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Oils For Beauty

As a jaded consumer of commercial skincare, I know form experience that for women with beauty issues, there's no better way to go than natural. There are a suprising number of uses for various types of oils, whether for skin, hair, or even internal consumption. Here are some simple techniques that I've found to be useful and very effective:

To remove makeup: Take one tsp. of an oil of your choice (oils vary widely in thickness, viscosity, and molecular size. I found that some of the best oils for use on the face include grapeseed, apricot kernel, sesame and sweet almond). rub it bewtween clean palms to warm it slightly, then rub on the face. Rnse and repeat until the makeup is gone. Follow with the cleansing regimen of your choice. This leaves your skin silky and the right oil WILL NOT clog your pores! (in fact, it helps oily skin by keeping it hydrated, thus not asking the sebum producers in your skin to go haywire for lack of moisture!) This technique is good for everyday cleansing as well, and you can even add a bit of an exfoliating agent, such as sugar, salt, crushed almond, or your personal favorite face or body scrub  to make a wonderful, moisturizing exfoliating treatment!

Another tip: Try making a mixture of 1 part olive oil (or, if you don't like the smell, the aforementioned sweet almond is a good choice) to about 3 parts cold vinegar (apple cider for dark hair, white for lighter shades) shake vigorously to mix, and using it as an after-shampoo rinse. Comb through for even application. This makes the hair shimmer. Coconut oil is also great for the hair, but  with its viscosity, I would caution those who are acne-prone about using it, since it's been known to cause breakouts on the back and neck.

For skin discolorations, you may want to try using a mixture of 2 parts lime juice and 1 part honey to 1 part light oil of your choice, and apply it to your skin overnight. Lime (or lemon) juice is great for bleaching the skin on its own, but adding the oil and honey softens up its harshness for already dry or sensitive skin.

A well known tip is to include a bit of baby oil in the bath for softening effects. Again, baby oil, while great for normal and dry skin, may cause breakuts in some people, so a modifier for this tip is to use a lighter oil like sweet almond (I'm in love with the stuff, can't you tell? :)) or grapeseed. Then, when you're done and if you feel like you need an extra hit of moisture, you can apply the oil straight away after you exit your bath (on damp skin).

For strong nails, take a light oil (like grapeseed, or any of your personal preference) and dab a tiny bit on your nails and cuticles and leave it to soak in overnight (you may wish to wear gloves, in which case, it would be beneficial to just go ahead and douse your hands as well). My personal experience with this tip: I used to get those annoying white spots, signs of damage, on my nails quite often. Since I've been using this technique, the damage has all but stopped.

If you take a multivitiamin (or even if you don't) you may want to supplement that with an extra vitamin e oil capsule. Use of it over time helps keep skin supple, and it's not expensive. In fact, you can buy a wide range of great, 100% pure oils from any health-food store for suprisingly low costs! And if you find that it works better for you than any commercial product you've ever tried, like I did, using natural oils in your beauty regimen is going to save you buku bucks. And with a little experimentation, there can be just about limitless uses that you can find for this great beauty product on your own! Good luck!

- By Bobbie Lee