How do essential oils work when it comes to counteracting the effects of time? “They control inflammation and restore efficient microcirculation,” says Katherine Tomasso, vice president of education for the Paris-based skincare line Yon-Ka. “You can change the skin profoundly by addressing these conditions.” Wrinkling and loss of tone actually begin quite young — as early as the 20s — when cell production slows, collagen starts to break down, lines begin to form, pigmentation becomes uneven, and skin loses its elasticity.

Essential oils restore a youthful glow by increasing circulation — which delivers oxygen and other nutrients to the cells, stimulating their renewal and soothing inflammation. Dr. Christian Jurist, global education director for Pevonia and Medicalia, notes that essential oils nourish and support the skin while rendering its constitution soft, supple, and youthful. “In a nutshell, essential oils play a role in enhancing not just the appearance but also the health of the skin,” he says.

Women in Europe have been utilizing essential oils to maintain their complexions for decades, coming to rely on French lines like Yon-Ka and Decléor, as well as the Londonbased Aromatherapy Associates. And now skincare companies in the United States — Anakiri, Essencia, Naturopathica, Pevonia, and Sonya Dakar among others — have found an American audience that is learning the value of botanicals. “We use plant-based ingredients because like recognizes like,” explains Barbara Close, Naturopathica’s founder and author of The A to Z Guide to Healing with Essential Oils.

“If you put something on your skin that’s biocompatible, it’s more readily able to absorb and utilize that compound. There’s a biological compatibility that synthetics can’t give you.” Essential oils are used in a variety of ways in skincare products. In cleansers, they are a natural alternative to potentially irritating artificial perfumes, and they provide the added benefit of killing germs. Serums, moisturizers, and masques with essential oils allow penetration into the dermis where cell regeneration happens.

And to prepare the skin for moisturizers or for a refreshing aromatic toner anytime, Anakiri’s aromatherapist, Cristina Carrion, suggests spritzing the face with a hydrosol (also called a hydrolat) — a by-product of the steam distillation process that contains micronized droplets of the essential oil among other therapeutic plant components.

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