Essential Oils that are Safe for your Skin

We have all heard of essential oils… Well, in this post I explore the basics of what essential oils are and how they are made. We will explore the different purity grade of essential oils and how to use them safely. And finally I will tell you some of my favorite oils that are safe for the skin. Of all the amazing uses for these volatile oils, my personal favorite is using them in my at-home skin care treatments. So keep on reading if you want to learn all about essential oils!

What are essential oils and how are they made?

Now for the basics… What exactly are essential oils? Essential oils are the volatile oils produced by the distillation of fresh plant material. These oils contain complex combinations of medicinal compounds that are responsible for their actions on our bodies. The constituents that make up these oils and how much determine the purity of the essential oil. Many things affect this purity including the health of the plant, when it was harvested (time of day and year, temperature, ect) and how it was distilled. Harvesting in the morning is preferred because terpene content is the highest. Throughout the day the terpene content slowly decreases due to sunlight! As well, how fresh the plant material is during distillation is extremely important. The shorter time you wait to distill your plant material the more volatile oils are preserved and a more robust essential oil is created! I have even heard of mobile steam distillation equipment that is brought to the field during harvest… Talk about fresh plant material!

Due to this complexity of creating these oils there are different grades of essential oils on the market today. One type of oil can be created in numerous ways all creating unique products, and because of this its important to be cognizant of a couple main types…

Different purity grades of essential oils

As I have just mentioned there is a lot of variety in essential oils, even when they are from the same plant! In order to standardize essential oils so that consumers can get consistent experiences a couple different grades of purity were developed. There are four main types: therapeutic, food, fragrance, and synthetic. Each grade varies in their processing and in the quality of the essential oil produced. Let's break each of these down further!

Diffusing essential oils to release therapeutic compounds

Therapeutic Grade

The most common grade of essential oil is Therapeutic grade. These oils are very high purity and are desirable for their therapeutic properties! This type of oil tends to have the highest medicinal composition of any of the grades of essential oils. Look for these oils when you are starting your journey with essential oils.

Food Grade

Another great grade to look for is Food Grade. These essential oils are usually made by cold pressing fruits to make a potent oil that may not be as intense as steam distilled oils. A great example of a Food grade essential oil is orange oil! In general a lot of the citrus oils can be made by cold pressing the peels of different citrus fruits. While not all food grade oils are made by cold pressing fruit all of them are made in sanitary conditions. It may seem obvious but food grade oils are able to be ingested! This is quite unique as most essential oils are too potent to be consumed and will upset the stomach if they are. For this reason not all essential oils are able to be food grade and it is generally advisable to not consume oils if you are unsure of their purity and safety!

Fragrance Grade

Fragrance oils are a type of essential oil that are commonly used in the cosmetic industry. They are responsible for the delectable scents of our body lotions, soaps and other scented products. Due to the demand of scented oils expedited processing was made to create large quantities of essential oils that ultimately just smell good. Because the only thing being focused on is scent and quantity produced, these oils tend to lack more of the medicinal compounds that make essential oils therapeutic. So although these oils may be cheaper they lack the truly holistic nature of the higher quality grades of essential oils.

Synthetic Grade

The last grade of essential oils is Synthetic grade. These are not derived from plants at all! Created in a lab by chemists, synthetic oils usually have unique scents that are uncommon in nature. These oils are used as alternatives to extremely expensive natural oils, such as jasmine or vanilla. Although these oils may smell nice, they lack any therapeutic properties.

Safely using essential oils

Due to the intense nature of essential oils, it's important to treat them with care especially when you want to use them topically. Many essential oils are too potent to be used directly though, so make sure to research each oil that you incorporate into your practice!

Be cautious! They are caustic

As I mentioned several times, essential oils are very potent. Because of this many of them will cause skin irritation if used in too high of a concentration. This is because they are actually caustic! Some can even melt plastic so beware!

Add a couple drops of essential oil to a carrier oil

Always Dilute!

Don't let their intensity prevent you from using essential oils though! All you need to do to safely use even the most intense essential oils is dilute them. Diluting an essential oil means adding a couple drops to a neutral carrier oil to lessen their intensity. Carrier oils are gentle oils that act as a base for essential oil blends. Carrier oils tend to be daily neutral in scent and mild on the skin.

Easy ways to use them

Once you have diluted your essential oil, using it is as simple as applying the dilution directly to your skin. Try applying it to your tempels or along the collarbone so you can smell the oil all day! Some oils have a cooling sensation when applied making them perfect for sore muscles. Peppermint and cedarwood are wonderful for this, but beware a little goes a long way. Try starting with just a couple drops diluted in carrier oil until you know how your body reacts to them.

Essential oils that are safe for your skin

Now on to the actual oils!

Lavender

Made from the tops of lavender plants, this essential oil is a staple, and for good reason too! Perfect for promoting relaxation and sleep, try lavender oil before bed. Adding a couple drops to a warm bath at the end of a day is a great way to try essential oils! If using oils this way, starting with 5-10 drops under running water. It also shows promise as an analgesic, meaning is relieves pain when used topically!

The largest chemical component of this oil is Linalool (around 40%) giving its distinct aroma. Linaloolis also responsible for some of lavender's medicinal properties as well. It is a known anti-inflammatory agent and is anti-microbial too. This action makes lavender essential oil ideal for treating inflamed and overactive skin!

Tea Tree

Tea tree essential oil is unique in that is can actually be used undiluted. This is quite uncommon! For that reason it is the perfect oil when you want a cooling action, as tea tree is a naturally cooling oil. It even tingles a little bit! My favorite way to use tea tree is in a scalp treatment between washes. The cooling it provides feels absolutely divine on an irritated scalp! It is also anti-fungal making it an effective dandruff treatment too.

Another use for its antimicrobial nature is in acne treatments. For some of the same reasons it's good for the scalp it's also good for your inflamed acne. It will soothe as it treats, leaving your skin happy and balanced.

Peppermint

Peppermint essential oil is another great cooling oil like tea tree. This oil however, needs to be diluted before use and used sparingly at that. Its cooling action can be very intense so start with 1-5 drops in your dilution until you know how the oil affects your skin. This is another great oil to add to a bath but start with less than 5 drops as it can be very very cooling in the warm water. The combination of warming and cooling sensations is amazing to say the least.

The oil contains menthol, which gives it its cooling sensation and is also responsible for its therapeutic actions. It is pain relieving and anti-inflammatory in action, making it perfect for muscle rubs!

Jasmine

Jasmine oil not only smells divine but is antiseptic in nature, making it perfect for balancing your skin's natural microbiome, keeping acne causing bacteria in check! Like many other essential oils, it also reduces skin inflammation immediately evening the complexion's appearance. Adding jasmine oil into your skin care routine can help prevent future breakouts by stopping them in their tracks! Jasmine’s power doesn’t stop there either. It acts as an emollient as well, locking in moisture to improve the skin’s texture.

Frankincense

This oil is unique in that it is distilled from the gum resin of the Frankincense tree! Frankincense essential oil is another oil that can be used directly on the skin, however, I find it a bit too intense and prefer to dilute it still. This oil is known as an acne treatment and can even work to even the skin tone over time. Due to its soothing properties it can calm your skin down during an acne breakout giving it the chance to heal. It is not only calming but restorative too! Its ability to improve skin elasticity and texture make it perfect for healing acne scars too!

Thank you all for reading this far! Stay tuned to lean more about Herbalism. Check out my blog on Natural Skin and Hair Care to learn more about how to use plants in your self care routine!