In my view, there are three primary components necessary to fight off the effects of aging:

• Skin care
• Sleeping well
• Self care

We can call them the three S’s.

The big thing all the so-called “anti-aging” products have in common (whether they work or not) is that they claim to provide a lot of great benefits for your skin.

Terms like “skin tightening,” “wrinkle reducing,” and “glowing skin” are always used in their marketing. The next time one of those late night infomercials come on, pay attention for these things and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

All those promises aren’t for nothing: the appearance of your skin is, I would wager, the number one contributing factor to how youthful you look. Therefore, proper skin care is the most important part of fighting off the effects of aging, and thus will be a big part of what we talk about today… but in my view that’s not all there is to slowing down the aging process (and, apparently, scientist’s views as well, which we’ll see in a moment).

The health of your skin is very seriously impacted by how well you’re sleeping, and how often you endure feelings of stress or anxiety. I don’t care how many “time reversing” serums you use—if you’re not sleeping enough and find yourself wracked by constant feelings of stress, your skin health is going to suffer!

And scientists agree—this study showed that poor sleep quality affected skin aging and slowed down the skin’s ability to heal (barrier recovery) by as much as 30%. And this study concluded that stress “can cause detrimental physiological and functional consequences in the skin,” along with many other studies like it.

This is why the other two “S’s” of sleeping well and self care are so important for promoting a youthful, healthy appearance.

Let’s learn how to do just that with the help of essential oils!

Essential Oil Skin Care Methods to Boost Your Body’s Resistance to Aging and Wrinkles

We’ll dig into a couple of fun DIY essential oil anti-aging recipes in just a moment, but for those of you who are in a hurry, I’ll give you a quick tip for how to make a fast and effective skin nourishing lotion.

Ready for this? Get some unscented lotion and add sandalwood or helichrysum oil—you’re done.

You’ll want to add about five drops of essential oil per 1 ounce of lotion.

Sometimes the best things in life are simple. This little “lotion hack” isn’t fancy, but it does work because sandalwood essential oil is a powerful skin moisturizer and helichrysum oil nourishes, soothes, and heals damaged skin. You can learn more about each in my tell-all posts Everything You Need to Know About Sandalwood Essential Oil and Everything You Need to Know About Helichrysum Essential Oil.

If I was going to pick only two essential oils to promote healthy skin, it would be those two.

Having said that, if you have a bit more time on your hands, you can make this amazing essential oil powered wrinkle cream. You’ll need:

• 3 tablespoons organic shea butter
• 2 tablespoons jojoba carrier oil
• 1 tablespoon corn starch or arrowroot powder
• 10 drops sandalwood essential oil
• 10 drops helichrysum essential oil
• 5 drops rose essential oil
• 5 drops chamomile essential oil

Shea butter is amazing all by itself, but when combined with essential oils, the effects are truly amazing. Start by slowly warming the shea butter (preferably in a double boiler). Allow it to cool entirely before mixing it thoroughly—it should have a fluffy texture by the time you’re done. Next, add the jojoba oil and corn starch and, again, stir thoroughly.

Finally, add the essential oils and stir one last time. These three rounds of stirring should give the final cream a very smooth, fluffy texture that feels amazing on your skin. The best part is that you don’t need to use a lot of this cream.

Take a small pinch out of the container and rub it between your fingers, and then apply to your face and neck. Massage it in and let it sit. Do this once in the morning and once at night and in a week or so you should notice that your skin feels firmer and looks healthier and more youthful.

If your skin tends to be on the oily side, you can add an additional half tablespoon of the corn starch or arrowroot powder. These are starchy ingredients with oil absorbing properties and can help skin feel moisturized rather than oily.

Before we move on to discussing how to slow the aging process by getting proper sleep, here’s a quick bonus tip for you: check out my post 3 Simple Do-it-Yourself Essential Oil Recipes for Hair Care to learn about how you can keep your hair healthy and strong with essential oils so you can enjoy having great skin and great hair.

Sleep is Much More Important Than You Think to Prevent the Effects of Aging

Getting enough sleep and drinking enough water are two of the most important things you can do for your skin by far. Since I assume you already understand how to hydrate yourself properly, let’s talk a little bit about how you can use essential oils to help fall asleep, stay asleep, and enjoy more restful sleep.

To learn more about which oils are the best for promoting healthy, natural sleep, make sure to read my post Essential Oils for Sleep. In that post, you’ll learn about why the best oils for sleep are lavender, roman chamomile, orange, valerian, and cearwood.

