Essential oils have long been used in many cultures for beauty and skincare. Whether they are applied via serums, lotions, moisturizers, or in facial cleansers, essential oils can give your beauty and skincare regimen an awesome boost. When it comes to the largest organ on your body – the skin – essential oils provide many enhancing benefits. If you have dry skin, oily skin, or looking to slow down the looks of aging… there’s an oil for that! Here is my list of best essential oils that you can easily incorporate in your daily beauty regimen.

Best Essential Oils for Beauty and Skincare

Before diving into my favorite oils, I first want to say that each essential oil has a long list of benefits and there are countless ways to integrate them into your beauty and skincare routine. If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few tips to help ease the transition from your usual beauty and skincare routine to one that is more natural:

• Use a post like this one to become familiar with essential oils and their benefits.
• Familiarize yourself with essential oil safety (how to dilute, where to/not to apply).
• Start with one essential at a time until you get comfortable with using it (and know how it affects your skin). Lavender is always a good essential oil to begin with.
• Become familiar with carrier oils and which are the best ones to use on your face and skin.

With this in mind, let’s look at the best essential oils for your  beauty and skincare needs:

Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender has always been the Swiss army knife of essential oils, and rightfully so. It’s calming, gentle, and nourishing. If you are prone to skin irritations (due to skin sensitivities), sun burns, or dry skin then adding lavender to your go-to moisturizer (or creating your own) will give your skin the hydration, youthful glow, and protection that it needs. 

Myrrh Essential Oil

Looking to protect your skin from microbial attacks that can often lead to infections, increased aging, and the appearance of dry skin? Myrrh is your oil! This oil is known to help reverse all the aforementioned, especially when it’s used on a daily basis. Add a few drops to a moisturizer you’re already using and apply as normal.

Palmarosa Essential Oil

Three words: anti-aging, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory. That’s what you’re getting when you use palmarosa essential oil. It’s also super versatile which means you can use it all over! Not only does it smell good, but every time you apply it, you know it’s going to bat for the health and wellness of your skin.

Tea Tree Essential Oil

This oil has always been a go-to for those fighting acne, dry skin, dermatitis, and the like. The antifungal, antimicrobial, and antiseptic properties make this oil a zit zapper and skin rejuvenator. It’s another one that can be added to your face wash or moisturizer that you’re already using. 

Cedarwood Essential Oil

Pimples. No bueno. Cedarwood? Yes! If you are especially dealing with the relentless kind of pimples – the kind that like to linger — then adding a few drops of cedarwood to the carrier oil of your choice will create your very own acne-fighting product (we like grapeseed oil for this purpose). It does have a woodsy aroma so if the smell isn’t your thing, consider adding another oil from this list that you do enjoy. Lavender works really well with cedarwood.

Vetiver Essential Oil

We can all agree that the air seems to be getting more and more polluted as time passes, which is NOT good for our skin. Thanks to vetiver and its anti-aging and regenerative properties, we can battle the damage naturally. Vetiver is also known to hydrate the skin while reducing the appearance of scars (especially those caused by acne) and stretch marks.

Geranium Essential Oil

Do you suffer from dry skin? Geranium to the rescue! This powerful little essential oil helps with removing dead skin cells, which leaves your skin feeling tight, clean, and complexion clear. As an added bonus, the floral and minty aromas can aid in fighting nausea. 

Frankincense Essential Oil

Ancient Egyptians used this biblical oil to treat wounds and arthritic pain. In modern times, we often use it because of it antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, including for the skin. This precious oil can protect the skin and reduce redness and inflammation.

Amyris Essential Oil

Sometimes called West Indies Sandalwood, the woodsy/vanilla scent of Amyris is intoxicating. But it’s the soothing effects to your skin and calming action on your mind that you will fall in love with. Add a couple of drops to Argan oil for a nighttime moisturizer that will both fight skin aging and help you sleep better.

Beauty Within Essential Oil Blend

This essential oil blend, carried by Simply Earth, is a fantastic blend to use for many of you beauty and skincare needs. A blend of Myrrh, Frankincense, Rosemary, and Lavender essential oils, Beauty Within will help reduce the effects of time on the skin by combating fine lines and dry, dull skin.

Take a look at this recipe that came in my March 2021 Essential Oils Recipe Box from Simply Earth (keep scrolling to learn more about this subscription box).

Essential Oil Safety

Dilution is key when using essential oils for health and beauty purposes. Unless they’re already diluted, essential oils in the raw can make the skin feel (and look) dry due to them not having any lipids in them. Mixing them with a carrier oil isn’t just about protecting your skin, but it also helps with absorption and makes the essential oil last longer.

