Have you always wanted to try the world’s finest skin care product, but found the prices somewhat outrageous? Ever considered making your own? It’s so easy to do, and you can create a formula precisely to match your skin type, with remarkable effective natural and pure botanicals (plant-based ingredients). Making these yourself will give you a skin care product that matches or exceeds the effectiveness of anything you can buy over the counter at a truly affordable price. Try one of these recipes and you may never go back to fancy labels, boxes and prices ever again!
Concentrated Beauty Medicine: The Essential Oils
The heart of much of the finest natural skin care is made up of volatile plant extracts, otherwise known as essential oils. While some folks still see essential oils as some sort of New Age funny-smelling stuff, the truth is getting out: that essential oils really are medicine, and many of them are some of the finest skin care ingredients money can buy. There’s even a whole bunch of scientific data to back it up (search pubmed.gov for “calendula” or “rosehipseed” and “skin” for example, and you’ll see all sorts of papers). The essential oils make up the “active ingredients” of your formula, and the “carrier oils” into which they’re mixed make up the “base”. Creating a custom recipe is as easy as selecting a few essential oils and one or two carrier oils that suit your skin’s particular needs, and mixing them together just as you would and recipe in the kitchen.
Rose is the Oil of Beauty
Again and again, in every natural skin care recipe book, one finds one oil more highly regarded than any other — Rose Otto, the steam distilled variety of Rose (it is also found as an Absolute, which is more appropriate for natural perfumes). Rose Otto has a host of therapeutic skin care properties: it hydrates without being greasy, it’s gently antiseptic, soothing to damaged skin, can heal broken capillaries, and supports the skin’s natural metabolism. It is also the most important oil for women for its heart opening, anti-depressant action — considered the “oil of the highest vibration” used in aroma-therapeutics. While a bit pricey, it’s very potent; only a few drops are needed in any recipe.
Super Healing Calendula
Next we’ll choose an oil that’s highly nutritive, protective, and healing at the same time: Calendula. Infused oil of Calendula is all that used to be available, but now a high-tech (but still natural) supercritical carbon dioxide extract can be found in the essential oil section of online stores. Look for Calendula CO2 “Total”. This is an amazing extract from an amazingly healing flower. Tons of research notes its anti-inflammatory, wound healing, and antioxidant actions. Calendula “infused oil”, where the flowers are soaked in another oil like Olive, has been used throughout history for soothing sensitive skin — now the CO2 extract gives you the flexibility to easily add this precious ingredient to you recipe — a very highly recommended choice!
Additional Therapeutic Oils for Every Skin’s Needs
We’ll also add something truly regenerative — one or more essential oils that really helps the skin look and feel ALIVE. Three excellent choices are Rosemary Verbenone, Helichrysum italicum, and French Lavender. Rosemary has also been used in skin care for hundreds (maybe even thousands) of years. Cleansing and invigorating, Rosemary increasing the metabolism of skin cells (more nutrients in and more waste out). The Verbenone type contains a natural constituent considered by therapists to speed tissue regeneration, making healthier skin faster! Helichrysum is more potent than Rosemary as an anti-inflammate, and regenerative, but not quite as stimulating to cell metabolism or as strong an anti-septic. Lavender is likely the most common of the regenerative skin care essential oils; its very gentle, soothing, balancing, and cleansing — its also quite floral, so if you like earthier aromas, choose Rosemary or Helichrysum, if you enjoy flower-scents, go for the Lavender.
For specific skin care needs, we’ll also include Sandalwood and Myrtle essential oils in certain blends (you’ll see which oils go with which skin type in the recipes below). Both these oils are considered excellent for acne-prone skin. Myrtle is potently antiseptic, regenerative, and commonly found in acne and oily-skin formulas. Sandalwood is hydrating AND an excellent treatment for acne. Myrtle offers a great herbaceous “high note” to your blend, while Sandalwood gives a lovely earthy tone.
Cold-Pressed Oils: The Base of Your Recipe
While the essential oils are often considered the “active ingredients”, its important to consider the “carrier oils” are exceptionally therapeutic as well. For these recipes, we highly recommend the use of two very well-regarded tropical nut oils: Coconut and Kukui. Coconut has a very long history (thousands of years, actually) in skin care, mentioned often in Ayurvedic medicine. It is antimicrobial and hydrating (spanning the needs from the acne prone to the chronically dry). Kukui has similar properties, and remains liquid at room temperature — allowing easy mixing and application of your custom recipe. These two oils have been used by peoples of tropical climes to care for the skin of the young and old, successfully, for so long — and now you too can reap their benefits.
Rosehip Seed: A Woman’s Beauty Gift from the Mountains of Chile
For everyone EXCEPT those prone to acne, Rosehip Seed oil is the third important base oil. Rosehip seed naturally balances the incredible tropical nut oils, coming from the high mountain arid regions of South America. Rosehip seed may be the most thoroughly studied carrier oil for skin care use — and with excellent results. Rosehip has been shown to significantly reduce the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines and scars, while smoothing overall skin texture and color. Imagine what its going to do with all these other top-notch therapeutic ingredients…let’s get on to mixing them.
Putting It All Together
Gather your ingredients: 1 glass bottle 30 or 60ml (1 or 2 ounces), preferably colored glass (helps protect the oils) with an eyedropper (makes it easy to dispense your formula later). ALL recipes are for EACH FLUID OUNCE, so you’ll want to know the size of our bottle to make measuring easier. A funnel might make things easier as well. And of course your selected base oils and essential oils (note for purchasing oils — the recipe calls for drops, and essential oils are sold in milliliters — there are 25 drops per milliliter).
Mixing instructions: Add the required number of drops of each essential oil to your empty bottle. If making 2 ounces, double the amounts, 4 ounces, 4 times, etc. With a funnel, add approximate amounts of your carrier oil — if using all three carrier oils, for example, just fill the bottle about a third of the way with each oil. Don’t overfill, as you won’t be able to get the eyedropper in (if using one) without spilling! Gently invert the bottle several times and let set for a bit. The aroma will not really be brilliant until the following day, but you can use the mixture right away. The formulas are designed for using one to 3 times per day. On to the recipes:
Brilliant Beauty Recipes for All Skin Types:
For dry skin with smile lines: Rose Otto 8 drops, Lavender 12 drops, Calendula CO2 6 drops, based in equal parts Coconut, Kukui oil and Rosehip seed oils.
Mature skin with scars or color variations and smile lines: Rose Otto 6 drops, Lavender 8 drops, Helichrysum 6 drops, Rosemary V. 6 drops, Equal parts Coconut, Kukui oil and Rosehip.
For irritated or sensitive skin: Rosemary Verbenone 8 drops, Lavender 6 drops, Calendula 6 drops, Sandalwood 6 drops, in equal parts of all three base oils.
For oily, acne-prone or combination skin: Myrtle 10 drops, Lavender 8, drops, Rosemary V., 6 drops, in equal parts of Kukui and Coconut oils.
And there you have it: incredibly effective “mature skin” care blends for every woman. Once you make one of these yourself, and realize you may have just made yourself the best skin care formula EVER, you can experiment a little with one or more of the hundreds of essential oils available. Each has unique therapeutic properties that are highly compatible to our skin. Here’s to your happy, healthy glow!
In addition to aromatherapy, you might consider using flower essences and remedies during this time of year. Yarrow Environmental Solution and the Five Flower Formula make excellent additons to any home care kit.