We all want perfect skin. But sometimes we’ll get a skin condition such as acne or a nasty burn. Forget the homemade wrinkle cream! All we want then is for it to return to the way it was, to be normal again. This is where the best essential oils can help restore your skin to its natural loveliness.
Essential oils have been used as healing oils for many, many years and they’re one of the best kept secrets in skincare.
Essential oils are the concentrated liquid that is extracted from herbs, flowers, fruits, seeds and a whole bunch of other plants and plant by-products. Each essential oil is unique, with its own aroma and use.
You’ve probably heard about how the best essential oils can have powerful aromatherapeutic properties, but did you know that they are powerful, active agents as well? Essential oils can be used for many different types of skin conditions, and today I’ll share all the secrets of the best essential oils for healing compromised skin.
But aren’t essential oils expensive?
Making any effort to use one as a healing oil could cost you an arm and a leg?
Although some essential oils can be quite pricey, the real answer is not really. When thinking about the price of an essential oil, it really depends on the quantity in which you use it.
Essential oils are highly concentrated, and require only a few drops in skin care products. This means a single bottle could effectively last you some time. The cost will spread out over uses, and they’re just too useful not to give a try.
So let’s get onto the good stuff, how these beautiful healing oils can fix you up in a very natural way.
A Quick Note On The Oils I Reference Below
In the guide below I mention so many oils it would be overkill to detail and link all of them. So to make life easier for you (and me!) I created my essential oil use guide which has more info on every oil along with direct links should you want to purchase any, open that page in another window.
Best Essential Oils For Dry Skin
I don’t care who you are, at some point you’ve had some kind of dryness or chapped skin. It’s one of those annoying ailments that many of us just seem to accept, but you really don’t have to!
As well as looking really unsightly, dry and chapped skin can actually become quite painful as it cracks and wears away so easily. The uncomfortable tightness of very dry skin is also something I dread.
Most of us go through this when the temperature starts to plummet during the colder months of the year. Chilly winds and a drop in humidity carry away the natural moisture in our skin, and the sensitive areas of the face (particularly the lips) are the first to go.
But you might have naturally dry skin anyway, and these essential oils will help you nourish and rehydrate even the flakiest of elbows. These really are the best essential oils for dry skin.
- Rose — Rehydrates and soothes skin, the best essential oil for dry and mature skin.
- Chamomile — Rehydrates dry skin, excellent combination for Rose.
- Sandalwood — Absolutely superb healing oil for dry and chapped skin.
- Myrrh — Rehydrates, as well as stimulating the healing of chapped skin.
- Sweet Orange — Soothes the itch and pain of chapped or dry skin.
Acne, Eczema and Rosacea
Best Essential Oils For Acne
Acne is the curse of the young (we can’t have it all now, can we?). But did you know that lots of adults suffer with acne well into their late 20s, and even beyond in some cases? We’ve all had a pimple, but if you’ve never suffered from acne try multiplying the pain and embarrassment of a nasty zit by 10, 30 or even 100.
There is no real ‘cure all’ for acne, and the cause of it is hotly debated. Oily skin, hormones, clogged pours, excessive production of sebum, hygiene and even diet have been tipped as potential triggers for acne.
What we do know however, is there are many essential oils that can be helpful in the battle against this nasty skin condition. Experiment with some of the best essential oils for acne I’ve listed below and see what works for you.
- Tea Tree – Amazing antiseptic, the best essential oil for acne.
- Clary Sage – Balances out the production of sebum, a suspected cause of acne.
- Eucalyptus – Clears out conjested skin, reduces swelling and will help heal burst pustules.
- Frankincense – Soothes sore skin, as well as working to balance out oily skin.
- Cedarwood – Relieves uncomfortable itchiness (to stop your scratching and scarring yourself) as well as balancing out oily skin.
- Geranium – Balances out the production of sebum, as well as reducing the bruising associated with cystic acne.
- Grapefruit – Removes toxins from the skin that could be contributing to the formation for new pustules and pimples. Also decongests clogged pores.
- Juniper Berry – Anti-inflammatory, as well as unclogging congested pores.
- Lemon – Works to clean out pours then close them after. Also kills microorganisms that could be a major contributor to acne.
- Petitgrain – Decongests blocked pores, as well as working to sooth and heal any open pimples.
- Rose – Reduces redness and inflammation.
- Ylang-Ylang – Balances the secretion of sebum.
Healing oils For Eczema
Dermatitis, more commonly known as Eczema, can be a very debilitating skin disorder. Dry and itchy patches of skin are generally mild symptoms, as the worst include blisters and thickening of the skin.
If you’re a sufferer of this condition, you’ll know how painful and frustrating it can be, and I really feel for you. My little niece suffers from this and it can really upset her.
