Aromatherapy beauty products

Aromatherapy-boosted products are becoming the anti-ageing skincare of choice. Nikki Goldstein reports.

In the early 1990s, aromatherapy was the beauty buzz word of the moment. Having shed its image as a fringe therapy for sandal-clad hippies, it became the must-have beauty remedy of the time. Essential oils and burners turned up everywhere, from boardrooms to bedrooms. However, when the new millennium dawned, and we embraced the technological revolution ushered in by the 21st century, many women turned away from ‘natural’ skincare and looked towards a future of super-powered cosmeceuticals that promised younger-looking skin.

As a result, high-tech skincare has been the supreme lord and master of the beauty industry for at least the past decade, while more natural products lingered somewhere in the background. All that’s about to change: natural skincare is undergoing a renaissance, and this time round it’s arming itself with all the science and technology it can muster. A new generation of essential-oil-powered skincare has arrived.

“It’s a kind of furphy to make out there’s something new about aromatherapy skincare. Humans have been using essential oils since the dawn of time to heal and beautify,” says Mandy Gray, founder of True Solutions, which distributes Decléor – one of the world’s finest aromatherapy skincare ranges. What is new, she explains, is that science is proving the benefits of aromatherapeutic skincare go far beyond the fact that it smells good. “People assumed essential oils were only included in cosmetic formulas because they acted as pleasant fragrances. What we know now is that they are also powerful ingredients in the fight against skin ageing because they convey a host of healing benefits and work as powerful antioxidants,” says Mandy.

The power of scent
Sharon McGlinchey, aromatherapist and creator of MV Organic Skincare, a locally made aromatherapy range that is especially good for problem skin, agrees with Mandy. “Aromatherapy has been very much misunderstood,” she says. “The term aromatherapy implies healing with smell, when in fact it means healing with essential oils.” Smell is only one of the ways to take in the tiny molecules (by inhaling them straight from the bottle, or infusing or spraying them into the atmosphere), but they can also be applied to the skin via massage and bathing, and swallowed (although this must be supervised by qualified practitioners).

Sharon believes that one of the reasons aromatherapy went out of fashion was that it became so widely sought that it also became widely abused. “The five-dollar oils you buy at the local market have nothing to do with the healing powers of aromatherapy. Cheap oils are almost always synthetic and have little power to heal and balance the skin and body,” she says.

Pure essential oils are extracted from the leaves, flowers, bark, rind and fruit of plants. They are potent, active and complex organic chemicals that evaporate quickly when they’re exposed to the air (the reason you can so readily smell them). Each essential oil has different properties, fragrance, colour and actions. Rosemary, for example, has more than 250 chemical constituents – some components in rosemary make excellent household cleaners while other components make good cosmetic agents.

Essential oils are lipophilic, which means they are easily mixed with fats. The process of extracting the oils from plants reduces the size of the molecules, making them smaller than skin pores and allowing them to penetrate effectively. Because human skin is made up of fats, as well as other elements, essential oils have an extraordinary affinity with the skin’s own molecular processes.

As well as their penetrating powers, essential oils kill bacteria better than most other natural substances. And unlike synthetic antiseptics, they fight germs without harming healthy human tissue. Australia’s own tea-tree oil is renowned as an effective cure in the treatment of infections and wounds, and was used in the trenches in World War I. Essential oils can even decompose and deactivate viruses. Just a few aroma molecules infused into the atmosphere can attack airborne germs at an amazing rate. The vapour of lemon essence can neutralise the meningitis virus in 15 minutes and typhus in less than an hour.

Mood enhancers
Essential oils are renowned for their mood enhancing abilities. Sandalwood is said to be grounding, while ylang-ylang and geranium are said to be uplifting. What science has discovered is that when they’re inhaled, essential oil molecules take a direct path to the brain because they travel through the olfactory system in the nose (which is connected to the limbic centre in the brain), which processes the smell. The limbic centre is also the seat of memory and emotion, which is the reason why the smell of essential oils can trigger powerful feelings and change a negative mood to positive or help relieve depression.

