By: Helen Masterson
Essential oils have long been treasured ingredients in skin care preparations. You'll find lavender, chamomile, tea tree and mint oils in all sorts of soaps, shampoos and lotions. New technology is creating a greater palette of <a href="http://www.anandaapothecary.com">organic oils</a> to work from, with profound therapeutic action on the skin. Here's a review of these "new" oils, and how you might combine them to create exceptional "super extract" for your home made skin care preparations.
<BR><BR>In the process of production of essential oils, plant material is placed in a still, and steam passed through it. The steam is captured, cooled back to water, and on top of this water floats the "essential oil" of the plant material. This extracts the lightest of the non-polar, "fat-liking" compounds. Now, some distillers are using pressurized liquid carbon dioxide instead of steam. When the pressure is released, the CO2 returns to its natural gaseous state, and leaves a greater range of non-polar, fat-liking compounds. This process is performed at lower temperature than steam distillation, such that the resultant "oil" is more akin to the original plant, and can be done on some plants that don't extract well via steam.
<BR><BR>The infused oil of calendula has long been a favorite skin and body care ingredient. This is made by soaking calendula flowers in another oil for many weeks and extracting the flower into the oil. The CO2 distillation of calendula makes this so much easier. It offers a product will all the therapeutic value, but with a completely controllable concentration of "active ingredients". It's deep orange/brown color and complex aroma indicate its high level of bio-active compounds. It's actually been the subject of a fair amount of scientific research supporting its use in healing skin, too. Very good stuff.
<BR><BR>Chamomile extract is a very popular skin care ingredient, and a carbon dioxide distillation of German "blue" chamomile is available. It has a lovely blue-green color, unique among all these others which vary between red and orange. The color indicates the presence of a particularly potent anti-inflammatory constituent (which turns blue under the heat of steam distillation). The aroma is pleasingly cool and sweet.
<BR><BR>We move from flowers to fruits: Sea Buckthorn oil has long been a favorite exotic skin care ingredient, considered a remedy for virtually every skin care need under the sun. It's even been researched as a sunblock for Russian cosmonauts! It's bright reddish-orange indicates a high level of carotenoids and related antioxidants. These compounds are known to be related to skin healing and regeneration.
<BR><BR>Also a fruit, rich in bright red antioxidant nutrients, is rosehip. Cold-pressed rosehip seed oil was "discovered" in the 1980's, being the subject of University research for skin care. It was shown to reduce wrinkle appearance and generally improve skin texture. Known for its regenerative action, rosehip seed became a staple ingredient in anti-aging and scar-reduction formulas. The CO2 extract of rosehips draws the regenerative nutrients from the whole fruit of these wild roses, not just the seeds. The result is a super-powered rosehip oil, useful for all regenerative skin care applications (it is NOT recommended for those prone to acne outbreaks however, as it may exacerbate the condition).
<BR><BR>Thus far we have extracts from the fruits and the flowers, so we look finally to roots. Carrot root CO2, also called "Helio-Carrot" is exceptionally rich in antioxidant and regenerative nutrients that give carrots their bright orange color. This is where the word "carotene" was originally derived. These vitamin-A-like compounds are known for their contribution to the skin's health and healing. "Retin-A" is a synthetic vitamin-A pharmaceutical preparation known for its regenerative properties; carrot extract is used for its regenerative nature as well, without the extreme drying effect of Retin-A.
<BR><BR>So how to use these super ingredients for skin care? They're very interesting in the way that they're in some respects very mild. They can all be directly applied to the skin without causing irritation. At the same time, they're all exceptionally potent, just as pure steam distilled essential oils are. The best concept when using these supercritical extracts for skin care is to think of them as your "active ingredients". If you look at many medicines, you'll see the "active ingredients" in percentages often between 1/2 and 5% of the total formula. Or look at is this way: if you're feeding your skin, you wouldn't give it just vitamins -- you need macro-nutrients as much as micro-nutrients. The carrier oils in which you mix these CO2 extracts are truly "oils" like you would eat -- these are your macro-nutrients. The CO2's are like the vitamins and minerals you're fortifying your food with. Got it?
<BR><BR>To measure for blending, it's best to use a measuring pipette or dropper with graduation marks -- you can estimate the number of drops per milliliter, but it's best to have done this first with a measuring tool. To make a one percent concentration, use one-third of a milliliter of CO2 extract for each ounce of your final formula. If you're making four ounces of a blend, you'd use 1 and 1/3rd milliliters of extract for a one percent concentration. You can estimate there are 25 drops in one milliliter, using 8 or 9 drops of extract for 1/3rd of a milliliter, but again, it's best to use a tool designed to measure liquid in these small amounts.
<BR><BR>
Bio:
More natural health information is available from the author at <a href="http://www.anandaapothecary.com/essential-oils-l-to-p3.html">Ananda essential oils</a> and at the <a href="http://www.organicmedicinalherbs.com">organic medicinal herb blog</a>.
<a href="http://www.article-submission-express.com">Article Submission</A> by Article Submission Express
No comments:
Post a Comment