What are essential oils?
Essential oils are compounds extracted from plants and the oils capture the plant’s scent or essence. The unique aromatic compounds give each essential oil its characteristics scent. They are obtained through distillation via steam, water or cold pressing.
With the steam method, steam is directed through the plant material. The steam vaporizes the lighter chemicals contained within the plant material. The steam is then condensed through a cooling process. This process generates two products: the essential oil, which contains oil-soluble molecules, and a hydrolat or hydrosol, which contains water-soluble molecules.
The Water method is when the manufacture of essential oils using the method of water distillation, the botanic material is completely immersed in water and the still is brought to the boil. This method protects the oils so extracted to a certain degree since the surrounding water acts as a barrier to prevent it from overheating.
mechanical methods such as cold pressing also known as expression is a mechanical method of pressing citrus peels, such as lime, lemon, bergamot, orange, and grapefruit, to remove the essential oils. The expression method uses pressure to physically squeeze the oil from the plant tissue. Once the aromatic chemicals have been extracted they are combined with a carrier oil to create products that are ready for use. Any essential oil that is obtained through chemical processes not mentioned above is not considered true essential oils.
How to use essential oils in your skin care routine
Using essential oils can help improve your skin’s natural vitality and the appearance of the skin. Many essential oils have natural properties that benefit skin health, provide hydration and help to clear bumps and blemishes. Some essential oils can even help with more severe skin issues such as eczema, psoriasis and acne-prone skin types.
Essential oils are becoming more and more popular in natural skin care products and DIY skin care regimens. It’s important to follow some guidelines when using and applying essential oils to the skin. For starter essential oils should never be applied directly to the skin undiluted. Always make sure that essential oil is with a carrier oil or blended in a skin care formulation.
Always ensure you conduct a patch skin test before you start using essential oils to make sure that you don’t have any type of reaction to the oil. A great place to perform the skin patch is in the inner area of the forearm because the skin there is delicate and is similar to the skin on the face.
What is the best essential oil to use?
There are so many different essential oils for different skin issues. I would say your best bet would be to look for oils that are tailored to your skin care needs. Like for myself, I have oily skin, so therefore I would look for the best essential oils to fight oily skin. I would then formulate those oils into my face cream or face wash.
Tea tree essential oil is a very popular oil and has powerful anti-bacterial properties that will soothe and treat breakouts for any skin type. It is best to ask a professional or someone with experience who creates products for your needs. You can browse our divine shop for products that may fit your skin care needs.
Skin care products that contain essential oils.
Now that you have the run down a bit on what essential oils are, You may be looking for products that contain them. At Body Butters Creations you can find that all our formulations will contain essential oils unless stated otherwise. Using these oils combined in our skin care formulation helps us to combat any skin issues that are clients may be facing.
Essential oils are a safer and more therapeutic way to add scents to our body butter creams, soaps and lotions just to name a few. You can shop our divine collection of handcrafted skin care products that are created with love and intention. Save 20 % off with code LG9 at check out. At Body Butters Creations we are creating skin care that is great for the environment and even better for your skin!
