Pinch a bud of lavender between your fingers and you’ll release a powerful essence that not only gives the plant its scent but also provides protection and facilitates healing. Called essential or volatile oils, these potent substances are found in more than 200 plants and have the ability to soothe, rejuvenate, and purify from head to toe. The use of essential oils — the foundation of aromatherapy — is both an art and a science that affects overall well-being.

     And when this is applied to skincare, you may discover a tonic as seductive as the fountain of youth.
Oil Essentials
    The practice of using oil infusions for health and beauty rituals is not new. Cleopatra used rose and frankincense in ancient Egypt, sandalwood has always been prevalent in India, and myrrh has been popular in Greece. But true essential oils weren’t extracted from plants until steam distillation was perfected in the 11th century, when they were used primarily to ward off infections, heal wounds, and repel insects. It wasn’t until the 1930s that the French chemist Rene-Maurice Gattefosse discovered the therapeutic value of essential oils and coined the word aromatherapy.
      Today there’s sophisticated equipment that deciphers the intricate chemical structure of essential oils. Each oil offers a unique fingerprint, revealing hundreds of components that work synergistically to calm inflammation, stimulate circulation, promote healthy cell growth, and kill bacteria. Plants store this precious liquid in specially designed cells or canals within their seeds, flowers, bark, fruit rinds, or leaves. Scientists have learned to harvest the liquid through steam distillation (the most common method), solvent extraction for stubborn flowers like jasmine and tuberose, expression (a method using pressure) for fruit rinds, and CO2 extraction, which is expensive but worth the price for the high-quality oil it produces. Steam distillation and CO2 extraction are favored because these methods produce oils without any chemical residue, though essential oils from citrus rinds, such as bergamot, are best when expressed by hand. “Extracting essential oils is the most amazing science,” says Erich Worster, president of Anakiri, a bioenergetic skincare line. “It’s a symphony of factors. Different constituents come out of a plant depending on where it was grown, what the season was like, and the level of temperature or pressure during the extraction process. It’s as complex as winemaking.”
    The resulting essential oil is so potent it only takes a drop or two to have a beneficial effect. In fact, most oils shouldn’t be applied to the skin unless they’ve been diluted because they can be quite caustic. While there are no fatty molecules in essential oils (making the name a bit of a misnomer) they readily mix with cold- or expellerpressed vegetable oils called carrier oils. This combination makes them suitable for skincare, providing moisturizing fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals that aid in collagen production. But put oil onto the face? Yes, say the experts. “People think if they have oily skin they shouldn’t use oils because they’ll break out,” says Sonya Dakar, creator of the eponymous skincare line. “But the good ones — like sweet almond, flaxseed, and rose hip — will never clog pores. They’re healing ingredients that balance and nourish the skin.”
Essence of Youth
    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.
The Power of Scent
    In addition to their topical benefits, essential oils have a secondary effect that’s just as vital to a healthy complexion as cell regeneration and circulation. Inhaling the aromatic molecules of an oil like neroli, lavender, or chamomile soothes the central nervous system — helping reduce stress, deepen sleep, and ease anxiety. “The skin is an organ that is affected by our emotional bodies,” says Close. “In making preparations, I think about the emotional aspects of stress and how it can affect the skin.” Stress triggers a cascade of events that can aggravate acne, decrease nutrient delivery to the cells, and contribute to the inflammatory response that deepens wrinkles. “Oils work physiologically but also emotionally to bring down stress levels. It’s called psychoaromatherapy,” she says.
     Cultivating this emotional response is a priority in the tranquil spa environment, where oils are used in massages, facials, scrubs, and wraps to calm, stimulate, or balance depending on a client’s needs. “During facials, I use neroli oil in the steam because it immediately helps my clients calm down,” says Dakar. “It transports them to a different place.” Sharon Warren, who has created signature aromatherapy lines through her company, Warren Botanicals, says “Oils that relax, heal, and bring our lives back into balance — like lavender, geranium, rose, and ylang-ylang — are vital to the spa experience.” Anakiri’s Worster would agree. His products were designed with the spa philosophy in mind. “Spas are working with the atmosphere to enhance chi,” he says. “We use essential oils in our products because they are one of the few substances that work both biologically and energetically to beautify the body.”
Beauty Rituals
   To blend essential oils at home, Juliana Lipe, a certified aromatherapist who developed the Essencia line of products, suggests mixing three to five drops in a tablespoon of carrier oil for the best results. “Essential oils are so concentrated, you need to think about them by the drop,” she notes. Lavender and tea tree are probably the only essential oils that should be used neat (without a carrier oil) on the skin. Gentle and nonirritating, they have antibacterial properties that make them the perfect antidote to blemishes. Warren suggests choosing wild-crafted, organic, or sustainable products when buying essential oils, that, although more expensive, are free of pesticides and in most cases leave the plant intact so it can continue its life cycle. Although the idea of creating your own customized blends at home is appealing, there’s an art and science to the craft that mustn’t be dismissed. “People will benefit more from blending products at home if they have spent some time reading about aromatherapy first,” says Geraldine Howard, president of Aromatherapy Associates. Essential oils are very potent, and some can cause complications during pregnancy or sensitize the skin to sunlight. Fortunately, there’s an exceptional selection of ready-made formulations that safely deliver a wide range of benefits — from anti-aging to clarifying. “We rely on them not only to make the skin function optimally and appear more attractive,” says Yon-Ka’s Tomasso, “but also to strengthen the nervous system and balance the psyche.” And that’s the beauty of essential oils — they work on every level to make you look as vibrant as you feel.

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