When you're suffering from acne, the world can appear less brighter. Activities that you once found fun can lose their appeal and turn into a source of worry instead. If it feels like you've tried everything, you should check out the best face oils for acne to help clear up your skin.
Looming social events, dates, or even meetings at work — any occasion where the focus is on you — could lead acne sufferers to feel anxious and stressed. It's not just adolescents who have to endure such inner turmoil; people with adult acne also have to put a brave face on every day and pretend like their pimples don't bother them, when really they're likely at the forefront of their mind. If you've had acne for what feels like forever, you've probably tried a bunch of different products, from creams to home remedies, in the hopes of healing your skin. But, there's something you might not have tried yet: Essential oils. Sure, it may seem beyond insane to apply oils onto your already oily skin, but there's a lot to be said for the healing properties of natural beauty products.
So I spoke with the founder of UMA Oils and Ayurvedic Expert, Shrankhla Holecek, to discover the best oils for acne. Holecek discusses the four key things that are happening to your skin when suffering from breakouts and which oils can combat these issues.
1. Bacterial Overgrowth
To defeat bacterial overgrowth, Holecek recommends, "The potent clove and tea tree essential oil doses clear up all the bacteria rapidly, powerfully, but most importantly, gently (without the pesky chemical drying stuff)."
2. Sebum/Oil Overproduction
Clary Sage Essential Oil From Majestic Pure, $25, Amazon
"Not many people know about just how awesome clary sage essential oil is because it has the unique function of balancing sebum production (as opposed to simply removing or adding oil to your skin)," says Holecek.
"The result is that your skin naturally starts to dial up or dial down sebum production based on what's most healthy for it," she elaborates.
3. Inflammation
"Yep, that's the painful bumpy stuff and we load up this oil with sandalwood and lavender to calm that irritation and rapidly fight inflammation, to settle that 'raised-ness' down and calm your skin," explains Holecek. It sounds like a pretty heavenly solution to sore, pimple-laden skin!
4. Breakage & Scarring
"Finally, there's almost always skin breakage — and resulting scarring — from acne," says Holecek. Acne sufferers will likely be well versed on the subject of scarring.
"Vitamin C can be excellent for supporting healing and preventing scarring, but many studies show that synthetic Vitamin C is not well absorbed by the skin or body. Citrus essential oils like orange, lemon, and juniper berry are clinically researched to help absorb Vitamin C better into the body and can help both repair and prevent acne/help healing/prevent scarring," Holecek explains.
5. Don't Forget Carrier Oils
As a parting piece of advice, Holecek describes the importance of good quality carrier oils, "Carrier oils like grapeseed (rich in linoleic acid, omega-6s — very anti-inflammatory) and jojoba (that mirrors the texture of the skin and tricks it into producing less sebum) can be excellent companions to these essential oils in combatting acne and preventing future flare-ups."
"UMA's Deeply Clarifying Face Oil and Deeply Clarifying Spot Treatment target many of these high-performance oils!" She adds.
UMA Deeply Clarifying Face Oil, $125, Uma Oils; UMA Deeply Clarifying Spot Treatment, $55, Uma Oils;
Sometimes it's best to look to nature in order to heal yourself. If you're tired of OTC concoctions, give natural face oils a try to help beat your acne once and for all!
Images: Getty Images (4); Courtesy Brand (1)
