We know Essential Oils need to be mixed with carrier oils, so what are some of these carrier oils? Fortunately, we found 3 of the 11 carrier oils in our kitchen.
Carrier oils dilute essential oils so you can use essential oils safely. They also moisturize your skin.
Coconut oil
Coconut Oil is a valuable carrier oil because it penetrates the skin on a deeper level. It contains saturated fats that help the skin to stay moisturized while helping to provide a smooth and even skin tone. An excellent emollient, it benefits people with dry, cracked skin. Coconut Oil has antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties, so it’s the perfect carrier oil for relieving skin conditions like acne, eczema, and cold sores. It blends well with most essential oils. It is rich in oleic acid and other essential fatty acids that keep skin soft and supple. Known for its benefits in the kitchen, coconut oil is popular in many beauty treatments.
Fractionated coconut is perfect for transferring essential oils to your body without hindering their smell. It is highly stable with a long shelf life, has no noticeable aroma, and is liquid at room temperature. It absorbs well, leaving the skin feeling silky and moisturized, and non-greasy. It’s also high in essential fatty acids and because the oil tends not to stain fabrics, it washes out of towels easily. Use it for mixing with essential oils to add to your bath.
Regular coconut oil is unprocessed and retains the coconut aroma and flavor. Virgin coconut oil is solid at room temperature and has a long shelf life. It leaves a moisturizing, oily-feeling layer on top of the skin. Use unrefined coconut oil.
Refined coconut oil comes from dried coconut meat (copra). It’s bleached and deodorized to remove contaminants and the coconut aroma and flavour. Sodium hydroxide may also be added to extend its shelf life. Refined coconut isn’t all-natural and isn’t recommended for use as a carrier oil.
Some allergies do exist and the oil can clog pores for some sensitive-skinned people.
Emollients refer to moisturizing treatments that are directly applied to the skin to provide relief and hydration. Their purpose is to create a protective layer over the skin, effectively trapping in moisture and preventing dryness.
Olive oil
Olive Oil is a heavy, thick oil, that’s a great emollient too. It can lubricate the skin as it contains a significant amount of essential fatty acids and alpha-linoleic acid that nourishes and moisturizes the skin. It is soothing for inflamed skin with its vitamin-rich antioxidants and can be used to make mature and aging skin appear more youthful.
It has good fats for your skin, but it will leave excess oil behind that doesn’t absorb well through the skin. Because of its thickness, it doesn’t work well with roller bottles.
Olive oil is high in monounsaturated fats, which makes it an excellent choice for people with dry or sensitive skin as it is gentle and non-irritating. Research suggests that olive oil may serve as a promising treatment for skin-related conditions like seborrheic dermatitis, psoriasis, eczema, acne, and atopic dermatitis. It helps to improve these skin issues by reducing inflammation and fighting the growth of bacteria. It is heat stable and perfect for the heated oil stage when making creams and lotions.
When you’re buying olive oil to use as a carrier oil, look for unrefined extra virgin olive oil. This means that no heat or chemicals are used in the extraction process, making it pure.
Jojoba oil
Jojoba Oil extracted commercially is a liquid wax ester from Jojoba seeds. It’s more similar to human sebum than any other vegetable carrier oil. Jojoba oil is an excellent moisturizer and contains myristic acid, which gives jojoba oil strong anti-inflammatory properties. This carrier oil helps drive out impurities, grime, and dirt from deep within pores, helping prevent acne.
It also contains antioxidant properties that protect the skin from premature aging. Being an antioxidant, it doesn’t go rancid, so can be combined with other oils to prevent them from going rancid. It balances the skin’s oil production, clears breakouts, and is easily absorbed by the skin. Jojoba oil doesn’t stain clothes making it a good carrier oil.
It contains vitamins that are great for the skin, such as vitamins E and B.
Studies have shown Jojoba Oil to be successful in helping with acne, eczema, and psoriasis. It is very heat stable and can be used in the heated oil stage when making creams and lotions. Suitable for all skin types, Jojoba Oil is a natural fungicide with a long shelf life.
Apricot kernel oil
Apricot Kernel Oil is heat stable and can easily be absorbed by the skin without leaving any oily residue. It is light, easily spreadable, and high in Vitamin E to soften and calm itchy skin. Apricot Kernel Oil is rich in polyunsaturated acids and other essential fatty acids like linoleic and oleic.
It’s a soothing, revitalizing, anti-inflammatory, nourishing emollient with its moisturizing properties, making it excellent for all skin types including withered, tired, sensitive and mature skin. Apricot Kernel Oil is very gentle, so it’s great for sensitive skin, children, and babies.
