Some essential oils are believed to have an affinity for the skin.
They are soothing and healing. That’s why they’re often recommended for certain skin problems, such as eczema.
In fact I used to recommend essential oils for all types of skin conditions. Eczema included. Until I studied homeopathy.
After all, I figured, essential oils are natural. We want to use plant-based products instead of chemicals on our skin.
But not when we have eczema or another type of eruption. Because of the danger of suppressing the skin condition and driving it inside the body, where it could do a lot more damage.
So I love essential oils and I use them a lot. On healthy skin only. (Burns are the exception. I keep a bottle of lavender oil in my kitchen and this is the first thing I use when I burn myself cooking.)
But I had a rash or any kind of skin eruption the last thing I want to do is to suppress it, either with steroid cremes or essential oils. I know aromatherapy is all natural but as my homeopathy teacher explained, natural doesn’t always mean healthy. Arsenic is in nature and it can kill you.
I do put essential oils in my homemade all natural skin creams. Once you own a collection of essential oils, it’s so easy to make your own cosmetics and personal care items. Keep reading, and I’ll tell you how.
Dry Skin Cream With Essential Oils
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Or, if you don’t want to mix your own products, premade skin soothing essential oil blends are also available.
One of the most common ingredients in nearly all skin recipes is lavender essential oil. This aromatic, in particular, is one of the first that’s considered for dry wrinkled skin. Roman chamomile oil also has an affinity for the skin.
The reason these two oils are typically used together is because it’s believed that they work in synergy. This means each makes the other more effective. That’s why pre-made recipes are called “synergy blends.”
Essential Oil Recipes for Your Skin
Please understand that I’m not a doctor. So I can’t give medical advice. Nor can I promise that any natural remedy will help your skin issues. All I can do is share how other people use various essential oils and offer my personal opinion on the best ways to use them. I can also share my own experience with aromatherapy.
One of the remedies I have in my natural medicine cabinet is lavender essential oil. It’s my “go to” skin remedy. For instance, one summer, I had a nasty bug bite. Lavender oil quickly reduced the swelling. Lavender is often recommended for skin problems, as it appears to have an affinity for the skin. It’s the first thing I reach for when I accidentally burn myself. I think it should be in everyone’s first aid kit.
Do Essential Oils Help With Eczema?
The mainstream medical treatments for eczema can include various lifestyle changes, such as trying to reduce potential sources of irritation, as well as medication. This can include anti-itch creams. It can also involve steroids. These drugs, unfortunately, have side effects.
There is also the issue of suppression. I know this is a deviation from mainstream medical thinking. But homeopathic practitioners believe that if one problem is suppressed it doesn’t go away. Instead it can resurface elsewhere. (The last thing you want.)
Some natural health enthusiasts also recommend aromatherapy for eczema. I did too until I learned more. I used to tell people to do this too. But no longer. Now I know too much about suppression and how we need to avoid driving a problem that’s surfaced on the skin inward.
Even if the essential oils didn’t suppress the eruption, they’d probably only palliate it. So it would keep returning.
Homeopathy, on the other hand, can raise your vitality and changes your metabolism so your body fights the eczema naturally, without the danger of suppression. The idea with homeopathy is a permanent and gentle relief from the condition.
However, homeopathy will take time to work. It may happen slowly and gradually. Over months. But it’s the only natural treatment for eczema (besides upgrading your diet and lifestyle) I can comfortably recommend. (You will likely need to work with a professional to get the best results.)
Can Essential Oils Help Eczema?
So, no, I won’t tell you that essential oils help eczema, although there is some research from the University of Maryland that found that certain aromatic oils, along with massage, did relieve eczema eruptions. But whether the essential oils played a big role is not clear. Good results were also noted with massage alone. The UMMC warned against massage is the area is “actively inflamed.” One of the aromatics used in the study was Roman Chamomile oil.
But despite this little bit of research there’s still the issue of suppression.
Still, knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t use essential oils if I had a skin condition. I’d wait until my skin was healthy. Then I’d add the aromatics to my natural skin cream preparations.
I can tell you about special essential oil blends. These are best used to sooth dry (but still healthy) skin. One of these is sold by Plant Therapy. This is where I get a lot of my own oils for personal use. I started using Plant Therapy oils once I realized that you don’t need to buy MLM oils, just to get a good oil. Excellent products exist outside of the two large multilevel marketing networks. Plant Therapy is one of my favorite alternatives.
This company works with a world famous aromatherapy expert. He’s one of the leading authorities on essential oil safety. So I totally trust that Plant Therapy oils are 100 percent pure. In addition to in house testing, each batch is also tested by an independent lab.
Below you can see Plant Therapy Sooth Synergy Blend, designed for adults. It also sells a special skin soother blend for children, which you can see on the right. (This can also be used for adults as well.)
Plant Therapy Soothe Synergy BlendPlant Therapy Skin Soother
Essential Oil Mix for Dry Skin
Dry skin is a big problem for a lot of people, especially in the winter.. That’s why one of the best ways to apply essential oils is with a luxurious cream. It’s really easy to make body butter that doesn’t contain any potential toxic ingredients, such as parabens. This class of chemicals is used to preserve cosmetics. However, it’s also known that parabens disrupt the hormones.
Also, it’s possible that some of the chemicals found in commercial cosmetics can irritate your skin. I know my own facial dryness and flaking went away once I switched to plant-based moisturizers, such as natural avocado oil.
Essential Oil Skin Soother Cream Recipe
Anyway, if you’re interested in making your own skin relief body butter, here’s a body butter base recipe I’ve used myself.
1/2 cup of organic coconut oil (It’s available here)
1/4 cup of organic shea butter (It’s available here)
25 drops of KidSafe Skin Soother Synergy (It’s available here)
- Mix the coconut oil and shea butter together in a stainless steel pan. Gently heat on the stovetop just until they turn into liquid.
- Transfer them to a clean glass bowl and let them cool for 15 minutes.
- Put this bowl in the freezer for exactly 10 minutes.
- Transfer everything to a mixing bowl. Using an electric egg beater, whip it for 11 to 12 minutes.
- Just before you’re done, add the essential oils.
Store this cream in a clean glass jar with a lid. Keep it away from light and heat. If you own your own essential oils, you can also use a few skin soothing selections, such as lavender, geranium and palmarosa oils, in place of the KidSafe Skin Soother Synergy blend.
Disclaimer
These statements have not been approved by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Pregnant women or nursing mothers should not use essential oils unless directed to do so by a healthcare professional.