Usually, aromatherapy does not consist of the direct application of aromatherapy essential oils on the skin. While a few essential oils provide direct benefits, many at full strength will burn or irritate the skin. Aromatherapy skin care thus is the process of adding aromatherapy essential oils to carrier oil bases or to lotions, creams or soaps that are fragrance free. There are some exceptions to this rule, spoken of below.

First, as some ground rules for using aromatherapy skin care recipes, do not exceed 10 drops of essential oil per treatment and try to choose recipes which require no more than 5 drops of essential oil. In addition, you shouldn’t try to use cinnamon, hyssop, sage or clove oil in a home recipe. White thyme, sage, rosemary, myrrh, marjoram, juniper, hyssop, fennel, cinnamon, clove and basil should never be used during pregnancy and steam facials should never include tea tree, pine, juniper, ginger, clary sage or bay. If you’ve used one of the photosynthesizing oils such as orange, lime bergamot or lemon, you should wait at least two hours after applying to your skin before going outdoors into the sunshine.

As a direct treatment for acne breakouts, you can use 8 drops of tea tree, 6 drops of bergamot, 4 drops of lavender in 3/4 oz of jojoba oil as a carrier. Massage the oil morning and evening AROUND not onto the pimple. The daytime treatment can be mixed with a cream, but remember to stay out of the sun while using this treatment. Once the eruption has cleared, continue using the treatment but add several drops of carrot oil which will help to reduce spotting from earlier breakouts.

As a wash for dry skin, another aromatherapy skin care recipe has proved helpful. Combine 10 drops of sandalwood oil, 10 drops of bois de rose oil, and 10 drops of lavender oil with 2 tablespoons of mashed avocado. The mixture provides gentle cleansing without further drying of the skin.

An aromatherapy skin care recipe for a facial mask includes 2 drops of petitgrain oil, 2 drops of lemon oil, and 2 drops of ylang ylang oil in 20 ml of ice water. Mix the oils with crushed almonds to a paste consistency and apply as a face mask. Once the mask has dried, it can be rinsed off. This is a rejuvenating and revitalizing treatment for the skin and the senses.