfer to a glass jar with a spout. Use 1/4 cup per load. This amount will allow you to clean 640 loads of laundry…WOW! Clean, natural, and so cost-effective!
Lindsay Schroeder, professional makeup artist and skincare guru, is the writer of all the content on Acne Skin Site. She has personally dealt with acne all throughout her 20’s and knows firsthand what anyone suffering with acne is going through. She has worked with thousands of clients that suffer with acne and has been able to encourage and educate them on how to get their skin on the road to recovery.
I’ve got a organic tea tree face wash , moisturiser and blemish stick is that ok for acne ?