Sweet almond oil
Sweet Almond Oil contains a high amount of vitamins especially Vitamin A and Vitamin E and oleic acid, linoleic acid, and proteins. It has a lightweight, medium consistency, can easily be absorbed, and is a good lubricant that keeps skin moisturized, soft, smooth, and youthful looking.
Sweet Almond Oil keeps your skin cells healthy, helps reduce the signs of aging, and may even protect your skin from UV radiation damage. It leaves a slight hint of oil on the skin and nourishes and calms sensitive skin with its emollient properties. Just a few drops are needed to use on a baby to protect their delicate skin.
Do not use this oil if you have a nut allergy.
Sesame oil
Sesame Oil is a thick, light oil excellent for moisturizing aging skin and reducing signs of aging as well as a wonderful emollient that promotes supple, soft, and youthful-looking skin. It is used to gently soothe and heal inflammatory skin conditions including psoriasis and eczema as well as help fade blemishes.
The oil quickly absorbs into the skin but can leave a slight oily feeling. It’s rich in vitamins E and B, and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus.
Avocado oil
Avocado Oil has a thick texture and is rich in essential fatty acids, vitamins A, E, and D, lecithin, and high concentrations of oleic and linoleic fatty acids, making it a potent anti-inflammatory, All these nutrients are especially nourishing to tired, dull and lifeless skin. It rejuvenates and lubricates dry skin, delays premature aging, and helps prevent stretch marks.
Avocado Oil soothes inflammatory skin conditions like eczema & psoriasis. Because of its thickness, Avocado Oil can clog pores and should be avoided if you have oily or acne-prone skin.
Grapeseed oil
Grapeseed Oil is a lightweight, dry oil, rich in polyunsaturates and can easily be absorbed by the skin. The high absorbency rate and dry feel, make it great for skin types that don’t absorb oils well or are often left feeling greasy. It’s a natural astringent that tightens, tones & firms the skin and controls acne.
Its emollient properties balance out the natural oils and keep skin moisturized and glowing. Grapeseed Oil is also good for helping with fine lines, stretch marks, aging, wrinkles, age spots, and sun-damaged skin because it contains a significant amount of Vitamin E and Proanthocyanidins, which are powerful antioxidants that not only fight off wrinkle-causing free radicals but also heal sun-damaged skin.
High in linoleic acid, it’s documented as having antioxidant, antimicrobial properties, and Omega-6 fatty acids making it effective against eczema, psoriasis, and dermatitis.
Rosehip oil
Rose Hip Oil is rich in Vitamin C, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids, to promote elastin for the synthesis of collagen in the skin, to help improve the tone, elasticity, and suppleness of skin & prevent fine lines and wrinkles.
It also contains Vitamin A and E for moisturizing the skin and essential fatty acids which have cell regenerative & scar healing properties, even helping stretch marks and mild burns. Rose Hip Oil is a great emollient and natural astringent, which enables it to balance out both oily and dry skin. It absorbs easily into the skin.
Argan oil
Argan Oil is high in Vitamins A and E, oleic and linoleic acid, tocopherols (potent antioxidants), squalene, and saponins to help heal wrinkles, cracked skin, and skin inflammations. Argan oil is full of phenols, carotenoids, and essential fatty acids that nourish the skin. This oil helps ward off free radicals and strengthens the immune system.
Use Argan oil regularly to help keep your skin smooth and reduce the visibility of stretch marks and scars. It’s a dry oil, so it absorbs quickly.
Evening primrose oil
Evening Primrose Oil has a high linoleic/oleic acid ratio that makes it suitable for people with acne prone skin. A medium-weight oil that closely resembles your skin’s natural oil (sebum) and absorbs well but can leave a slightly oily feel to the skin.
Evening Primrose Oil is high in essential fatty acids and often used to improve skin dryness, irritations, and conditions, like eczema, and is said to reduce the effects of aging. It also has anti-inflammatory properties to improve nerve function and skin elasticity.
How to mix with essential oils
The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy recommends using 2.5% to 10% Essential Oils when creating massage and body oils. The rest of the mixture should be made up of carrier oils. This means 15 drops of Essential Oils to an ounce (about 6 tsp or 30ml) of carrier oil.
The easiest way to mix your essential oils with a carrier oil is by using a clean glass bottle. Start with a dilution rate of 2.5%.
If you plan to use your essential oils on sensitive skin, children, or the elderly, it’s best to start with a weaker dilution rate of 0.5%. You should use 3-6 drops of Essential Oil per ounce of carrier oil.
After adding these ingredients to your bottle, replace the lid and shake the bottle to combine the mixture evenly. Perform a patch test to ensure that the mixture is safe for use on your skin.
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