Any of those oils can be used in your diffuser to great effect. Add a few drops and you’re good to go—a great diffuser for your nightstand is our elegant 500 ML iron metal essential oil diffuser.

It’s capable of diffusing for up to 24 hours, you don’t have to worry about it running out in the middle of the night (or staying on for too long after you’ve fallen asleep, thanks to the automatic off function). It also has LED lights, so it doubles as a beautiful night lamp. This is the diffuser I personally use in my own bedroom.

For the living room and office, I really love our beautiful Marble diffuser. It has a 230ml tank, multiple settings, and cosmic LED lighting (which is great at night). My favorite part is that it comes with a remote control, so I can easily manipulate it from the couch or my desk.

 

Another excellent way to incorporate the benefits of essential oils into your pre-sleep routine is with rollerball bottle blends. I love making rollerball bottle blends because they’re an incredibly easy way to use your essential oils. No risk of spillage and application only takes a few seconds.

If you’re new to rollerball bottles, do yourself a favor and pick up a set of our amazing gemstone roller bottles. They feature real gemstone tops, which is important if you want the frequency benefits of those materials. Aside from that, they look absolutely stunning and will last a lifetime.

If you don’t have the time to mix a rollerball blend and just want something that works well quickly, all you need is lavender in your roller bottle. It has a lovely aroma and helps promote feelings of calm and relaxation.

If you have a bit more time to prepare a proper blend, try this one:

• 10 drops Frankincense
• 10 drops Bergamot
• 10 drops Chamomile
• 12 drops Vetiver
• 12 drops Lavender
• 8 drops Cedarwood

Fill the rest of your roller bottle with a carrier oil (I prefer jojoba). Apply this blend to your neck and wrists, inhale deeply, and enjoy a relaxing, full night of sleep—which will do wonders for your skin.

If feelings of anxiety are keeping you from sleeping peacefully, then let’s look at how to tackle that next:

Reduce Feelings of Anxiety With These DIY Essential Oil Diffuser Blends

Chronic stress is a major contributor to speeding the aging process. Many essential oil users—myself included—report feeling much more calm and relaxed thanks to the benefits of aromatherapy. The easiest way to get started with aromatherapy is with a high quality sonic diffuser.

In the previous section I discussed the main features of our 500 ML diffuser, but go check it out for yourself if you haven’t already. We offer ultrasonic diffusers at Aroma Outfitters because I think they perform a bit better.

Learn more about the differences between the two main types of diffusers in my post What’s the Difference Between an Ultrasonic Diffuser and a Nebulizing Diffuser? and if you want to find out more about optimal diffuser placement and how much space they can cover, read my post Diffusing in a Big Area? The Best Diffuser for Large Rooms and Spaces.

If you’re short on time, here are the two key takeaways from those posts: ultrasonic diffusers are silent, use up essential oils at a slower rate, and offer the benefits of humidified air. Secondly, it’s important to understand that the capacity of a diffuser doesn’t impact its ability to cover more area, but rather how long it can run for.

One of my favorite simple diffuser blends for promoting more restful sleep is this one, which I like to call “Summer Dreams” because of the citrusy aroma of the bergamot and the sweetness of the marjoram:

• 4 drops bergamot essential oil
• 3 drops marjoram essential oil
• 2 drops lavender essential oil

If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you know I love lavender essential oil because it’s one of the most versatile oils you can own. But I’m also a big fan of bergamot. It’s a powerful tension reliever and it’s even quite good for your skin, making it a popular ingredient in lotions and soaps. You can learn more about this underappreciated oil in my post Everything You Need to Know About Bergamot Essential Oil.

If you’re not in the mood for a citrus aroma, one of the most popular essential oils for promoting a feeling of calm and relaxation is cedarwood essential oil. The woodsy, warm aroma tends to make me feel very warm and cozy. It also pairs very well with lavender essential oil.

For more great information about essential oils that can help calm the mind, make sure to read my post Everyone is Talking About These Essential Oils That Improve Emotional Health. For more great information about essential oils that can help calm the mind, make sure to read my post Everyone is Talking About These Essential Oils That Improve Emotional Health.

The Signs of Aging Are The Awards Given to Survivors: You’re Always Beautiful!

While I believe that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with taking good care of yourself—and all of the things we discussed today are great ways to do that—I also think that we live in a society that’s way too focused on the way people look. Looking “old” only means that you survived. And quite frankly, I can think of no better badge of honor.

…But, since essential oils are a great way to stave that off for just a little while, I think I’ll keep using them!