We all do our best at keeping ourselves and our kids saturated with sunscreen. But even mothers with the best of intentions may sometimes miss an application for themselves or their children. Sun damage is cumulative; it creeps up on us bought through years and years of exposure to the sun’s rays. UV light is well known to cause a cascade of oxidative radical formation within our skin’s tissues, thus leading to long-term degradation of collagen and other proteins. Damage does not only occur while we are in the sun — much of it actually happens in the hours after sun exposure. Free radicals form upon first interaction with the sun’s rays, and “cascade” into various different forms until they’ve been quenched by our own natural antioxidant defenses. Fortunately, simple home-made aromatherapy formulas can effectively do the job as well, and really help everyone’s skin stay younger.
Some essential oils are among the most potent natural antioxidants known, with ORAC values of over 100,000. All essential oils have some level of antioxidant activity, and each used in skin care is selected for its unique skin care properties. For example, a study just released by French scientists note that Myrrh essential oil has a profound oxygen quenching effect on free radicals produced by the interaction of UV rays and the skin’s sebum. Myrrh is one of many oils found in recipes for “mature” skin.
It’s simple to compound your own formula: Choose from a select group of oils commonly used in skin care, add them to one or more nourishing carrier oils, and there you have it — your own personally-tailored recipe. The obvious first choice of essential oils is lavender. Lavender reduces inflammation and has natural constituents which stimulate healthy skin cell regeneration. Lavender in fact began the modern aromatherapy revolution with its quick healing of burns. Really, when we come in from sun over-exposure, even without a sunburn, we do have a mild burn on a cellular level — making lavender and excellent choice for every recipe.
For even greater anti-inflammatory effect, try either blue tansy or blue chamomile. Their deep blue colors are indicative of their natural cooling effect. Blue tansy has an absolutely delicious aroma, smelling like a berry patch deep in the forest. Both are included in many natural health skincare formulas for all sorts of dermatitis including itchy allergic reactions which often occur in the summer heat. If you or your child’s skin is particularly sensitive, either one of these oils will make an important addition to your formula.
Everlasting, also known as Helichrysum essential oil, is a skin healing super-power. Included in almost every therapeutic-grade skin healing blend, Helichrysum contains an array of natural anti-inflammatory and regenerative constituents. It is an absolute must for mature skin, or when skin has really been over-exposed to the sun’s rays. It has a great many other uses as well, and will be a welcome addition to your aromatherapy medicine chest.
Two exceptionally wonderful essential oils for after-sun protection for mature skin are frankincense and sandalwood. These two specialty oils have remarkable protective actions — both have been researched for their anticancer activities, sandalwood particularly for skin cancer. Frankincense has been researched for therapeutic benefits for mature skin, actually resulting in diminishing the appearance of fine lines and smoothing skin texture. They do their work in completely different ways, so including them both in your recipe isn’t a bad idea.
Finally, a lovely essential oil that should be perhaps be in every aromatherapy skin care formula is Sea Buckthorn. This oil is extracted from tiny red berries from a bush wildly grown across Europe. This fruity smelling, deep red oil is dense with vitamin A – like nutrients for the skin which dramatically increase healing and regeneration rates. You’ll see this oil recommended in nearly every skincare formula these days — it can help in conditions ranging from acne to dermatitis, from general skincare to improving the appearance of healthy mature skin. Sea Buckthorn has even been studied for the protection of astronauts’ skin from the powerful raise beyond the Earth’s atmosphere — how’s that for a recommendation?
If you feel like getting creative, you can include other ingredients that are readily available at health food stores or on the Internet. You can squeeze a couple vitamin E capsules into your blend, or add Ester-C, a non-acidic form of vitamin C, both of which are excellent antioxidants when topically applied to the skin.
All your “active-ingredients” will be based in carrier oils. These are cold-processed seed or nut oils carefully made for therapeutic applications. The most useful for after-sun formula are jojoba, avocado, apricot kernel, tamanu, and rosehip seed oils. Jojoba, avocado, apricot kernel are soothing, hydrating, and nutritive. Tamanu and rosehip seed are specialty skin care oils are particularly suited to this use. Tamanu is mentioned in the medical aromatherapy literature as called for in various wound healing and skin care recipes; Rosehip seed has been the subject of numerous studies, helping create healthy skin numerous and diverse conditions. Rosehip has been specifically indicated for reduction of appearance of fine lines from sun over exposure.
The recipes are really flexible and easy to make. You can easily tailor them to your own needs, or to those of your children and other loved ones. Simply choose one or more essential oils and add them to your carrier oil mixture at the rate of between 14 and 35 total drops per ounce. The idea is that you want to have a total essential oil concentration of somewhere between 2 and 5%. Seven drops of essential oil in one once of carrier oil equals a one-percent concentration.
Here’s an example recipe: Make 4 ounces of base using one third apricot kernel, one third tamanu, and one-third rosehip seed (you can simply estimate each in an empty 4 ounce bottle). To this, add 56 drops lavender, 28 drops blue tansy, sea buckthorn and sandalwood — include 15 drops of vitamin E and 2 grams of ascorbyl palmitate for that extra nutraceutical enhancement. You can substitute or add any other essential oil you like, noting that in this formula, 28 drops equals a 1% concentration (and the essential oil concentration is already at 4%). While simple, these formulas will reduce inflammation and quench oxidative radical activity in your skin. These oils are gentle enough for family members of all ages, though for the very young ones use only a quarter as much essential oil in the recipe.
For more on the therapeutic value of aromatherapy essential oil, and one of many important oils individually such as frankincense, visit The Ananda Apothecary online.