How moisturising your skin can slow down wrinkles
According to the British Journal of Dermatologists, those people who moisturise their skin regularly accumulate wrinkles at a fraction of the rate of those with dry or dehydrated skin. One of the pioneers of aromatherapy, the French cosmetologist Marguerite Maury, recommended using essential oils to promote a youthful complexion and prevent the signs of ageing. In her groundbreaking book ‘The Secrets of Life and Youth’, she outlined how essential oils renew the skin by revitalizing and nourishing the cellular tissues at their deepest dermal layers. She also advocated that rejuvenation could be optimized via an individual prescription or IP, a personalized skin care regime and bespoke formulations based on each person’s unique requirements.
How essential oils can help to fight the signs of ageing
Recent scientific research studies have confirmed that many essential oils have excellent antioxidant properties that specifically help fight the signs of ageing and have collagen boosting benefits which enhance skin cell renewal. Such oils include chamomile, frankincense, lemongrass, myrrh, geranium, rose, neroli and sandalwood. The specific bio-chemical composition of essential oils makes them ideal skincare agents as they are made up of small molecules which permeate easily into the deeper dermal layers of the skin where cellular regeneration occurs. Essential oils are also especially important ingredients to include in facial oils because they are soluble in the natural lipids present in the skin, which makes them very compatible with its cellular structure. Using essential oils combined with natural botanical oils helps keep the skin hydrated by retaining moisture within the cells but without clogging the pores, as can be the case with many mineral-oil based products. Natural botanical oils act as the ideal medium or ‘carrier’ by which these active bio-chemical ingredients can be transported deep into the innermost cellular layers since they also display a multitude of benefits in themselves.
The benefits of creating a natural moisturiser
Creating a personalised facial oil is a valuable way to experiment with making an ‘individual prescription’, which can then be used as a moisturiser as part of your everyday skincare routine. Facial oils are made up in much the same way as body oils, except that the carrier oils and essential oils are more finely adapted to your skin type and the essential oils are added at a lower percentage. Suitable base carrier oils include sweet almond, light coconut, grapeseed, jojoba, rosehip seed, apricot kernel or argan – additional highly nutritious or ‘booster’ oils such as avocado, wheatgerm, borage or evening primrose can also be added to the blend to enhance the properties of the blend for specific types of skin. Some people are nervous of applying oil to the face, especially to oily or blemish prone skin, but the results will speak for themselves! Apart from nourishing and hydrating the skin, facial oils can even be effective in healing damaged skin, caused by excessive sun exposure or other factors such as blemishes, scars or sunspots.
Overall, essential oils have a remarkable affinity with the skin especially when combined with other botanical ingredients. There is saying: “creams are the skin care nutrients for today … but serums are the nutrients of the future”. What does this mean? Facial oils act in much the same way as traditional moisturisers, but rather than containing a high proportion of water like a cream, they instead typically contain a concentrated amount of richly nourishing oils. This means that rather than focusing on simply hydrating the skin, they feed the skin from deep within, where the cells are being replenished, thus ‘future proofing’ your skin for longer. It is good to remember that your skin is also your first line of defence against any pathogens within your environment, so it makes sense to protect it well.
Commercial moisturisers often include chemical preservatives and are commonly based on mineral oil or low-grade ingredients. In fact, you can never be sure about the precise proportion of active ingredients in most commercial moisturisers. This is because the legal requirements for labelling cosmetics is not strictly controlled as it is in the food industry. This is another major advantage of making your own personalised moisturiser.
Natural skincare tips for moisturising your skin
Here are some tips on how to keep your skin in optimum condition using 100% botanical ingredients:
- Both women and men benefit from applying a facial moisturiser twice daily using the basic three step procedure of cleansing, toning and moisturising using personalised skincare formulations.
- Before moisturising, always ensure that your skin is completely clean beforehand. Ideally, it is best to apply your moisturiser directly after you bathe, shower or shave: these are ideal times to apply any moisturiser to your face as it will still be warm and damp and this will help transport the nutrients into the skin more easily.
- Never apply very hot water to your face as it will strip the moisture from your skin, this is especially damaging if you have a very dry or sensitive complexion.
- Always apply moisturiser to your face with upward strokes or by using a gentle circular motion. This encourages the lotion to penetrate the pores of your skin, so it is absorbed quickly – typically within five to ten minutes. Never drag on the skin especially around the delicate eye area.
- In the morning, after moisturising with a facial oil suited to your skin type, it is important to always use a SPF 15 sunscreen or higher on your face and other exposed areas of your skin before going out, to protect it from UV rays.
- In the evening before going to bed, apply a richer facial oil suited to your complexion, so your skin can absorb the nutrients while you sleep.
- It is vital to choose the right kind of moisturiser for your skin type to help maintain its PH balance. When you skin is consistently too dry or too oily, this is when many common skin problems like can acne, dermatitis or eczema can occur.
- See also my journals on ‘Feed Your Face’ and ‘How to Make your own Facial Serum’ on our website, as well as my ‘Blending Notebook’ for recipes on how to make a specific facial moisturising oil or a personalised perscription, suited to your skin type.