Ebooks MY/SG/PH Topical Use of Essential Oils | Page 6

Absorption
As you can see, the skin plays a vital role in protecting the body and keeping
it healthy. This gives us a greater understanding of how topical application
of essential oils can influence our health. Essential oils are a lipid soluble
substance, which allows them to penetrate the skin easily. Topical
application is an effective way to use essential oils because once the
oils are absorbed into the skin, they will remain in the applied area—
allowing users achieve benefits in a localized area.
While essential oils absorb easily into the skin, you can increase
absorption and extend the benefits of the oils by massaging the oil into the
skin, or by using a carrier oil that will moisturize the skin as the oil absorbs.
So how does it work?
We know that the skin has many functions that protect and regulate the rest of the body, and that essential oils can be
easily absorbed into the skin, but how does applying essential oils to the skin allow us to experience their benefits? Each
essential oil has a unique chemical profile that determines the kind of benefits it provides. Certain essential oils have
warming, energizing, or uplifting properties, while other oils have chemical components that make them calming, soothing,
cooling, or renewing. When an essential oil is applied topically and absorbed into the skin, the user begins to experience
the benefits that the chemical properties of each specific oil have to offer.
Because many
oils are known for their cleansing and purifying properties, essential oils can be used to
promote clean, healthy skin. Some essential oils provide the skin with a warming
or
cooling sensation, which can help soothe affected areas, or calm the body as
a whole.
In addition to the benefits that essential oils hold for the skin and
the body, applying essential oils topically allows the user to enjoy
the aromatic benefits of each oil. After applying an oil topically,
the aroma will linger on the skin, and the user can breathe in the
aroma for up to a few hours. Even if you are using an essential oil
for its topical benefits, you can also experience the relaxing, calming,
uplifting, or invigorating aroma as the oil sits on your skin and you
breathe it in.