While plenty of water and a healthy diet are key for maintaining healthy, young-looking skin, the products you use topically can make a significant difference.
One secret ingredient for good skin? Essential oils.
Most luxury skincare products harness the power of botanical extracts to support skin health. However, you can often create similarly beneficial cleansers and moisturizers at a fraction of the cost by using high-quality essential oils and carrier oils.
In this short guide, we’ll go over the best essential oils for glowing skin and the ways you can combine them with other nourishing plant-based ingredients to create a custom skincare routine.
#1 Lavender
Lavender is one of the most versatile essential oils. It’s known for its potential to help fight stress and support healthy sleep cycles. Besides these vaunted properties, it lavender essential oil can also counter the effects of skin aging and blemish-prone skin.
Lavender’s antioxidant properties make it a favorite essential oil for mature skin.
In fact, many high-end skincare products include lavender. You’ll see this herb used in everything from balancing toners to nourishing night cream.
How does it work?
- Lavender oil contains a number of potentially beneficial terpenes like linalool and linalyl acetate. Studies suggest that these compounds can help balance the skin microbiome, which may help to improve uneven skin tone and texture caused by cellular-level damage from bacteria and fungi that land on the surface of the skin.
Lavender’s antioxidant properties make it a favorite essential oil for mature skin. Antioxidants can help fight oxidative stress (a process whereby UV rays, smoke and other harmful substances can cause cellular damage), which is thought to lead to wrinkles and fine lines.
#2 Rose Hip
Rose hip is another popular cosmetic ingredient.
What, exactly, is a rose hip? It’s actually part of the fruit of the rose plant! While the petals are known for their intoxicating scent, ripe rose hips are packed with nourishing Vitamin C.
It’s easy to forget why, exactly, Vitamin C is good for you. Let us refresh your memory.
Vitamin C plays a crucial role in collagen production. Collagen exists throughout your body, helping to form connective tissue and cartilage. It’s also the substance that gives your skin elasticity and volume.
As you age, collagen loss has visible effects on your face. Your cheeks lose volume and your skin no longer springs back into place after facial expressions, resulting in frown lines and smile lines alike.
How can rose hip help?
- By delivering Vitamin C to skin tissue, rose hip can help support healthy collagen production and combat signs of aging skin.
- Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant, can potentially help reduce damage from environmental pollutants.
- Rose hip can reduce the appearance of scarring or an uneven skin tone.
#3 Tea Tree
If you’ve ever been to a health food store, you’ve probably noticed myriad personal care products that contain tea tree oil, from bar soap to shampoo to body butter and beyond.
Tea tree oil is known for its ability to reduce skin irritation. It’s also antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral. These qualities make it a popular remedy for a variety of common skin complaints:
- Disruptions to the skin biome can cause blemishes. Some studies suggest that tea tree oil is as effective as common dermatological treatments at reducing the appearance and frequency of blemishes.
- If you have sensitive skin that’s prone to irritation, tea tree oil may help soothe redness and itchiness. Use it after exposure to an irritant or apply it daily to ward off irritated skin.
#4 Frankincense
Although this oil isn’t very well known outside of the biblical story of the three wise men, frankincense can have several beneficial effects on the skin.
What exactly is frankincense oil? It’s the resin of the Boswellia tree, which can be found in Africa and India. It has a long history of medicinal and cosmetic use, perhaps explaining why one of the wise men would choose to give it as a gift.
Traditional cosmetic uses of frankincense essential oil include brightening skin tone and combatting signs of aging.
Like other antioxidant-rich essential oils, frankincense may help support cellular repair and prevent oxidative stress.
#5 Chamomile
Chamomile isn’t just good for bedtime. In fact, you may have already experienced some of this powerful herb’s skin-soothing effects firsthand.
Folk remedies for sunburn and skin irritation include bathing with chamomile or applying tea bags to the affected area.
There are numerous potential uses for chamomile essential oil on your skin, including:
- Post-beach body spray to soothe skin
- Toner to balance skin pH
- Chamomile cleanser
- Chamomile night cream
How to Use Essential Oils
Now that you’ve read about these five amazing essentials oils, you’re probably ready to start shopping for products like a CBD moisturizer! But before you use your essential oils, learn the best way to apply them on sensitive facial skin.
Each of the best essential oils for skin care should be added to a carrier oil to dilute it to the proper ratio.
First of all, you should never put essential oils directly onto your skin. These highly concentrated oils distill a huge amount of plant matter into a single bottle. Hundreds of pounds of a plant go into making a single bottle. The resulting substance can be incredibly beneficial, but only when used at the proper concentration.
