Keep Your Man Looking Great With These Skin Care Blends
September 30, 2010Women seem to get all the attention when it comes to both skin care AND aromatherapy. Blends for “mature” skin care are often designed around floral notes, with hormone balancing constituents mostly designed for feminine skin. Well here’s a look at oils and recipes using oils actually proven to reduce wrinkle appearance, with mild and “earthy” aromas just for men.
Blends for helping the skin look younger are based on essential oils and carrier oils with regenerative, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. These are really the three main therapeutic requirements of anti-aging skin care. We’ll look at three groups of essential oils first, from which you can choose one oil from each type. We’ll then look at the “carrier oils” into which the essential oils are blended, which have therapeutic properties as well.
Two of the most important anti-aging oils, with historical use of perhaps thousands of years, are frankincense and myrrh. These oils are distilled from the resins (or sap) of very hearty desert trees and shrubs. They have very complex chemical make ups, having antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and regenerative properties all in one oil. Frankincense has even been the subject of peer-reviewed research, showing the ability to reduce the appearance of fine lines and smooth skin texture overall. These oils are available in both steam distilled and carbon dioxide distillations, and it is the carbon dioxide distillations that are most desirable for this purpose.
The essential oils of helichryum and rosemary are popular ingredients in recipes designed to reduce the appearance of scars. This process is almost precisely akin to reducing the appearance of wrinkles. Helichrysum is nearly a “magic” oil in its healing properties for the skin; rosemary (specifically of the chemotype called “verbenone) enhances skin cell metabolism. Both these oils contain natural molecular constituents which stimulate the growth of new skin cells as well — VERY good stuff!
Then we come to the oils rich in nutrients that are both potent antioxidants and necessary for cellular regeneration. These are all found as carbon dioxide extracts: Carrot root, rosehip, and sea buckthorn. Each of these oils is a shade of reddish-orange, indicating its high level of antioxidants and carotenoids (vitamin-A compounds closely tied to skin health). Use any one, or all three — just know the more you use in your formula, the more red the formula will leave your skin for a little while application. With 1% or less concentration, this will be hardly noticed — if at all. You can even consider making a “daytime” and “nighttime” formula, using higher levels of these oils in the blend applied just before retiring for the evening.
Finally, we can put sandalwood in every skin care blend for men. Sandalwood is an exceptional oil for many reasons: it’s use is proven to prevent skin cancer. It is hydrating for dry skin, yet helps heal acne for those with oily skin. It also has a very much appreciated “bottom-note” aroma, that’s considered relaxing and grounding.
All these essential oils and extracts will be measured by the drop into the base of your recipe. The base is made up of “fixed” oils — vegetable, seed or nut oils that do not easily evaporate. These provide essential fatty acids and other unique nutrients for our purpose: Rosehip seed oil (not the same as the extract already discussed, but from the same plant), tamanu (also called Callophylum or Foraha), and argan (also called “Moroccan oil”). Mix these three together at equal parts for your base.
On to the mixing! This is really, really easy. And you can make several ounces at once, enough to last a couple of months (store everything over one ounce in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use them). These essential oil quantities are given for each ounce, so increase according to your final volume. For normal-to-dry skin: eight drops frankincense OR myrrh “CO2″, six drops rosemary verbenone OR helichrsyum, six drops sandalwood and sixteen drops rosehip “CO2″. Yes, it sounds so simple, but this, in the three base oils, is a downright excellent formula for anti-aging skin care.
For those with dry skin, using the same base oils, add 8 drops of myrrh, 8 drops of helichryum or rosemary, 8 drops sandalwood, and 12 drops of your choice of carrot root, sea buckthorn or rosehip extracts. For those with sensitive skin, add 8 drops of lavender as well. For those with acne-prone skin, be sure to change your recipe! Replace the rosehip seed in the base with virgin coconut oil (you’ll need to warm this to make it liquid before blending). Add 8 drops frankincense, rosemary, sandalwood, spike lavender and sea buckthorn essential oils.
And there you have it. Simple, effective formulas for anti-aging skin care for men. As you go along, allow yourself to experiment a bit. Alter your formulas here and there to see what your skin likes best. Ever man’s skin condition is of course unique, and this way you’ll create the recipe that works perfectly for you.
The author has made available reports on specific anti-microbials such as juniper berry essential oil and other therapeutic aromatics.

