Healing oils
Along with their antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and wound-healing actions, essential oils work synergistically with the body’s own defence systems – the immune and nervous systems and the skin – to speed the healing process. And when used in the right doses, have few of the side effects often associated with synthetic chemicals. It’s widely known that dabbing lavender oil on a burn will not only help prevent blistering and inflammation, it will also speed wound healing, prevent infection and reduce scarring.

Nature’s gift
When business partners Lynda Chapman and Pia Dwyer were developing their new skincare line Premium Spa, they turned to essential oils and plant-based ingredients to form the basis of their range. “Natural ingredients are the safest and the most effective means of maintaining the good health of your skin,” says Lynda. “One of the main advantages of using plant-based ingredients is that they’re very well tolerated by most skins, and natural moisturising extracts are more easily absorbed than mineral oils, which often just sit on the surface of the skin,” she says.
 
Interestingly, Australia is at the forefront of the natural skincare revolution. Brands such as MV, Aesop, Natio, Bloom, SHE, A’kin and Ethos, which all have their roots in aromatherapy, are showing the rest of the world how to produce high-quality, results-oriented natural skincare.

Mandy Gray says the fact that the constituents of essential oils can now be teased apart in the laboratory and recorded and measured by chromatography, has given this ancient art a much more scientific edge. “This scientific expertise has given each oil an identity card that verifies its unique powers,” she says. For example, we’ve known since Egyptian times that frankincense could preserve the skin as it was used in embalming processes. Now science can isolate the exact substance in frankincense that helps prevent the breakdown of tissue and can harness it for use in modern skincare.

Aromatherapy skincare
Until quite recently, if you wanted a genuine aromatherapy product you had to buy it at a spa or salon. Indeed, most aromatherapy skincare ranges were originally developed for use in the spa – Clarins, Decléor, Phyt’s and Aveda were all spa lines. However, the demand is growing fast, so you can now get the genuine articles over the counter in your local department store. “Women are recognising that with aromatherapy skincare you not only get the relaxation benefits bestowed by plant aromas, you now also get the benefits of the best science beauty therapy has to offer,” says Mandy.

Balancing act
Sharon McGlinchey maintains it’s all about the experience you get when pure essential oils are applied to the skin. “The body has an in-built mechanism that knows when something is genuinely healing, natural and pure,” she says. “The smells instantly relax the mind and spirit, and the body surrenders to the healing and balancing actions of the oils. People emerge from an aromatherapy treatment feeling relaxed and centred. It’s very rewarding,” she says.

Essential oils are like vitamin pills for your skin. In these concentrated essences we find natural medicines that help prevent ageing and preserve a healthy complexion. And unlike synthetic chemicals, essential oils bestow holistic benefits: they lift flagging energies, calm an anxious mind and bring harmony to the spirit. In this busy world where we have little or no time just for ourselves, a daily dose of essential oils can be a welcome booster.

Aromatherapy remedies
Essential oils are potent, active organic chemicals. You only need a few drops of any oil in a bath, and when used for massage, they must be mixed with a carrier or base oil such as almond, avocado or olive oil. There are probably more than 200 commercially produced essential oils on the market today. Those listed here are commonly available and treat a variety of complaints, from tired, sore muscles to low spirits.

Harmony blend
4 drops geranium oil
4 drops clary sage oil
1 drop basil oil

Designed to calm and regulate the nerves, and balance the mind. Either place this formula in a warm bath or add it to a base of 50ml sweet almond oil, then massage it all over your body.

Enliven blend
3 drops orange oil
2 drops rosemary oil
2 drops ylang-ylang oil

A great pick-me-up for the mind and body, this blend helps stimulate and focus the mind and energise the body. Added to a bath at the end of a long day or massaged into the skin with 50ml of wheatgerm oil, it will restore and revive flagging energies.

Overwhelmed employee formula – for burning
6 drops lavender oil
3 drops sandalwood oil
2 drops geranium oil

Essential oil burners are inexpensive, so why not put one on your desk to burn oils every day. This formula aids concentration, creates inner calm and can help the whole office feel peaceful and at ease. It’s also a good formula for the nursery, as it will kill off any airborne germs and help the baby
stay relaxed.

 

Words: Nikki Goldstein. Photography: Steven Chee. Hair & make-up: Laura Dominique.  Styling: Nadene Duncan.