Lifestyle Choices

There are a number of ways of using plant essences for beauty. You can dilute them in oil and apply them to the face and body for skin treatments. You can use them in the same mixture on the face, at the back of the neck, and on the base of the spine for their effect on the psyche and nervous system. You can inhale them directly from the bottle or breathe them in the form of steam from a humidifier or pot of very hot water to which a few drops of essence have been added. They can also be used in your bath but always in the minutest quantities—ten to fifteen drops. Some essences will be absorbed into the skin more rapidly than others, depending on their volatility and the carrier oil in which you have put them.

Essential oils should never be applied directly on the skin. In fact, many of them are so powerful in their action that to do so would be to cause a burn. Also, their potency is such that they actually work better in minute quantities, highly diluted. Don’t think that because you add more essence you will get better results. You will only be wasting your money and you will probably get slower results—essential oils have their own gentle way of acting. They can’t be forced.

Oils for the Skin

When making an oil to apply to the skin, you need two things—the essences which you wish to use (one or more of them mixed togther) and a carrier oil in which to put them. The carrier oil depends on your taste and pocketbook. Sweet almond oil and apricot oil are excellent. So is hazelnut oil, which gives a high degree of penetration on the skin. Less expensive, but perfectly adequate, are sunflower oil, safflower oil, olive oil, and peanut or ground-nut oil. Whatever oil you choose, it should be cold-pressed to preserve the quality of essential fatty acids it contains and it should be fresh. Once mixed, an oil should be tightly capped and kept under refrigeration. A couple of capsules of vitamin E squeezed into the oil when you mix it will keep it from going rancid quickly because of the vitamin’s antioxidant properties. The proportion of essence to carrier oil should be one to fifty by weight.

Pomades

You can also make a pomade or a cream from the essences. You will need beeswax, your carrier oil, and your essences. Take half an ounce of beeswax to two ounces of carrier or to twenty drops of essence. Heat the beeswax and oil in a double boiler and remove from the heat when the wax has melted. Whisk briskly to blend the two thoroughly. When the mixture begins to solidify as it cools, add your essence (not before or too much of it will evaporate), and the contents of a vitamin E capsule. Use the same ratio of essence to carrier here (one to fifty) but include the weight of the beeswax in your calculations of the carrier.

Fragrant Waters

Finally, you can make fragrant waters by using four or five drops of essence shaken well into a pint of distilled water. Put this into one of those little spray bottles used for misting plants and you can have a room freshener or scenter far better than anything you can buy. Or splash it on after a bath.

Another way to scent a room is to add a few drops to a humidifier or to a pan of boiling water just taken off the heat.

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