Body oil is one of my favorite parts of my personal care routine. It is a luxurious experience with ample benefits to the skin, that you can create on a budget at home. Body oil nourishes, replenishes, and leaves the skin soft, supple, and glowing. I like to use face and body oils year round, and will sometimes adjust ingredients depending on my needs in each season. A body oil can be mixed and matched and catered to your specific skin needs. Why homemade oils? The skin is the largest organ of the body, and has the ability to absorb the various ingredients that it comes in contact with. When we apply chemicals day after day, and year after year, it can have a substantial effect on the systems of our body. Creating these products at home is also much more cost effective. After using oils and tallow on my skin that past few years, I can see a dramatic difference in the tone and condition of my skin, versus how it was holding up when I was applying more chemicals. It can take some time for your skin to detox from chemicals products and to transition to natural oils, but with patience, the results are well worth it. Skin products are not one size fits all, so you may have to play around with ingredients to find what's best for you.
If you are new to oils, I would suggest starting with light oils. If you have very sensitive skin, I would look into using tallow or goats milk products to work on reducing external inflammation. If redness is your issue, I suggest an oil or lotion that contains calendula, a flower, with compounds to soothe redness and inflammation.
The key to understanding many skin issues, is that most of the problems do not begin on the outside at all, but rather they begin internally, with the liver and gut health. However, there are some wonderful ingredients that can assist from the outside.
What you will need:
An amber bottle or blue bottle (Amber or blue bottles help keep light from shortening the shelf life of your oil)
- Always keep your bottles of oil out of direct sunlight.
Carrier Base Oils
Essential Oils (optional)
Vitamin E to extend the shelf life of your oil
Funnel
A means to measure your oils
Label (optional)
* The carrier oil is the base of your product as it helps to dilute the essential oils and deliver or "carry" them to your skin. Your carrier oils are derived from the fatty portion of plants, nuts, and seeds, or in the case of olive oil, squeezed out of the entire fruit. Essential oils are distilled from the petals, leaves, bark, stems, and roots of plants and are highly concentrated. The carrier oil will assist in protecting the skin from potential reactions to the more concentrated essential oils, while providing soothing and potentially healing benefits of their own. If you have any allergies to any plants, seeds, or nuts, simply avoid those oils when choosing your combination of skin care oils. Note that citrus oils can make the skin more photosensitive and some oils like cinnamon, oregano, or tee tree can burn sensitive skin*
Carrier Oils:
There are too many to list here, but I will give you my top suggestions:
Jojoba Oil - Jojoba oil is a good choice for people with dry or oily skin who are looking for an oil to assist with aging skin. Jojoba oil hydrates, is anti-bacterial, absorbs well, reduces inflammation, and is an antioxidant. It can assist in diminishing fine lines and even scars. Jojoba oil closely mimics your bodies natural oil, making it a great choice for the skin.
Apricot Kernel Oil - A very light weight but nourishing oil. It is a rejuvenating oil that softens the skin beautifully. It does not leave a heavy feeling residue like some other oils such as castor oil. It is gentle and rich in essential fatty acids.
Sunflower Oil (cold-pressed) - Sunflower oil is not usually the top oil people think of when making facial oils, but it has been my go to for years. It works with a wide variety of skin types, does not clog pours, and it is highly absorbent. It has a neutral scent and is wonderful for assisting in the reduction of inflammation.
Sweet Almond Oil - Sweet almond oil is good for both dry and oily skin. It is moisturizing, light, and nourishing. Sweet almond oil may assist in reducing irritation, decreasing puffy under eyes, and smoothing scars on the face.
Rose-hip Oil - Rose hip oil is a wonderful oil for the face, as it hydrates and naturally exfoliates and brightens the skins appearance. It may assist in reducing hyperpigmentation, fine lines, and it may boost collagen production.
Avocado Oil -Avocado oil is good for dry skin, as it may assist in the healing of chapped skin, itchy skin, and damaged skin. Avocado oil may assist in speeding up skin healing, and reducing inflammatory skin conditions.
Essential Oils:
There are many essential oils out there, and some I would not use on my face, such as citrus oils. There are however, oils with therapeutic skin benefits, that seem to have been used in facial care for hundreds and even thousands of years. *You will want to use a therapeutic high grade oil.* Avoid using cheap fragrance oils from the store as many as full of chemicals. There are lots of good essential oil companies out there, but my personal recommendation is Eden's Garden or Revive Oils. I have been using them for the past couple of years, as they have better prices than some of the other companies, while still maintaining the purity of product I am looking for.
You can find them here:
Lavender Oil (calming with lightly floral scent)
Frankincense Oil (used for thousands of years for skin health)
Rose Geranium (distinct woodsy floral scent)
Bergamot (light bright scent) *bergamot can cause photosensitivity*
Rose (warm floral scent)
Jasmine (sweet strong floral)
Tea Tree (will sting skin if not diluted and is to be used very sparingly for skin with bump and breakout issues)
*Always store your oils away from excess heat and direct sunlight, so as to extend their shelf life*
Directions:
Place your funnel into your jar and decide on the oil combination you want to use.
Fill your jar with the carrier oil(s) of your choosing about 3/4 of the way up (just below the neck of the jar) If using 2 carriers oils, simply split the difference and so on If using 3.
Give a squirt of vitamin e (approx. 1 teaspoon) *If you are using sunflower oil it naturally is rich in vitamin e. The vitamin e has lovely benefits for the skin, but is also a natural preservative to help your oil last longer.
Add your 10-30 drops of the essential oils of your choosing.
Be careful to keep an eye on the level of liquid in your bottle. You do not want to fill it all the way to the top, as it will overflow if you place a dropper or pumper top in.
Tighten your cap onto the jar and give a little shake to incorporate your oils together.
Place a label on your bottle to remember what's in there (optional)
Store in an area away from direct sunlight.
A little bit goes a long way when applying. (One 4oz bottle lasts me around 3 months)
You glow girl!
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