natural aromatherapy

It’s summertime again, and time to break out the sunscreen to help protect our skin and keep it happy and healthy. And although we apply the liberally, there may be spots we miss on ourselves or on our children; and its likely we won’t remember to reapply each time we get out of the ocean or pool. Here’s the perfect opportunity to nourish yourself and you skin with the fantastic skin care effects of essential oils. Much of the unpleasant effects from sun over exposure are due to the generation of free radicals in our dermal layers. Inflammation occurs on a cellular level, and long term sun damage can result if this occurs frequently. Luckily, we can apply antioxidant and anti-inflammatory formulas topically to keep our skin happy and healthy after sun exposure.

Natural essential oils are highly effective antioxidants. Clove essential oil is one of the strongest natural antioxidants known, with and ORAC value of over 100,000 — though it might be a little spicy to use on your face. There are a great many other essential oils with strong antioxidant action packed are known healers to the skin from which to choose. For example, a study just released by French scientists note that Myrrh essential oil has a profound oxygen quenching effect on free radicals produced by the interaction of UV rays and the skin’s sebum. All essential oils used in skin care have the ability to absorb oxidative radicals, and they each have specific healing properties for the skin.

It’s simple to compound your own formula: Choose from a few readily available oils commonly used in skin care, add them to one or more nourishing carrier oils and voil?– your own personally-tailored recipe. The obvious first choice is lavender. Lavender reduces inflammation and has natural constituents which stimulate healthy skin cell regeneration. Lavender in fact began the modern aromatherapy revolution with its quick healing of burns. Really, when we come in from sun over-exposure, even without a sunburn, we do have a mild burn on a cellular level. Lavender can be used undiluted on burned his skin, and will be an effective addition to any recipe.

Blue Tansy is a somewhat more rare essential oil with profound anti-inflammatory action. Blue Tansy can be used in very dilute amounts; it is often called for in recipes at only a one or 2% concentration. Blue tansy’s wonderful aroma will have you bathing in your lotion just for its sweet berry-like scent. Blue tansy is especially effective for sensitive skin that may be prone to irritation. It is included in many eczema and allergy blends for its naturally-calming action. So if your skin is gentle, and the Sun treats it a little harshly, a little blue tansy can really help.

Everlasting essential oil, better known as Helichrysum Italicum, is a wonderful and profoundly healing oil called for when the most potent anti-inflammatory and regenerative effects are needed. If you’re looking for one of the secret ingredients in natural skincare, Helichrysum is it. While expensive, just a small amount will have important healing effects. Helichrysum is used in wound healing and scar removal blends, and will do just as well for daily facial care. For folks with an eye toward really preventing any damage from the sun’s rays, Helichrysum is a must. Like lavender Helichrysum can be used neat in emergencies, and at about 3% for a regular use skin recipes.

And for be perhaps most profound protective effects, choose Sea Buckthorn. This essential oil has been studied by Russian scientists as a protective agent for cosmonauts in outer space. It’s deep red color indicates a high concentration of vitamin A like compounds, highly regarded for their skin healing properties. Steam distilled from the berries found across Europe, it too has a sweet fruity aroma loved by many. Sea Buckthorn is useful in virtually any skincare application, and most certainly for an after-sun formula. Add at one to 3% in your carrier base.

Other additions to your formula include myrrh, as it’s antioxidant effects for the skin have recently been elucidated (use at 1-3%); natural vitamin E (use at 10-20 drops per ounce) — also an excellent antioxidant for the skin; or a form of vit. C added to many skin care preparations these days, known as ascorbyl palimate (include .5 to 1 gram per each ounce ~ you may find this in capsules, along with vitamin E at health food stores or online). All these oils will go into a base of carrier oils. Carrier oils are natural cold-pressed oils from seeds, nuts, and fruit. Good choices for your after-sun formula are Avocado, Apricot Kernel, Jojoba, Tamanu and Rosehip seed. Avocado is very hydrating, with a plethora of nutrients. Apricot Kernel is quickly becoming more popular in aromatherapy skin care for its anti-inflammatory action. Jojoba is also hydrating and healing. Tamanu and Rosehip seed are the ultimate exotic skin care base oils. Tamanu is described in the aromatherapy literature for wound healing and scar reduction; Rosehip seed has been the subject of many University studies, and has been shown to reduce the appearance of sun damage.

The recipes are really flexible; you can easily tailor them to your own needs, or to those of your children and other loved ones. These are a some excellent, effective recipes to give you a few ideas: make a base of one third Apricot Kernel, one third Tamanu, and one-third Rosehip seed. For each ounce of base, add 15 drops each of Lavender, Blue Tansy and Sea Buckhorn — include 15 drops of vitamin E and 1/8 teaspoon of ascorbyl palimate for that extra nutraceutical enhancement. You might also try a base of Jojoba, Avocado, and Tamanu; to this add 15 drops each of myrrh, helichrysum, and Sea Buckthorn. While simple, these formulas are highly effective. They will reduce inflammation and quench oxidative radical activity in your skin on a cellular level. All of these oils are gentle enough for family members of all ages, though for the very young ones use only a quarter as much essential oil in the recipe. These oils are gentle enough for frequent application, and frequent application is encouraged for the long-term health and vibrancy of your skin.

Do you want to save money and time visiting parlors waiting for your turn to come? Then aromatherapy will be best for you to take care of your skin at home in your convenient hours. The effects after going through aromatherapy or visiting parlor for skin treatment are always the same provided that you follow the process perfectly. Additional advantage that you get by doing aromatherapy over going to parlors are that you will save enough of money that you could use in any other activities and also you could save a lot of time.

