Essential Oils For Acne

Can essential oils be an effective acne treatment? The answer is Yes but you will need a little patience with it.

Essential oils are concentrated distillations of various plants (including the flower, stalks, leaves and roots) and many have anti-fungal, anti-bacteria and anti-inflammatory properties. For those who want a more holistic and natural approach to acne and acne scar treatment, this may be the answer or part of an answer to your problems.

First of all, you will need to find out which plant or flower "Essential Oil For Skin " are best for you. Even with specific essential oils for acne and acne scars, everyone will react differently so it is best to spend some time to find the best one for you.

Essential oils for acne is therefore a very personal experience.

A few safety notes:
If you are pregnant or ill, check with your doctor first as some essential oils can be dangerous for certain conditions.
Essential oils (with the exception of lavender and rose oil) needs to be applied to a base or carrier oil before application. The recommended dosage is 12-15 drops of essential oil to one ounce of carrier oil.
Do not rub the oils into your eyes or ingest them internally.
So with that out of the way, let us look at some of these great natural oils:

Lavender
Lavender is probably the most used and most versatile essential oil. It is also one of the only oils you can apply directly onto your skin without a carrier oil. It has all the anti-bacterial properties to combat infections and has been used for centuries as an antiseptic. Applied directly onto spots, it will reduce inflammation and kill off bacteria. A lavender water spray is also a good way to refresh your face.

For sufferers of body acne, a few drops in a bath will help reduce outbreaks.

Geranium
Geranium has great balancing properties and is good choice to restore your skin to its natural state whether it is too dry or too oily. It has a very pleasant aroma and mixes well with most other oils such as rose and jasmine.

Bergamot
Bergamot has a citrus fragrance found in Earl Grey tea. Light and fresh, bergamot has drying and anti-bacterial properties that is effective in combating skin breakouts. Be careful though when using bergamot as it makes the skin more sensitive to the sun's rays.

Clove
Clove on the other hand, is quite strong in both aroma and in its healing properties. Even though it has strong anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties, it is not advisable to apply it directly onto the skin even though it has been used to treat more stubborn acne. If you are not sure about Clove, try a small amount first.

Tea Tree
Tea tree oil is well known for its healing and anti-bacterial properties. It heal wounds, soothes rashes, gets rid of dandruff, soothes burns and stops infections. As an essential oil to combat acne, tea tree's anti-bacterial and other properties are very effective. It will also stop irritation and calm inflammations.

Rosewood
Rosewood oil has strong drying abilities and is best used for oily skin. It can dry out individual spots and breakouts, but if you have normal or dry skin, you should avoid using it on other areas.

Carrier Oils
The best type of carrier or base oil are those using the "cold press" method. The oils are extracted naturally without using any heating process which means the natural properties of the oils are not distorted.

There are many carrier oils but for acne treatment, it all depends on your skin type.

Greasy Oily Skin: Grape Seed, Almond and Apricot oils
Normal Skin: Jojoba, Calendula and Sesame
Dry Skin: Wheat germ, Olive and Avocado

Blending
Use a dark glass bottle (not plastic) and you could blend some of the essentials oils yourself with your favorite carrier oil. Combinations such as lavender with geranium, geranium with bergamot, all go quite well together.

Other uses for Essential Oils

Adding 12-15 drops of your favorite oils to your bath, using a few drops in a bowl to steam your face, or adding a few drops to the final rinse when you wash your face are all good alternatives to using essential oils. The best is of course using it for massage.

The more you use essential oils for acne or for any other areas of your life, the more ideas you will get for its uses. Before you know it, essential oils will become an integral part of your daily life.