Choosing the Right Natural Oils for Your Skin
How to Choose Natural Oils for Your Skin to Feel (and Look!) Your Best!
I love all the options we have when making Aromatherapy blends.
There is such a wealth of natural oils for your skin to choose from, as well as butters like cocoa and shea butter. And then, of course, we have plenty of essential oil options. There is so much room for creativity!
With all the options out there, it can be easy to "fall into a pattern" of just working with the same natural oils and butters over and over.
And there's nothing wrong with that—it's wonderful to continue using a carrier that you know well. You can get to know it even better the more you work with it.
But it's also fun to "meet" new carriers and change up your blends now and then. I want to tell you about three natural oils for your skin that you may be familiar with or which may be new to you.
First, let me give you a recipe for a body oil that includes all three. It's called "BAM!" body oil because . . . well, you'll see when I tell you the ingredients!
BAM! Super Skin Care Oil
Apply daily to moisturize your skin.
Ingredients
1 fl oz (30 ml) Baobab Oil (Adansonia digitata)
½ fl oz (15 ml) Argan Oil (Argania spinosa)
½ fl oz (15 ml) Marula Oil (Sclerocarya birrea)
Equipment
One 2 oz (60 ml) glass bottle
Directions
Combine the baobab, argan and marula oils in the bottle.
Close the cap and shake gently to blend all the ingredients.
Use it as a daily moisturizer and BAM! . . . you have "Beautiful And Moisturized" skin, haha!
Now let's talk about the individual oils.
Baobab
The Baobab tree grows in Africa and is sometimes called the "Upside-Down Tree."
Baobab trees can live for hundreds of years. (On my trip to Africa, I even saw one that was rumored to be over 2,000 years old!) Baobab oil has a warm, mild, slightly nutty aroma. It's deeply penetrating for skin, offers essential fatty acids, and has even been used all by itself to soothe burns.
Argan
Argan oil is sometimes called "liquid gold," and is handmade by women in Morocco in a traditional, time-consuming process.
It's popular for skin care because it's so light and doesn't clog pores, yet is deeply nourishing. You'll even find it as an ingredient in a lot of store-bought beauty products. Argan oil doesn't have much of an aroma of its own.
Marula
Marula oil comes from Africa and Madagascar and is known to be exceptionally hydrating and healing.
It's good for areas of skin that need special attention (like if they're dry or chapped), and offers antioxidants to keep skin healthy and smooth.
Here's a fun way to get to know these natural oils (or any carrier you're not as familiar with).
Choose one and use it all by itself for about a week.
Do you like the way it absorbs?
Does it feel greasy to you?
Does it feel heavy or light?
Does your skin feel dry again soon after using it?
Does it help soothe any areas that are irritated or itchy?
How does your skin seem to like it after using it for a week or so?
After you experience one of the oils in this way, try the same process with the other two.
In this particular blog post, I limited myself to exploring three natural oils for your skin, but there are so many beautiful oils out there! A few other great options are tamanu oil (Calophyllum inophyllum), hemp seed oil (Cannabis sativa), and moringa oil (Moringa oleifera).
Create luxurious, healing custom skincare products using essential oils
Learn to create skin and body care products for yourself and your loved ones that are healing, nourishing, and 100% natural in our Body Butters & Lip Balms class.
