A day in the life of Bree: essential oils

So since I went all natural and homemade with my face wash, the only logical next step for me is an all natural homemade face lotion. So a lot of the green mommas on the forum I'm on swear up and down by Coconut Oil so I had to give it a try. Since I do have acne prone skin and eczema though I'm going to have to make it just 1 step at a time. The good thing about all this though is I'm learning lots about Essential Oils that I didn't know before.

Coconut Oil: The benefits of Coconut Oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti fungal, antibacterial, and soothing. It is also a rich source of Vitamin E (which we all know is great for skin) and it absorbs easily into skin. To use coconut oil in Acne, you need the very best one. Do not go for the unrefined, crude one, since it may be unhygienic and may contain dust particles. Go for the refined instead. The best choice will be Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil for this purpose.

So I started with one week of using just Coconut Oil alone to see how it works with my skin. By the end of the week I must say I LOVE Coconut Oil. It feels kinda heavy when you apply it (which made me worry that it would cause me to break out) but with in a few minutes it's completely absorbed (and I've not had any new break outs since using it). It really has kept my skin moist but in of it's self alone is not enough for treating my eczema. While it's kept my eczema "happy" I still have some patches all though they aren't flaky and dry "looking" I can feel them. So onto the first doctoring of my lotion! :-)

Lavender Essential Oil: The health benefits of lavender essential oil include its ability to remove nervous tension, relieve pain, disinfect scalp and skin, enhance blood circulation and treat respiratory problems. The health benefits of lavender oil for the skin can be attributed to its antiseptic and anti fungal properties. It is used to treat various skin disorders such as acne, wrinkles, psoriasis, and other inflammations. It heals wounds, cuts, burns, and sunburns rapidly as it aids in the formation of scar tissues. Lavender oil is added to chamomile to treat eczema.

So I bought a small metal bowl that has a lid to put my "Facial Lotion" in. I put about 2 TBS of Coconut Oil in the metal bowl and put the bowl in another bowl of warm water (so it would heat up the bowl containing my Facial Lotion). As the Coconut Oil heated it liquefied and I stirred it to help speed up the liquefying process.

heated Coconut Oil

Once it was all liquid I added 5 drops of Lavender Oil to the Coconut Oil while still stirring. I gave it a good mixing for a few minutes. Then I poured out the warm water and added ice and cold water to the bowl and added the metal bowl back in and continued to stir as the metal bowl cooled the Coconut Oil started solidifying.

cooling coconut oil

Once it started to go from clear to whitish I quit stirring and placed the lid on top to let it cool all the way. So now my Facial Lotion is a mixture of Coconut Oil and Lavender Oil. I will use this for the next week before adding my next essential oil to the mix.

Castor Oil: It is believed that most of Castor oil's benefits are derived from its high concentration of unsaturated fatty acids. Castor oil is a natural emollient that penetrates the skin and helps stimulate the production of collagen and elastin which can soften and hydrate the skin. Therefore, Castor oil is a wonderful natural treatment for wrinkles since it restores and rejuvenates skin's natural youthful appearance by making skin smoother, softer and pliant.

Sandalwood Oil: On the skin, sandalwood oil relieves itching and inflammation of the skin, and is most effective in relieving dehydrated skin - making it great for anti-ageing skincare - and the astringent action has a great toning effect and is also used with great results in oily skin conditions and to prevent the skin from forming ugly scars and for fighting dry eczema. When used in a lotion or cream sandalwood oil can assist with chapped, dry or inflamed skin and has wonderful moisturizing and hydrating properties, which are great for anti-ageing skincare. The toning effect is useful when fighting oily skin.

New formulation:
2 TBS Coconut Oil
1/2 TSP Castor Oil
6 drops Lavender Oil
4 drops Sandalwood Oil

I've been using this mixture now for 1 week and my eczema is so much better now than before I started making my own face lotion 1 1/2 months ago. I think I will add a few more drops of Sandalwood Oil in the next batch though and I have a few other Essential Oils I would like to try in the lotion but I can't because they aren't recommended for use during pregnancy so I'll have to wait to try them out after Javan is born.

finished Facial Lotion
It doesn't look like much or real fancy but it does an awesome job!

So I read about how this was an awesome alternative to buying commercial face washes and it's a much healthier alternative for your skin. I am using Castor Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil and Tea Tree Oil. Castor Oil has potent anti-inflammatory properties, but is also healing and cleansing. Sunflower Seed Oil sinks into the skin better, aiding the Castor oil in transportation deep into the pores and allowing it to draw the dirt and grime to the surface of your skin where it can be wiped away. The essential fatty acids, though they are not naturally occurring in the body, are a necessity for the health of our cell membranes. These acids help restore the skins natural moisture balance and help prevent unnecessary dryness. Tea Tree Oil has beneficial medical properties when applied topically, including antiseptic, antibacterial, anti fungal,and antiviral action.

I mixed:
1 oz Castor Oil
2 oz Sunflower Seed Oil
0.1 ml of Tea Tree Oil

I used about a quarter size amount. I poured it into my hand and rubbed it together to heat it up. I massaged it in for a good i don't know 5 minutes. While doing this I let my sink fill up with hot water and stuck a wash cloth in it. After the 5 minute mini massage was done I wrung out the wash cloth and set it on my face to let the steam open my pores. I did this twice. Then I wiped my face down probably 3 times with the water and patted dry with a towel. My face didn't feel oily at all which I had expected since I was washing with oils. Instead it felt soft and velvety definitely not what I'm used to feeling after I wash my face. It normally feels dry and taut. I followed up with like the smallest of micro bits of Coconut Oil as my face lotion. So far I'm loving how my skin looks and feels just after this one go! :-) I'll add an update after using for 2 weeks.

*UPDATE* 12/30/10 my skin is doing great! I will never wash my face with anything else ever again! I haven't had really any break outs (like maybe 4 zits since i started using this and that like how many I used to get in 2 days) my pores are smaller and i have less black heads. They aren't all 100% gone but it's a vast improvement!