Each of the best essential oils for skin care should be added to a carrier oil to dilute it to the proper ratio.
- A 1% concentration is usually ideal for facial application (i.e., 1 drop of essential oil per teaspoon of carrier oil).
- For use on your body, dilute essential oils between 3% and 5%.
- To target patches of redness or uneven skin tone, it can sometimes be appropriate to use a higher concentration. Always start conservatively and work your way up, ceasing use if any issues arise.
Choosing a Carrier Oil
A carrier oil is a neutral, nonvolatile oil used to “carry” essential oils to your skin. But if you have an oily or combination skin complexion, it’s normal to worry that using oil on your face will clog your pores and result in breakouts. However, the best carrier oils closely mimic the composition of our skin’s natural oils and sebum (an oily, waxy substance produced by your body’s sebaceous glands that coats, moisturizes, and protects your skin). These lightweight oils can actually help balance oily complexions. Popular options include:
- Coconut MCT oil – Coconut oil isn’t just for cooking. The MCT variety is specifically formulated to remain liquid at room temperature, and its nurturing fatty acids can help to reduce redness and fight blemishes.
- Jojoba oil – Clear, lightweight jojoba oil is a particularly great choice for acne or blemish-prone skin. It may play a role in collagen production, which can make it suitable for damaged or aging skin.
- Hemp seed oil – Among the hemp plant’s many beneficial compounds are the nourishing fatty acids of its seeds. If you’re looking for an extra dose of hydration for dry skin, hemp seed oil is a great choice.
Combine Essential Oils With CBD
Hemp seed oil isn’t the only hemp extract that can have amazing benefits for your skin.
As you start to mix custom essential oil toners, face washes and moisturizers, CBD can be a potent addition to your skincare routine. CBD oil possesses both ample antioxidants and nourishing fats. From our discussion of essential oils, you already know that antioxidants can have numerous skin-benefits. Likewise, healthy fats help keep your skin plump, hydrated and glowy.
Finally, some of the terpenes that make essential oils so effective (for example, linalool) can also be found in full-spectrum CBD.
These qualities make CBD a great addition to homemade skincare products that target any of the following concerns:
- Dull complexion
- Fine lines and wrinkles
- Blemishes
- Uneven skin tone and texture
Mixing Essential Oils With CBD
What’s the easiest way to combine nourishing essential oils with CBD? You have two great options:
- Add essential oils to CBD oil. Zebra CBD’s hemp extract oil is made by adding full-spectrum CBD to coconut MCT oil. Simply add essential oil drops directly to the bottle in your desired concentration, then apply directly to your face.
- Buy a pre-formulated product. If you’re looking for an easy fix, our pre-formulated CBD Moisturizing Cream combines CBD with nurturing botanical extract oils.
How a CBD Supplement Can Help
As we noted at the beginning of this article, good skin depends on more than the products you use topically. A bright, dewy and hydrated look is best achieved through a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition.
In that regard, in addition to using CBD topically, it can also be helpful to take a CBD supplement.
CBD can potentially boost your overall health and vitality with effects like the following:
- Fights stress – Do you tend to break out when you’re feeling nervous? Taking a CBD product for balancing mood could help you cope with the stressors in your life. In fact, taking CBD extract oil can help counter the effects of psychological oxidative stress, which can actually lead to a range of bad moods.
- Improves sleep quality – If you’re waking up with dark undereye circles and parched skin, better shuteye is key to your beauty routine! Try taking a CBD sleep formula before bed to drift off more easily.
Glow Up With Zebra CBD
At Zebra CBD, we formulate scientifically-backed CBD products for skin care, vitality and a range of other wellness goals.
We’re also the only CBD company with a Label Accuracy Guarantee™.
When you shop with Zebra CBD, you can rest easy knowing you’re pampering your skin with natural, hemp-derived CBD free from detectable heavy metals and unnatural fungicides and herbicides. Experiment with essential oils of your choice or shop our line of CBD products that combine soothing CBD with other beneficial botanical ingredients.
Source:
The University of Minnesota. How do I Choose and Use Essential Oils? https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/how-do-i-choose-and-use-essential-oils
Journal of Ethnophamacology. Wound healing properties of jojoba liquid wax. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378874110009189
EcoWatch. 1 Pound of Essential oil = 250 pounds of lavender. https://www.ecowatch.com/environmental-impact-essential-oils-2465879288.html
