Garam tel ki malish or champi have never let us down. From being our dadi’s most reliable trick to get rid of a headache to our own version of weekend self-love in the form of a massage, oils are an elixir that is great for your skin, your body, your senses, your wellness, and your mind. But, are all oils the same?
Essential oils are mother nature’s powerhouse for natural skincare, therapy, and wellness. Popularly understood as the aromatic essence of the flowers, essential oils can come from the barks, roots, green twigs, leaves, or fruits. They could even come from the rind of fruits. The bitter orange tree has three different essential oils from the same tree – the rind of the bitter orange fruit, petitgrain extracted from the leaves, and neroli which comes from the flower tops.
Carrier oils, as the name suggests, help the essential oils to penetrate better into the skin. They usually complement the essential oils and enhance their overall effectiveness. Also, pure essential oils are highly potent and should not be used without dilution because they can irritate your skin. As a general rule, you should keep concentration levels of essential oils below 5 per cent. Most carrier oils are unscented or lightly scented and don’t interfere with essential oils therapeutic properties.
You can add essential oils to your daily skincare routine. Using oils at night is usually ideal because your skin, like your body, is in reparative and restorative mode at night. Also, because you’re not going anywhere at night, the oil has more time to penetrate your skin and give you the full benefits. In some cases, like with certain citrus essential oils like bergamot, bitter orange, grapefruit, cold-pressed lemon, and cold-pressed lime, photosensitivity is a concern.
For dry skin: Frankincense soothes dry skin, assists skin cell regeneration and vitality, and heals irritations. Chamomile is a soothing oil that works well in the dry winter. Jasmine not only smells divine but is also packed with anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties, which makes it excellent for calming dry, irritated skin. Rose oil calms and soothes dry skin as an anti-inflammatory.
The oils best known to treat acne are those which have antimicrobial properties like tea tree oil, frankincense oil, and clary sage. Lavender and chamomile work effectively on dry skin. Even jasmine oil helps in keeping the moisture intact for dry skin. Carrot seed is a natural collagen booster and lavender is very effective for pigmentation.