Like acne, the cause of eczema is not yet fully understood. It’s likely to be a number of possible triggers, but there have been interesting studies suggesting that the excessive cleanliness of our home could be a contributor. We no longer expose ourselves the squalor of the pre-industrial era on a regular basis, and our bodies just don’t know how to cope when it does come into contact with something unsanitary.
I’m not suggesting we start sprinkling dirt throughout our home twice a week. But what I will say is that essential oils can help manage these debilitating symptoms.
- Bergamot – Helps to soothe nasty rashes.
- Chamomile – Very soothing for dry skin, as well as irritating rashes.
- Lavender – Soothes itchy skin, as well as helping to heal sore skin.
- Carrot Seed – Has a rejuvenating effect and softens skin, a great addition to an after break out treatment to help prevent or ease the hardening of the skin associated with severe eczema.
- Neroli – Helps improve skin elasticity, and a good combination for Carrot Seed for after eczema care.
Healing oils For Rosacea
Rosacea is a chronic skin condition that is characterised by redness, swelling, acne like pimples, pronounced blood vessels and a burning sensation. It is most commonly found on the face (particularly on the cheeks, around the nose and on the forehead) although it can occur anywhere on the body.
It can be a quite painful and unsightly condition, and it’s cause is relatively unknown. Some have suggested genetics, and triggers for the flare up can vary from person to person. Caffine, spicey foods, histamine, light and heat exposure and even exercise are some of the many reported triggers.
This condition reminds me a lot of acne, because there really isn’t a ‘cure’ for it, even by using lovely essential oils. However, they can be used to manage the symptoms and ease the passing of a flare up. Anything that reduces the horrible itch, pain and discolouration is definitely recommended.
- Chamomile – Soothes the sting and itch of this condition.
- Frankincense – Helps to soothe and heal, as well as speeding up the process of new cell production (helping to reduce redness more efficiently).
- Lavender – This will also help to soothe the itch commonly associated with Rosacea.
- Geranium – This will aid in soothing your sore patches, but also increase blood flow to the skin and underlying blood vessels (potentially reducing the pronounced look of dilated blood vessels).
- Carrot Seed – This will soothe your skin, as well as soften the hard or rough texture that can develop on chronically effected skin.
- Juniper Berry – An anti-inflammatory that attack some of the swelling.
- Eucalyptus – One of the best essential oil anti-inflammatories, will get to work on any and all areas of swelling.
- Rose – Rose will help to reduce swelling, but more importantly reduce any redness that we associate with this condition.
WARNING: These should NOT be used to treat ocular rosacea. Never apply essential oils to the eye ball or any mucous membranes for that matter.
Cuts, Scrapes, Burns and Scar Tissue
Best Essential Oils For Damaged skin
You can’t wrap yourself, or your kids in cotton and bubble wrap. What you need are the tools to help soothe, protect and heal damaged areas of skin. Cuts, scrapes, burns and so on, can all be treated with various essential oils for your skin.
Open wounds are also susceptible to infection, which can cause inflammation, pain and in serious cases tissue necrosis.
The best essential oils can help to melt away many of these problems, and fight off bacteria and fungi with their fantastic astringent properties. Essential oils are very powerful, so I would suggest use them very sparingly on broken skin.
- Bergamot – Great for treating all sorts of minor wound, should always be used when making something for this purpose.
- Frankincense – This will help soothe some of the pain associated with minor wounds, as well as helping to speed up the production of new cells.
- Geranium – Absolutely amazing for burns, bruises and anything that could benefit from better blood circulation.
- Lavender – Great for treating minor wounds, burns, bed sores and pretty much any patch of sore skin. It will also alleviate some of the itch associated with a healing wound.
- Lemon – An astringent and antiseptic, which will help prevent any infection.
- Myrrh – Myrrh will soothe wounds, help them heal more quickly and help fight off infections.
- Neroli – This stimulates new cell growth, speeding up the healing process.
- Sweet Orange – Stimulates the formation of collagen, making your skin firmer and more resilient after being compromised.
- Patchouli – A great all-purpose skin treatment. Promotes the growth of new cells, as well fighting fungal infections.
- Tea Tree – Powerful astringent that should help prevent infections.
Healing oils For Scar Tissue
We all have a bit of scar tissue. It might be from a deep wound you had as a child, or perhaps stretch marks from your last pregnancy. While the red discolouration will fade with time, but often the hard, raised texture of scars may never fully go away.
Scar tissue is formed when the body has to produce many layers of skin in order to close a wound. When we have a minor cut or scrape, your body is only producing a few layers and it appears and feels like normal skin.
Scar tissue, however, is much denser and be very rough. This is where essential oils can help. They’ll ease out the tone of scars much more quickly than doing nothing, as well as softening the tissue so it appears and feels much more natural.
