Essential oils don’t make the list for what we use to treat acne very often. Many of us struggle with keeping our skin clear, trying just about everything we read about in magazines and online. Some of us don’t like the idea of putting a concoction of chemicals we can barely pronounce on our faces or shelling out the money for it. For those that prefer a more natural way to handle their acne, there is always the possibility of using essential oils. But first, we need to know what our acne is.
Understanding Your Acne
There are many different types of acne, some of which may not be easily handled with essential oils. If you are someone who suffers from some of the more serious forms of acne such as cystic or rosacea, seeing a dermatologist is recommended. However, for the less intense situations such as comedone or blackheads, using a more natural remedy can be more successful. Also understanding what type of skin you have, whether it’s dry, combination, or oily can improve your routine to help eliminate your acne.
What Are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are derived from nature such as plants, trees, and flowers. These plants go through a distillation process in order to become an essential oil. People use them for many things, one of the most popular options is aromatherapy. For a long time, people have used these oils to promote a healthy body and mindset. They also implement them into beauty routines and food preparation. There is even a product where you can inhale essential oils. You can choose the combination to achieve your desired affect.
Why Essential Oils Can Be a Better Choice
Sometimes using over the counter medicines or other acne prevention products we find in the drugstore can actually make our acne worse. The skin is already irritated and adding more chemicals on top of it isn’t always the best course of action. Essential oils can diminish the problem naturally, without causing more issues. Besides it being a natural solution, it can also help in other areas that are causing the acne.
What Else Can It Do for Me?
Some of you may be suspicious that just dabbing some oil on your trouble areas will do the trick. As mentioned before, aromatherapy is one of the main uses for essential oil. Certain oils can be used for both aromatherapy and for your skin. One of the main causes of acne, especially in women, are hormones. Certain oils such as lavender help to balance hormone levels as well as alleviate stress. Being able to help resolve some of the issues causing the acne while also treating it proves that essential oils are the best bang for your buck.
What Essential Oils are Best for Acne?
We’ve chosen the top four essential oils to help with acne for you to try, but of course there are others in case these don’t do the trick.
Tea Tree
Tea Tree is the most common oil used to treat acne. This specific type contains antimicrobial and antifungal properties, which is perfect for eliminating those zits. This oil helps to reduce inflammation and dry out the pimple. Be sure to use a good moisturizer after the application is complete because it can be quite drying. Check out this guide for how to use this oil for blackheads too!
Lavender
As mentioned before, lavender is known to help with stress, hormone imbalances, and even helping you fall asleep. Besides the aromatic benefits, lavender oil helps to calm the skin and reduce redness. You can also mix this with water and spray your sheets to help you fall asleep or to freshen up your room.
Rosemary
This oil continues the theme of having an anti inflammatory effect on the skin. Rosemary is also good for those that have more oily skin, as it helps to minimize excess oil your skin produces.
Bergamot
Besides having a light, citrusy scent, Bergamot works great at depleting the whitehead of a blemish. It also boosts skin growth, which is great for acne scarring and other marks. This is an excellent oil for more mature skin for those with adult acne. It even helps to tighten the skin and reduce wrinkles.
What About Coconut Oil?
There are so many uses for coconut oil, you’d think it could fix just about anything in your life. All jokes aside, people find it to be useful for their skin care. For the most part, many consider it to be a great moisturizer for the body and face. But how effective is it for your acne? Be sure to check to see if your skin type and level of acne will work well with coconut oil or if it will make it worse.
How to Apply an Essential Oil
One thing to keep in mind with these essential oils is that you want to mainly use this for spot treatment versus all over the face. For direct application to the problem area, you can apply a few drops to a cotton ball and dab it on. For more precision, use a q-tip with a couple drops and apply it to the blemish. If you want to implement these or other oils into your daily skin care routine, there are ways to dilute them so you can use them more liberally. You can use jojoba oil, natural aloe vera gel, and non scented soaps with the essential oil for body and face washes.
Which Essential Oil is Right for You?
There are many options out there for you to use for your skin care routine. Be sure to learn about your skin type and what kind of acne you have. There is a lot of information about different oils and what you can make with them. A lot of times, combining multiple essential oils will end up being your best defense against acne. You can find these oils at natural food stores and supermarkets. If you decide this is your path to clearer skin, be sure to read all the instructions so you can have your best skin day, everyday.
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