Best Essential Oils For Dry Skin

There are several essential oils that can help alleviate dry skin:

Frankincense Oil: Helps repair and regenerate skin cells as well as reducing the appearance of blemishes.
Lavender oil: Known for its soothing properties, lavender oil can help alleviate dryness and irritation on the skin.
Geranium oil: This oil can help balance oil production in the skin, making it beneficial for both dry and oily skin types.
Ylang ylang oil: Ylang ylang oil has moisturizing properties that can help nourish and hydrate dry skin.
Rose oil: With its hydrating and anti-inflammatory properties, rose oil can help calm and moisturize dry skin.
Sandalwood oil: This oil is known for its moisturizing and anti-aging properties, making it beneficial for dry or mature skin.
Chamomile oil: Chamomile oil has anti-inflammatory properties that can help soothe dry and irritated skin.

It’s important to note that essential oils should always be diluted with a carrier oil (such as coconut oil, almond oil, or jojoba oil) before applying them to the skin to avoid irritation. Additionally, it’s recommended to do a patch test before using any new essential oil to ensure you don’t have any adverse reactions.

Causes Of Dry Skin

What causes dry skin? Why does our skin become more dehydrated and dry as we age? One answer is oil, our natural skin oil, otherwise known as sebum. Another answer is moisture and our natural skin moisture barrier. Using pure essential oils for dry skin can help alleviate and even reverse this process. Below are some simple but highly effective essential oil recipes for dry skin.

How Your Skin Works

The outermost, or topmost, layer of you skin is a protective moisture barrier that allows your skin to retain its natural oils, nutrients and moisture. When this barrier is interrupted it can cause your skin to lose essential moisture and oils and become dehydrated, dry and even age faster. With a normal PH value of between 4.7 and 5.75, your protective skin barrier is slightly acidic and this is just enough to help prevent harmful pathogens from entering your body through your skin. This makes your skin your first line of immune defense against disease.

As we age, our skin produces less and less natural oils and moisture, leading to a weakening of this protective barrier and also to dry skin, lines, wrinkles and other age related skin problems. Other factors that can also cause premature skin damage include diet, lifestyle, lack of sleep, environmental toxins, pollution and exfoliating too often and too roughly.

A more precise list of skin damaging actions include;

Dry conditions e.g. central heating, excessive UV exposure, applying too little or incorrect moisturisers,
Diet e.g. excess sugar and processed carbs can damage collagen, processed food increase the amount of harmful free radicals in your body, lack of essential fatty acids can lead to dryness and lack of essential healthy skin nutrients,
L:ifestyle includes all the usual suspects e.g. smoking, vaping, excess alcohol, sedentary lifestyle, all of which can lead to dull lifeless skin, stress is also a major factor, causing hormonal imbalances and the over production of cortisol and adrenalin, all of which can lead to the development of inflammatory skin conditions,
Environmental toxins include general pollution (especially in urban areas), excessive UV exposure, alternating between hot and cold temperatures (especially in Winter),
Excess exfoliation can damage your skin’s moisture barrier, strip away natural oils and may even lead to redness and sensitivity.

If your dry skin becomes excessive and/or interferes with life/sleep then it is best to consult a dermatologist to ensure that there is no underlying medical condition.

Common Causes Of Dry Skin

When you start to experience dry skin your first impulse may be to pile on the moisturiser. This may help temporarily but it won’t solve the problem. It’s always better to get to the root cause of the dryness and treat it from there.

Some of the most common culprits causing dry skin include;

Fragrances: Stick to natural ingredients and stay away from products with excessive artificial ingredients or chemicals,
Soap: Unless specifically skin PH balanced, soap is naturally alkaline and will damage your skin’s slightly acidic natural moisture barrier,
Hard Water: Especially water with high concentrations of calcium and magnesium, which can leave a film of minerals on your skin and prevent moisturisers from being absorbed properly,
Acne Meds & Retinol: Both these increase the rate of skin turnover (the rate at which your skin cells renew themselves) and this can lead to dryness, reducing the amount of these products you use should help reverse the dryness,
Dry Air: You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to work this one out, dry air dries out your surface skin cells,
Aging: As we age our skin’s natural moisture and oil production slows down.

Natural Remedies For Dry Skin

Essential oils are absolutely perfect for skin care and there is at least one essential oil for every skin type and every skin condition.

In today’s world of hyper infection vigilance, frequent handwashing has become a thing. Soap is great for removing bacteria from our skin but the frequent use has lead to a lot of dry hands as well as dry, red, itchy skin, contact dermatitis and other dry skin conditions. Using a PH balanced handwash with natural antibacterial and antiviral essential oils can help solve this dilemma. See Our Tea Tree & Eucalyptus Handwash.

Essential Oil Recipes For Dry Skin

General Face & Body Recipe

Use weekly to gently remove dead skin cells and maintain your skin’s natural moisture barrier.

To Use: Mix and pour into the palm of your hand. Allow the oil to warm for 30 seconds and then rub between your 2 hands. Gently massage into your face, neck and anywhere you wish in small circular movements. Make sure to avoid your eyes as essential oils will sting. Allow to rest on your face for approximately 20 minutes and remove excess with a soft cloth, allowing a fine film of oil to remain on your skin.

See our article on Essential Oil Safety.

Mature Skin Recipe

Use once or twice weekly to naturally tighten and tone mature skin while reducing any redness and irritation.

Anti Aging Skin Recipe

Use once or twice weekly to improve skin cell regeneration, improve elasticity and help reduce lines.

Antioxidant Skin Recipe

Use once a week to help reduce the damaging action of free radicals on your skin.

If you prefer the easy way to treat your dry skin, you can see our all natural facial dry skin oil and face and body dry skin oil.

Soothing Eczema Recipe

Use once or twice a week to soothe eczema.

To Use: Thoroughly mix the oils and do a patch test 24hrs before you intend to use (rub a little oil blend on the inside of your elbow to ensure no sensitivities). Gently massage the oil blend onto affected skin areas with finger tips. Make sure to avoid your eyes as essential oils will sting. Allow to rest on your face for approximately 20 minutes and remove excess with a soft cloth, allowing a fine film of oil to remain on your skin.

Dry Eczema Compress

Use as needed to soothe dry eczema.

2 cups of cold water
2 drops Geranium or Lavender Essential Oil
2 drops Myrrh or Lemon Essential Oil
1 drop Chamomile or Cypress Essential Oil

To Use: Mix the water and oils thoroughly together in a ceramic or china bowl. Soak a cloth in the mixture and wring out. Use as a cooling compress for affected areas.

Deeply Nourishing Skin Recipe

Use once or twice a week to soothe eczema.

Winter Skin Protection Recipe

Use once or twice a week to soothe eczema.

To Use: Ideal for helping reverse damage caused by cold and wind. Gently massage the oil blend onto affected skin areas with finger tips. Make sure to avoid your eyes as essential oils will sting. Allow to rest on your face for approximately 20 minutes and remove excess with a soft cloth, allowing a fine film of oil to remain on your skin.

If you would like more in depth info on diluting and blending essential oil, see our guide on Diluting Essential Oils.

Thank you for reading our article and we hope you enjoyed reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it. As always, we ask that you read our Disclaimer and if you would like to keep up to date on more future articles and news, please subscribe to our newsletter below.

Best Essential Oils For Dry Skin

Causes Of Dry Skin

How Your Skin Works

Common Causes Of Dry Skin

Natural Remedies For Dry Skin

Essential Oil Recipes For Dry Skin

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