During skin care procedures like chemical peels, or even facials, it’s safe to assume that lots and lots of harmful chemicals are being absorbed into your body. Even day-to-day applications of concealer, lotion, and sun exposure can unwittingly cause damage to your delicate skin. Dermatologists and beauty experts both agree that treating (or more accurately, not treating) your skin, especially your face, with such abandon can have some serious repercussions.
Starting Out
If your skin has been damaged by a cosmetic procedure, many spas and clinics will set you up with aloe and Vitamin E-based lotions to help your skin heal. You’ll also be advised to use cold compresses to soothe your skin. Cool water is best, since it won’t irritate the skin at all.
Protect Your Skin
One of the most important things you can do is wear sunscreen consistently during the time you’re taking to heal your skin—and, of course, any time you would normally need to after that.
If you want to keep man-made chemicals away from your skin, you can make your own sunscreen using essential oils:
1. Make sure you’re using 100% pure oils.
2. Start with ½ cup of a base oil. Vegetable oil works well, and coconut oil is often sold with other oil kits because it’s a great base as well.
3. Add the following:
Myrrh oil: 5 drops
Carrot seed oil: 5 drops
Lavender oil: 20 drops
4. Blend the oils well.
5. Store in a dark bottle.
As with any sunscreen, remember to reapply every few hours, especially if you’re doing any watersports or outdoor activities.
The Best Oils for Skin
Even if you’re not a wizard with essential oils, you can still use them to help heal your skin.
• Lavender is the best oil for skin care. It helps heal dry skin and burns, improves elasticity, and decreases wrinkles and acne. Lavender won’t aggravate sensitive skin.
• Geranium oil will also help with all these skin issues. Your preference of scent is the best-decision maker here.
Here are several other great oils for skin care. They all offer different benefits, so you can pick, choose, and blend based on what your skin needs:
• Frankincense—great for wrinkles and inflamed areas
• Helichrysum—helps with tissue regeneration
• Lemon—great for healing cold sores and calluses
• Myrrh—helps heal cracked skin
• Roman Chamomile—helps calm irritated skin and soothe blisters
• Tea Tree—can heal burns and help treat acne
• Thyme—helps with baldness and fungal infection
If any oils are too intense for your skin, dilute them with pure vegetable or coconut oil.
The benefits of essential oils are numerous. All those listed above are believed by many to have benefits for physical, emotional, and mental problems. They have a very long shelf life, so you can use them for as long as it takes to maintain your flawless skin.
Choose the Right Products
During the healing process, you want only high quality, non-irritating products touching your skin. While many skincare items you can buy off the shelf are completely safe to use, you should use discretion when reading product labels, as some ingredients can cause problems and damage your skin further. If you’re on a budget, you can use coupons for sephora.com to save on high quality skincare products. These are typically formulated to treat specific skin issues, so whether your skin is dry, dull, or patchy, there’s probably a product that’s just right for what you need.