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What are the Best Essential Oils for Skin?

The huge variety of skin care products on the shelves today is testament to the fact that achieving smooth skin is near the top of most people’s beauty to-do list. But amazingly, many are unaware that there are a number of natural essential oils that feature on the ingredients lists of some of the most exclusive (and expensive) cosmetic lotions on the market.

These oils have a long history of use as catalysts for healthy skin. Long ago, the use of essential oils for skin irritations and rashes was common, with doctors using them to treat ailments long before modern medicated lotions became popular. These all-natural products had amazing results, and cost a fraction of the price of some skin cremes on the market today.

So before your spend a fortune on cosmetics, why not try some of these safe, natural and super effective oils for smooth, glowing skin.

The Most Effective Essential Oils For Skin

Violet Essential Oil

Great for: tightening sensitive skin.

The light and sweet fragrance of Violet has been popular for centuries , especially during the Victorian ages, when it was a popular ingredient in many cosmetic skin lotions.

The leaf and the flowers have a long history as herbal medicines. They have primarily been used as natural way to treat congestive pulmonary disorders, as well as sensitive skin conditions. In India,  it is used to treat sore throats and tonsillitis.

Violet  helps to soothe and comfort sensitive, red, dry or itchy skin. It makes a superb moisturizer and emollient and acts great as a treatment for eczema. It is good for oily skin and acne as it has antiseptic properties, and works as a tightening agent on pores. It can also help reduce the appearance of thread veins and rosacea.

Due to its rarity, violet essential oil is a little more pricey than others, but with so many uses, its certainly worth the extra spend.

Rose Essential Oil[

Great for: smoothing fine lines and wrinkles.

As well as its amazing stress-busting properties, rose essential oil can be used to treat some skin conditions such as eczema, dry and thread veins. For older users, it has the powerful ability to smooth the face and eliminate wrinkles and obvious fine lines after few days of continuous application.

Now Foods Rose Blend has a beautiful, uplifting aroma. It’s an absolute, meaning that instead of steam distillation, a method known as enfleurage, or solvent extraction is used to create the oil, preserving some of the more volatile and effective properties of the oil. This means that the oil itself can be a little more volatile, so be sure not to leave the cap off!

Geranium Essential Oil

Great for: dry skin.

Considered a “wonder oil” because of its myriad uses, geranium essential oil can be applied to dry skin and aging skin for added elasticity and glow. Eczema, burns, and even post-shingles pain can all be effectively treated using the amazing oil. For those who have problems with lice, geranium oil has a powerful effect against hair and skin parasites.

Aura Cacia Essential Geranium Oil is non-irritating; safe for sensitive skin when used with a carrier oil like jojoba. It is steam extracted from the stem, leaves and flowers of the geranium plant.

Lavender Essential Oil

Great for: irritated and dry skin.

Lavender is one of the most popular essential oils on the market, due in part to the oil’s amazing, sleep-inducing smell and in part to the many uses it has. It can be used to treat headaches, fever, skin conditions, and hair problems.

Lavender can’t be described as one of the gentlest essential oils for skin. When exposed to air, one of the oils fragrant compounds forms linalyl acetate, which has been show to act as a photosensitizer. However, it’s  powerful enough to effectively treat many skin conditions that cause swelling and irritation,  such as acne, burns, athlete’s foot, bites of insects, psoriasis, stings and ringworms. It’s highly recommended that carrier oils are used when applying Lavender to the skin.

Myrrh Essential Oil

Great for: oily skin.

Myrrh is a resin extracted from the low-growing branches of the Commiphorafound in Asia, mainly India, Africa and Middle East. It has been used throughout history as incense , for its medicinal properties, and even as a perfume.

Curiously, myrrh essential oil offers effective treatments for dry and overly oily skin by stimulating skin pores to regulate the flow of oil from sebaceous glands. Repeated application can reduce the appearance of acne scars and clear up bacterial infections. Frequent use can slow skin aging.

Neroli Essential Oil

Great for: stretch-marks and dull skin.

Neroli is an essential oil extracted from orange blossom. Hundreds of buckets of orange blossom are needed to obtain just one liter of the Neroli essential oil!

It has a sweet fragrance, like perfume. The oil is usually used by after child birth because it has the amazing ability to heal stretch marks and scars formed during pregnancy. Wound scars can also be flattened by the oil. It is also popular for its anti-aging component and has a pronounced calming effect to the skin, maintaining a youthful, glowing complexion. It has a calming and relaxing effect on the mind and is useful for easing anxiety as well as inflammations and other irritations.

Rosewood Essential Oil

Great for: dull, sagging skin.

Rosewood essential oil is obtained from the tropical evergreen tree Aniba Rosaeaodora, commonly used in the production of exquisite furniture in Brazil and Peru.

It has incredible rejuvenating properties, adding life, bounce and moisture to the skin, while protecting against a dull complexion. Research has shown it to be one of the most effective natural antibacterial oils on the market.

Rosewood Essential Oil has a deep and woody aroma, and blends perfectly with Cedarwood, Frankincense and Geranium.

So there you have it! Some of the best essential oils for skin, each with a history of performing veritable miracles for various skin types. Before you splash out on some super expensive lotions and potions, try some of nature’s offerings. You may be pleasantly surprised by their effectiveness, and even happier at their cost!

Frances Masters

Frances Masters is a BACP accredited psychotherapist with over 30,000 client hours of experience. Follow her @fusioncoachuk, or visit The Integrated Coaching Academy for details about up coming training.