Essential oils have a long history of use in natural skin care –These wonderful phytochemicals provide a great breadth of natural medicinal components well-known for healing damaged skin, as well as reducing the appearance of old scars from trauma and surgical wounds, acne and other incidents. Recipes Essential oil blends for these applications are gentle, safe for regular use, and have a wonderful aroma to boot. The blends are easy to make, and simple to customize for your particular needs.
Choosing the Essential Oils
Certain essential oils are often used for healing and regeneration of skin tissues. We’ll review these and their companion carrier oils, then present some formulas for particular situations. The first of these essential oils is Helichrysum Italicum, an oil with an earthy aroma, distilled from the small flowers of an herb native to the Mediterranean region. This is the premier oil called for where the skin is in need of regeneration, and where inflammation may be present. Helichrysum is unique in that it contains ‘di-ketones’; a class of molecules that signal the skin to regenerate. It is also often used for bruising and impact related injuries.
Helichrysum, the Healing Foundation
Helichrysum is the foundation of many blends for healing the skin, and can be used by itself in a synergistic carrier oil such as Rosehip seed or Tamanu Nut. This combination may be all that is needed to speed the healing of recent wounds — though often a little Lavender oil is added as well. Kurt Schnaubelt, one of America’s leading aromatherapists notes in his quintessential guide “Advanced Aromatherapy” that Helichrysum essential oil and Rosehip seed can “heal wounds with minimal or no scarring”.
Wound Healing Properties of Lavender
Lavender essential oil the most commonly used aromatic oil due to it’s pleasant, soothing aroma and broad range of healing effects. Lavender is also included in many skin care blends as it also contains ketone molecules which stimulate tissue regeneration (similar to those in Helichrysum). The specific type of lavender oil is distilled from the flowers of the Lavendula angustifolia species. Lavender, also like helichrsum, is an anti-inflammatory, and is generally thought to bring synergy to essential oil blends, improving the efficacy of any formula.
Sage for Old Scars
Next up is the essential oil distilled from the leaves of common Sage, or Salvia officinalis. Sage is used in low concentrations in very specific conditions – where the scars are old and require a little extra phytochemical power to heal. Sage oil can bring circulation to the area, and can assist the scarred area of the skin to regenerate, particularly in concert with other oils. Sage can be used in stretch mark formulas, but should only be employed post-partum because of the high thujone content of the oil.
Stimulating Skin Cell Health with Rosemary
Rosemary of the Verbenone chemotype (rather than Cineol, which does not have the same properties) contains regenerative ketones like Lavender and Helichrysum, plus has the added benefit of stimulating the skin’s metabolic process. This oil can bring greater circulation to skin tissues, delivering nutrients and eliminating cellular waste and toxins — functions which are crucial during the healing process. Rosemary Verbenone can be used for healing new or old wounds.
Carotenoid Containing Essential Oils Speed Healing
Certain essential oils can offer important nutrient that may speed the healing process. Most importantly, they offer carotenoids and carotenes — molecules closely related to vitamin A. This vitamin and its precursors are considered very important to normal skin development and wound healing. Carotenoids are also potent antioxidants, which can oxidative compounds at the healing site. Two essential oils can be chosen from: Sea Buckthorn and Carrot Root (sometimes found as ‘Helio-Carrot’). These are both Carbon Dioxide extracts with deep red and orange colors, displaying their high carotenoid content.
Antiseptics For Clean Healing
For wounds that are currently healing, a small amount of an antiseptic essential oil can help the process. It can prevent redness and irritation that is the result of your body dealing with bacteria at the sight of the injury. Lavender and Rosemary do have some antiseptic properties, and may be enough if you feel the wound has been well-cleaned. For stronger antiseptic activity, 1-5% Tea Tree essential oil can be added to any recipe. The use of the Tea Tree can be discontinued once the wound has sealed completely. If you’re really not fond of the aroma of Tea Tree, Palmarosa essential oil can be used as a more mildly-aromatic substitute.
The Carrier Oils: Diluting and Delivering the Essential Oils
All these oils but Lavender should be diluted in a carrier before use (Lavender CAN be used directly on the skin, but will be used in diluted form in the following blends). Many studies have shown the great efficacy of essential oils at low concentrations – so in Aromatherapy, ‘less is more’ is a general rule. Two highly regarded carrier or ‘base’ oils used for skin treatment are Rosehip seed, cold-pressed from a plant native to the mountain regions of South America, and Hazelnut oil, which is suitable for all skin types. These oils will help the essential oils absorb into the skin, and can provide their own nutritive properties. Rosehip seed contains a wealth of fatty acids, plus a compound similar in action to the pharmaceutical preparation ‘Retin A’. without the drying side effects. Hazelnut oil has mild astringent properties, and will not leave the skin feeling greasy. It is appropriate even for acne prone skin (where Rosehip seed is not!). Other useful healing carrier oils are Tamanu Nut — recently making waves as an excellent carrier for healing nearly all types of skin conditions — and Evening Primrose, which offers nutritive and anti-inflammatory fatty acids.
Choosing Your Recipe
So how does one mix these natural botanicals for particular uses? There are a few simple but effective recipes specifically for wound healing and scar reduction. For old keloid or acne scars, make a two-ounce base using equal parts Evening Primrose, Tamanu and Rosehip Seed oils – to this, add one milliliter each of Helichrysum Italicum and Sage officinalis essential oil. Apply regularly for three to six months for best results. For more recent cuts, scrapes, and even surgical incisions (that have reached the point where they are safe to get moist), use the same base recipe, adding one milliliter of Helichrysum and one milliliter of Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia). You can choose whether you’d like to use Rosemary and/or Tea Tree. Apply twice a day while the wound is healing. For the reduction and possible elimination of stretch marks post partum, again to one ounce each of Hazelnut and Rosehip seed oils, add one milliliter Sage and one milliliter Rosemary verbenone. Like the formula for old scars, use this regularly for several months.
This is a summary of a particular aspect of using essential oils for natural health, wellness and beauty. These are effective, tried and true recipes used for their specific, wound healing applications. You can certainly further customize the formulas to suit your needs, or even add additional oils of your liking. With some research, you will find there are wonderful recipes using essential oils for a broad range of skin care applications — they’re very effective, and they’re heavenly to use. As with all aromatherapy use, go slowly, watch for any (rare) skin reactions, and remember that less is more with essential oils – almost all have been noted to work in very low, well tolerated concentrations.
Want to learn more about aromatherapy? Visit the Ananda Apothecary for all kinds of information, including how to make essential oils.
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