I won’t lie to you though, and scar tissue is unlikely to disappear completely whatever you do, but it could definitely reduce its severity. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
- Carrot Seed – This should smooth out and soften hard patches of scar tissue.
- Neroli – Neroli has a similar effect as Carrot, but also increases the skin’s elasticity, making scar tissue feel less tight.
- Frankincense – Frankincense is great for evening out skin tone, as well as lightening dark circles (in this case, darker scar tissue).
- Rose – The perfect essential oil for reducing the redness of any and all scars.
Ideas For How To Use Essential Oils For Healing
It’s important to mention that pure essential oil should never be applied directly to the skin. They’re very potent, and their active ingredients in high concentrations could actually make whatever you’re suffering from worse (especially as direct application to the skin can often burn you).
So, you should make use of them in various homemade skin care products or blended with a base oil.
Oil Treatments are very easy to make, and if you haven’t made or aren’t interested in making your own skin care products, this is the way for you. You simply dilute your essential oils, drop by drop, into a base oil of your choosing.
This can then be applied to your skin. Messaging it in is recommended, and a good way to pamper yourself at the same time as using essential oils for healing. Find out more information on how to make oil treatments and other natural facials at home.
Another good method is to select whatever essential oils you want to use, and incorporate it into a homemade balm. This is excellent for minor wounds, as it will also protect it from infection by forming a water tight barrier against bacteria.
I always keep a pot of cure all balm in my purse. Balms can be a little slow to sink into the skin though, so you might want to consider something else for the treatment of acne. Find out how to make a balm and how to use it all over your body!
Night creams and facial masks are another great way to get your healing essential oils onto your skin. These work best for acne, eczema and rosacea.
Night creams will get to work while your sleeping, and a facial masks will force the oil to permeate whatever area of skin your apply it to (as well as making your skin feel amazing!). Learn how to make night cream and facial masks in my homemade skin care post!
Where can I buy these essential oils?
I buy some of my best essential oils online, so hopefully the information on my essential oil buying guide will make sure you buy the best quality pure products, and at the same time help Save a little cash! More information can also be found on my essential oil use chart.
So there you have it, these are the best healing essential oils you can buy and incorporate into many different skin care products. It’s important to remember that although there are lots of store bought alternatives, unless you spend quite a bit of money none of them are going to be natural.
Here at Savvyhomemade, we pride ourselves in trying to use 100% natural ingredients, when we can, in all our skincare how to’s. Why expose your family to unnecessary chemicals when the natural alternative is cheap, easy to use and works amazingly!
What’s your go to essential oils for healing? How do you make use of it? Let us know in the comments section below, I can’t wait to read about your favourite oils and recipes!
Thanks for sharing your guide and great info, these are actually really good tips and remedies for everyday use.
I found a dermatology site that recommended oregano oil for seborrheic dermatitis but you don’t even mention it in your dry or flaky skin section or in the list of essential oils. Is there a specific reason why or are there just to many to list?
Hi Angela!! Just love all of your ideas and recipes. I am from Canada, and would like to ask you a quick question. Can we make our own essential oils? Would love to be able to make these also. Keep up the good work Angela!! I am also starting my own business. It’s all about helping seniors , and wondered if you would mind me giving my clients your web address, so they can get into all your goodies too. Thank you very much Angela. Marcy Boulter.
Hi Marcy
There’s a post I wrote a few years ago about making essential oils. Best of luck with the new business & of course I would love it if you pass details of SavvyHomemade on to others 😉
Hi Angela! This is an excellent page of resources, which you broke down and described the uses of the essential oils very well!
I’ve been learning about essential oils as well for about five or six years now, and as I’m sure you know, learning about the uses and benefits of essential oils (or nature in general) is an ongoing thing, there’s so much to learn!
There’s a wealth of information online about essential oils these days, but learning from a reliable source is so important, and vital! People often underestimate the strength of essential oils because they will sometimes think “if one drop is beneficial, five drops has got to be even better”, but they’re possibly going to cause harm to their skin and/or health by thinking that way.
I’m very impressed with the way that you write about each essential oil, the benefits and uses for the ones mentioned. This page is an asset to add to any diy skincare recipe list, so hopefully people will consider printing, bookmarking or saving it so they can reference back to it later on!
I’ve read MANY pages on many websites when it comes to information on essential oils, and yours is honestly one of the best when it comes to the descriptions, uses and health benefits, and it’s very organized as well. You’ve done an excellent job on this page, as well as the entire website, so thank you for the wealth of information on everything you’ve shared!
Blessings and peace to all…
Hi Tanja
Thanks so much for your lovely comment, it really gives me a boost and makes the time I spend on SavvyHomemad worthwhile 😉