In order top look impressive in the long run you need to be very cautious with your skin that would otherwise get damaged very soon if not cared. Before you decide to start for aromatherapy, you need to understand the different causes that are responsible for the damage of your skin. Among the various reasonable causes stress, insufficient sleep, cosmetics, long exposure to the intense rays of the sun and allergic to any kinds of foods, soaps, etc can be counted.

Everyone desires to have flawless skin free from blemishes although we know that it is not possible for anyone to hold the youthful look after we reach a certain age but still people do anything to keep themselves young and impressive. For such people and also to those who have not started the process of skin treatment, aromatherapy is a good choice for a skin care treatment. First and foremost thing that you need to do to bring the effects of aromatherapy to the maximum is to shoo off stress.

Aromatherapy to reduce stress involves the application of herbs or essential oils all over the skin are really helpful. Aromatherapy for your skin care treatment starts with steaming your face that creates a good ground for your effective facial treatment. Use aromatherapy skin care product to cleanse your face making it free from bacteria followed by scrubber and face mask that will help you to rejuvenate, and renew your natural beauty. One of the most effective face mask that is easy to prepare is a fruit mask made from papaya. Papaya facial is one of he most effective and instant result oriented mask. Preparation involves mashing up a fresh papaya and sieving into a bowl and applying the paste on the clean skin, leaving it for 10-15 minutes and then rinse with warm water, followed by cold water to close pores. Further to reduce puffiness, fine lines and other aging problems employ cold compress. Everything is so easy and simple!

Men and women nowadays are more knowledgeable and careful in choosing the best skin care products for them. They have been well-informed by the help of media, the television and the internet as well.

We have been very conscious of how we look and how healthy our skin is. Before, only women are considered vain but time made men somewhat conscious of their skin and how they present themselves in front of other people. Men are more fortunate over women in terms of their skin. Mens skin is at least 20% thicker than that of womens (technically speaking). They enjoy the benefit of getting fewer wrinkles than women, thats why men tend to look younger through the years more than women do. Today, there had been more and more skin care products specifically made for men. Some men think that skin care is a girl thing though. On the other hand, men should be equally aware of how their care for their skin as women.

Attention, all men out there or women who cares for their men: here are some must-haves for men for a better and healthier skin:

1. Use Sunscreen. Exposure to the sun certainly is healthy but an overdose of which may cause burns, early aging and even cancer. An ample amount of sunscreen before you go out would do the job.

2. Cleansers. Keeping the skin clean, dead skin-free and free of oil also makes your skin free from acne and irritations. For men with oily and sensitive skin, special cleansers may be needed, although most men opt for the simple soap.

3. Retinoid. Using retinoid helps keep your pores unclogged and it may even help out with skin aged by excessive sun exposure.

4. Use Razors. Razors nowadays have 3 or more blades which when used shave away all the dead skin cells from your face. For some though, these razors may cause ingrown hair which is unsightly on your face. In this case, use of electric shavers may be considered.

5. Aftershave. Use of aftershave is essential to men. The best aftershave is the one that has no alcohol content as it dries off your skin. Choose those with disinfectants and moisturizers to keep skin soft and smooth and prevent you from having blackheads or ingrown hair.

For women, there are a lot of products to choose from, considering everything from price range to the effectiveness of the product. Here are some suggestions which you might want to consider:

Face Cleansers. Cetaphil is one product most dermatologists recommend because it has no harmful chemicals, fragrance that irritates the skin. If you are looking for something with shea butter, try Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser. It leaves your skin clean and moisturized. For oily skin, Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash is for you as this is soap and oil-free. You may also try Clinique Wash-Away Gel Cleanser and Lancme Clarifiance Oil-Free Gel Cleanser. I you have normal to combination skin; try Dove Essential Nutrients Self-Foaming Cleanser. It combats oil and removes dead skin cells. For aromatherapy lovers; Bloom Facial Cleaners is for you. It has the scent of lavender and grapefruit oils. For sensitive skin; on a tight budget; Avon Clear Skin Foaming Cleanser is best or the Aveda All-Sensitive Cleanser. Blemished skin? Neutrogena Pore-Refining Cleanser is for you, it does not dry your skin. If budget is not a problem, try Murad Acne Kit. It has a cleanser, a pore-cleansing gel, an exfoliating lotion and a spot treatment.

Moisturizers. Moisturizers when applied should feel smooth, smell and feel good. It should not be irritating and you should not feel any burning sensation when applied. If you have dry skin, look for the presence of glycerin, dimethicone and hyaluronic acid in your moisturizer. Dove Sensitive Essential Day Lotion is very light and is free from dyes and fragrances. For those who want natural ingredients, try Lancme Absolute Night Treatment. It contains sea algae, soy and wild yam extract. Crme de la Mer is the best in this category. If you have oily skin, look for a moisturizer that is oil-free not non-pore clogging. Some products in this category include: Olay Complete All Day Moisture Lotion UV Defense Combination/Oily, Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisturizer SPF 15, and Lorac Oil-Free Moisturizer. For those who have normal/combination skin, a gel type is best like the Aveeno Positively Smooth facial Moisturizer and the Clarins Hydration-Plus Moisture Lotion SPF 15.

So, before buying any kind of beauty product; first, know your skin type then remember all the harmful ingredients you should look out for.