There are many carrier oils to choose from, but the most common are:

• Coconut oil
• Sweet almond
• Grapeseed oil
• Olive oil
• Jajoba oil
• Argan oil

You can also add essential oils directly to a moisturizer or lotion that you’re already using. Just keep in mind that a little goes a long way so it’s best to start with just a few drops. You can always add more, but it becomes difficult trying to level out once the essential oil has been added. Also familiarize yourself with dilution ratios. They may seem small, but again, essential oils are pretty powerful and you don’t want to irritate your skin.

Conclusion

I highly recommend using essential oils for beauty and skincare. Anytime you can nourish your skin in a natural way, go for it! Over the counter products tend to be packed with things that aren’t that good for your skin and you may spend more time and money trying to reverse what it’s doing to it. Instead, go for whipping up a few batches of your own face cleanser, moisturizer, and the like using essential oils and carrier oils.

Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box 

If you’re looking for help with getting started using essential oils, check out the Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box!

I love all kinds of subscription boxes (just ask my mail carrier!), and am in love with the idea of an essential oils one! So let me tell you what I have discovered about Simply Earth and what excites me about their essential oil recipe subscription boxes.

Simply Earth’s motto is “make your home natural.” As you know, I like making my home as natural as possible, but I’m picky about how to go about doing so. In particular, there are certain things I look for in an essential oil supplier in order to ensure I’m dealing with a company that is reputable and safe. I am happy to say that Simply Earth exceeded my expectations for a company I want to purchase from.

Here’s why:

Pure Essential Oils The essential oils from Simply Earth are 100% pure, undiluted, and 3rd party tested. They provide the results of the GC/MS testing for every bottle right on the website. They also work directly with their farmers to ensure quality products, fair practices, and the lowest possible cost to their customers.

Online Education Simply Earth has their own certified aromatherapists and features a lot educational information on their website. They do not recommend willy nilly ingestion of essential oils, are careful to note when oils are or are not safe for children, and give other necessary precautions.  They have an active Instagram platform, where they share lots of tips, and they  have an active YouTube channel where you’ll meet Katie and Shylah (who are very fun!) and view recipe box unboxings and lots of recipe creations.

Ease of Use I just adore Simply Earth’s mission to make a natural home easy. These subscription boxes not only help you build your stock of essential oils, it teaches you simple and effective ways to use them, and gives you exactly what you need to make it all happen.

Free Shipping  Orders $29 and up, including monthly recipe boxes, ship free in the continental U.S.  And shipping is quick!

Liberal Return Policy Simply Earth will allow you to return unwanted product for 365 days. I’ve never seen a return policy that kind. You won’t need it, but it’s a kind gesture.

Philanthropy Simply Earth donates 13% of their profits to organizations that fight human trafficking. This is a cause personally important to me, so I was thrilled to see that. Why 13%? Thirteen is the average age of a person forced into human trafficking. 

What comes with the Simply Earth Monthly Recipe Box Subscription?

For just $39 per month, Simply Earth will send you a box with approximately $150 worth of products, including 4 bottles of essential oils (typically 15ml each), 6 recipe cards for DIY products that use the oils sent, and fun toxin-free extras you’ll need to complete the DIY recipes. They don’t include common items you probably already have in your cupboard. For example, this month’s recipes needed baking soda and epsom salts. Each month has a theme and all of the oils and recipes focus on that theme. They even include labels for all of the recipe creations!

In addition, with your first box, they also send a “Big Bonus Box” that contains 2-4oz bottles of carrier oils, a tub of solid coconut oil, beeswax, 6 roller bottles, and 6-5ml dropper bottles for blending. From the beginning, you have everything you need to begin making your home more natural. There is no long-term commitment for the subscription. You can cancel at any time. The Big Bonus Box is sent out every 6 months for as long as you remain a member.

This is a GREAT way to build your collection of essential oils and supplies. It’s also a fabulous gift idea for your mom, sister, daughter, niece, or best friend. It’s the gift that keeps on giving . . . every month.

Ready to Try a Recipe Box?

If you’d like to try a Simply Earth Recipe Box, enter the code MARCYFREE and you’ll receive the current month’s box, the Big Bonus Box (a $40 value), and a $40 gift card to use on your next box. The gift card is only good for a future subscription recipe box, or for other purchases in their store. Remember, there is no long term commitment and they have a liberal return policy. If you aren’t as impressed as I am, there’s really no risk here.

If you prefer to just shop the Simply Earth store for essential oils and supplies, you can do that, too. I think you’ll find their prices very competitive.