Naturally Radiant Skin Care - Make Your Own Moisturizing Oil

Everybody knows that "moisture is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty."  Name that movie.  Hint: mer-MAN! 

Now that you know how to naturally cleanse, tone, and deep clean your pores with an herbal steam, it's time to learn about the final step in a natural skin care system - moisturization.

When I first entered the world of homemade moisturizers, I tried lotions (or emulsions) and had pretty good success.  An emulsion is mixing two or more liquids together that don't like to be mixed together - like oil and water, for example.  Most emulsions are made with an emulsifier to make the process easier - commonly soy lecithin or even borax.  Emulsifiers aren't absolutely necessary, however, and I never used them. The process of emulsification is basically slowly pouring water into a combination of oils and melted beeswax while mixing with a blender or stick blender.  If you've ever tried to make homemade mayonnaise, it's like that.

The first homemade moisturizer I tried was a simple olive oil, beeswax, and water emulsion with some lavender essential oil so it didn't smell so olive-y.  It was simple and it worked well enough, but it tended to separate and left my skin feeling pretty greasy.

The second homemade moisturizer I tried was Frugally Sustainable's Non-Greasy Moisturizing Lotion.  It also worked quite well and didn't separate as much, but still left my skin feeling slightly greasy.  After I applied my translucent face powder, though, it balanced out and I felt like I had the perfect dewy glow.

Now after reading this blog post, I'm using moisturizing oil, and it's my favorite option so far!  It has several advantages over the emulsions.  First, you don't have to emulsify anything or worry about it separating later.  Second, you don't have to worry about refrigerating it or the water making the whole concoction go bad.  Third, I've actually found my skin to be less greasy after using only oil.  In fact, I think my skin feels like velvet after I use it, and once again, after I use my translucent face powder I have the perfect combination of velvety softness and dewy glow.

Moisturizing Oil is also great because it has several other uses.  It makes a great all natural eye makeup remover, a smoothing hair serum, and can even be added to homemade shampoo for extra moisturizing power. 

So, using oil as a moisturizer can be as simple as using one oil alone like grapeseed or jojoba (pronounced ho-HO-ba).  Both of these are lightweight, non-greasy, fast absorbing oils that mimic the sebum your skin naturally produces.  They are also both relatively inexpensive.  There are many other oils, however, that have extra age-fighting, dryness-combating, oil-cutting, or acne-busting properties, so I combined several oils to get the best of all worlds.

I used grapeseed and jojoba as a base and added in smaller amounts of several other oils.  Finally I added several drops of skin-loving essential oils.

Note: Never use oil on un-cleansed skin.  It can trap the dirt and oil in your pores, causing future unpleasantness.

Another note: A very little goes a long way.  If your skin feels greasy, you've used too much.  I keep mine in a dropper bottle, and about 4-5 drops is all you need.  This also means you get a lot of bang for your buck.


 Carrier oils good for dry or aging skin:

• Grapeseed
• Jojoba
• Argan
• Apricot Kernel (which smells scrumptious, by the way)
• Avocado
• Macadamia Nut
• Sweet Almond
• Hemp Seed
• Sea Buckthorn (can temporarily stain skin, so use in small amounts)
• Rosehip Seed (which goes rancid easily and should be kept refrigerated)
• Emu
• Vitamin E

 
Essential oils good for dry or aging skin:

• Frankincense
• Rose geranium
• Rose
• Cedarwood
• Palmarosa
• Roman Chamomile

 

 

Carrier oils good for oily or acne prone skin:

• Grapeseed
• Jojoba
• Argan
• Hazelnut
• Sunflower
• Tamanu
• Sweet Almond
• Hemp Seed
• Borage Seed
• Evening Primrose
• Neem
• Turmeric oil
• Vitamin E oil

 

Essential oils good for oily or acne prone skin:

• Lavender 
• Peppermint
• Lemongrass
• Rosemary
• Sweet basil
• Bergamot
• Tea Tree
• Lemon
• Juniper Berry
• Roman Chamomile
• Rose
• Palmarosa

 

Mountain Rose Herbs is a great resource to learn more about the individual properties of these oils.  It's also a great place to purchase ingredients. They sell high quality organic herbs and other products, and they are a fair trade company.  (Full disclosure, I do receive a small commission if you click the links on my blog and complete a purchase.)

If you're not a DIY-er, or you're not up for a another project right now, I do have moisturizing oils available for purchase in my store.

 

 

 

For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

 

Big Blog Announcement

A new name and a new look, and a new store coming soon!

Why a new name?

I know I'm the one that chose it, but I was never thrilled with the original name.  Mostly I just wanted to get started blogging and I couldn't think of anything better and I didn't want to wait to start until I did think of something better.

Why Rehoboth?  

Rehoboth comes from a story in Genesis.  Isaac's herdsmen dig two wells and end up quarreling with other herdsmen about who they belong to.  They dig a third well and no one quarrels over it.  Isaac named it Rehoboth, saying, "Now the Lord has made room for us and we will be fruitful in the land."  When I read this passage about a year ago, I connected with it so strongly because it's precisely what my family is asking the Lord for.  This word has come to symbolize for me and sum up our family's vision to multi-generationally reconnect with the land.  If we name our farm, I'm sure we'll choose the name as a family, but I hope to call it Rehoboth.  In the meantime, Rehoboth is what I ask the Lord for (nearly) every day.

Why Herbal?

I have loved plants and gardening for many years now, but if you had asked me not so long ago what my opinion of herbal medicine was, I would have scoffed and put it in the box labeled weird/new age/hippie/folklore/waste of money.  As I started to become more interested in a more natural lifestyle, I read a sentence somewhere that stuck in my mind like a thorn.  "Why wouldn't God have given us everything we need?"  It's a good question, and in pondering it, I believe it's more likely that He did.  This is not to say that I don't believe in doctors and modern medicine or that I think any or all plants are miracle working wonders.  I do think that many Americans (myself included) have outsourced their health, are disconnected from creation, and too often medicated for profit.  I think there's a time and a place for each, and a balanced middle ground.  I think there are vast, untapped resources that God has given us, and I'm enjoying learning more about them.

Why a new look?

The new look is to go with the new name.

Why a store?

The idea for the store was an organic process, no pun intended.  I'm excited about the products I'm making and using, and in talking to other people I realized that many are interested in natural products but not as excited about making them.  I've mentioned before that I hope to someday earn a living from the farm, and this could be a stepping stone.  It could be a way for me to earn income from home while moving toward eventually transitioning out of my job, and someday maybe I'll grow my own herbs to use in my products!  I don't know what will happen, but this has become part of the adventure for me, and I'm excited to try.

Thank you to my many dear friends who have supported and encouraged me and my family through this process!!  I appreciate it more than you know.