Revital
Essential Oil Blends for Your Skin, Hair and Nails
With spring and summer just round the corner and those warm winter layers cast aside, your skin, hair and nails will be revealed. Are they dehydrated, damaged or dry? Or in need of a touch of TLC? Shared by the team at Revital, here are some of our favourite essential oil recipes to nourish your skin, hair and nails.
By Nina Sabat
- A (re)introduction to essential oils
- Choosing your essential oil
- 4 Essential oil blends for your skin hair and nails
A (Re) Introduction to Essential Oils
What are essential oils?
Essential oils are potent compounds present in certain parts of plants. By processing their petals, leaves, seeds, rinds, bark or roots, it is possible to extract these natural chemical compounds and use them to support your health.
Essential oils give plants their distinctive scent and flavour but they serve a practical purpose too. In nature, these oils can make plants unpalatable and protect them from animals and insects, help fight off disease, change the surrounding soil so there is less competition, and attract bees and pollinators to ensure they reproduce.
Are essential oils potent?
Essential oils can be extracted from plants using a variety of methods – these include steam distillation, alcohol-based solvents and chemical-based solvents. Whatever the method the end-product is a concentrated and potent oil. This is why essential oils should always be diluted before use.
Typically, you would mix a few drops of essential oil into a larger volume of carrier oil before they are applied to your skin.
This potency also means that essential oils should not be ingested without professional guidance. No matter how good they smell don’t be tempted to take a swig! Just how potent are they? Well 28 cups of peppermint tea have the equivalent potency of 1 drop of peppermint essential oil. Another fun statistic is that it takes 300 lemon rinds to make 100g of lemon essential oil.
Choosing Your Essential Oil
When it comes to choosing your essential oil, be warned. They are fascinating products. The more you explore essential oils the more there is to know! (There is lots of information and guidance for using essential oils, particularly online at AromaWeb.)
Essential oils have differing scent and perfume notes
One of the first things you will notice is their difference in smell. Essential oil aromas can range from floral, herbal, fresh and sweet to earthy, spicy or pungent.
Perfumiers blend oils according to their ‘perfumery note’. Top note oils – think lemon, lemongrass, peppermint and sweet orange – are fainter and more fleeting. Those with middle notes – such as eucalyptus, lavender, rosemary and tea tree – last longer. The oils with base notes – such as frankincense and patchouli – are more intense and last the longest of them all.
One way to blend oils successfully is to combine oils with different notes.
Essential oils have different effects on your emotions
Another way of grouping oils is according to their profile. Oils can be soothing, grounding, energizing, warming, and renewing.
So, you might pick an oil based on how you are feeling emotionally and use it to return to a more neutral state of being. A grounding oil, such as frankincense, might appeal when you feel flighty or unfocused. Energising oils, like lemon and peppermint, could help you overcome stagnation and sluggishness.
Essential oils have different effects on your mood
Dig further and you will find oils can be grouped according to a property. Cooling essences include lavender, rosemary, chamomile and rose. Calming oils include frankincense and ylang ylang. Though lavender, chamomile and rose also fit happily within this calming family too. Lemon, sweet orange and peppermint are all invigorating oils which will add a spring to your step. When it comes to essential oils there is a lot to consider. It is more likely that you will choose your essential oil for their therapeutic benefits, and how they influence your emotions and mood.
But bear in mind it helps if you are also attracted to their smell!
4 Essential Oil Blends for your Skin, Hair and Nails
An Essential Oil Recipe to Nourish Sensitive Skin
If you have sensitive skin it’s best to steer clear of more astringent, acidic oils like lemon. So, my go-to blend for when my skin feels irritated contains essential oils of lavender and frankincense. Using sweet almond gives an oil blend with a lighter texture, but for increased nourishment you could use pomegranate seed oil. Pomegranate seed oil contains omega 5, punicic acid, bringing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities to this nourishing essential oil blend for skin. [1]
- INGREDIENTS
5 drops lavender pure essential oil
5 drops geranium pure essential oil
20 ml sweet almond oil
- ALTERNATIVE INGREDIENTS
For a more nourishing oil use: 10 ml sweet almond oil and 10 ml pomegranate seed oil
- METHOD
Blend all ingredients together in a small bowl
- USE
Stroke gently onto your skin. For best results apply to damp, freshly washed skin.
An Essential Oil Recipe for Oily or Spot-prone Skin
Lorena at Revital Victoria shared the simplest of blends, her favourite to help tackle any pimples or spots whenever they flare up. She advised to be cautious with tea tree and only use a single drop!
- INGREDIENTS
1 drop tea tree pure essential oil
10 ml calendula oil
- METHOD
Blend ingredients and leave for a few minutes.
- USE
This is too much for a single use, so store in a dark glass bottle or roller bottle and apply to the skin whenever you need.
An Essential Oil Recipe to Stimulate Hair Growth
Reena at Revital Stratford whips up this oil blend with invigorating peppermint and rosemary oils. Rosemary oil’s ability to promote hair growth is believed to come from an improvement in circulation.
Interestingly, in a comparative 6-month study, rosemary oil was found to be as effective as 2% minoxidil in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia, where hormonal imbalances cause distinct patterns of hair loss. [2]
- INGREDIENTS
20 drops peppermint pure essential oil
20 drops rosemary pure essential oil
10 ml castor oil
50 ml sweet almond oil
50 ml argan oil
50 ml coconut oil
- METHOD
Mix all ingredients together and leave for 24 hours.
- USE
When washing your hair, apply to the roots of your hair and gently massage into the scalp. Use twice a week.
An Essential Oil Recipe to Strengthen Your Nails
Anna at Revital Hampstead can’t get enough of this oil blend! It started out as a moisturising and cleansing blend for hands and nails but transformed into something more. In aromatherapy, plant oils are used specifically to promote better health. Anna found the invigorating fresh lemon smell was the perfect reviver when inhaled, a few times each day.
- INGREDIENTS
3 drops eucalyptus pure essential oil
3 drops lemon pure essential oil
3 drops lemongrass pure essential oil
20 ml grapeseed oil
- METHOD
Mix all ingredients altogether and leave for 24 hours. Store in a small dark glass bottle and keep in your bag or at work.
- USE
Place a small amount on your palms, cup your hands and inhale for 3 or 4 slow breaths. Then massage the oil into your hands and nails. You can repeat this two to three times a day, especially when you notice your energy is beginning to flag.
Which oil blend are you tempted to try first? Revital offer a range of Pure Essential Oils and Carrier Oils. Why not check them out now?
Summary
Natural plant essential oils can be easily blended to produce unctuous potions that promote better health. Applying them to your nails, hair or skin can add an extra layer of support to your current daily self-care routine. As essential oils are concentrated plant extracts and extremely potent, it’s always advisable to dilute them in a carrier oil. With numerous essential oils to choose from – invigorating lemon, calming lavender, stimulating rosemary, cooling chamomile – your hardest decision will be which blend to try first!
References
[1] Pereira de Melo et al (2014) Pomegranate Seed Oil (Punica Granatum L.): A Source of Punicic Acid (Conjugated α-Linolenic Acid)
[2] Panahi et al (2015) Rosemary oil vs minoxidil 2% for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia: a randomized comparative trial
About Nina
Nina Sabat is a Registered Nutritional Therapist and a nutrition and wellness consultant for Revital. She is focused on improving everyday wellbeing and loves exploring Revital’s extensive supplement range with clients and customers, helping them find the ideal solution for their current needs.