Oils for your skin, hair, health

There used to be a time when “oils” was a four-letter word—and technically it still is but not in the way of meaning something bad for us. We used to be told we didn’t want oily hair, didn’t want oily skin, and we shouldn’t eat things with oily or greasy food. One famous exception from the “no oils” days was when mothers gave their children a spoonful of cod liver oil every day for their health, and guess what? It’s baaaacccckkk—and for good reason: It’s really good for you (more on that below).

But that’s all changed; now we know that oils—from both plants and animals—are not just good for us but actually very important and beneficial for our skin, hair and health.

In more recent years, we have heard of products containing oils we never heard of before. Honestly, I never heard of Argan Oil until a few years ago, and I certainly wouldn’t have thought anything called Emu Oil existed. Um… exactly what is an emu anyway? (For the record, it is a large, brown bird about 6-feet tall that is found in Australia; it doesn’t fly and looks a bit like an ostrich). And what about “essential oils?” Are they really essential?

There’s too much information concerning oils to put in a single blog post, so consider this as a starting point for your own exploration into which oils you’d like to experiment with and include in your life.

Plant-based oils, such as argan, coconut, grapeseed, olive and so on have wonderful moisturizing effects and are used widely straight from the bottles or in great cosmetics and skincare preparations such as the anti-aging GABA Elite Super Anti-Oxidant which contains argan oil, and the Gentle Cleansing Lotion which contains jojoba. L'il Ones Rash Cream is 100% pure Jojoba ester.  The awesome Platinum Lip Butter also contains several oils, including olive, sunflower, palm, soybean and avocado.

Coconut oil has a wide variety of uses for teeth, hair and skin and you can read about some of those on this recent blog post : Best Beauty Tips from the Staff.

Cooking with plant-based oils adds unique new flavors and you can read plenty online about how to make some of your own flavored cooking oils for yourself, or to make as gifts—just put in a pretty bottle, tie on a ribbon, and share.

Animal-based oils are also essential for moisturizing and health. We know how important fish-based oils are for Omega-3 nutrients and cod liver oil (particularly fermented cod liver oil) has returned as a recommended dietary supplement. Emu Oil has anti-inflammatory properties as well as fabulous moisturizing properties for skin and hair.

You’ve probably heard about “essential oils,” which contain the essence of scent of the plant it comes from. I used to think it meant it was essential to use them, but although fans of essential oils do think they are essential (as in “absolutely necessary”), that is not the kind of essential that is meant when we talk about these oils. Essential oils are widely used in cosmetics, food flavoring, candles and cleansing products. They have also become popular due to their extensive use in aromatherapy which many believe have medicinal effect. Each oil is known for different qualities; for instance, lavender is used to soothe and calm, lemon has astringent properties, pine is antiseptic, jojoba is an emollient and is soothing and healing,.

Essential oils are too strong to be used directly on the skin and are usually diluted in some way, depending on the product. You can find numerous websites that teach you how to dilute and use essential oils, such as how to make home-made cosmetics, massage creams or in cooking. Those, too, are great home-made gift ideas.

It is still important to limit the amount of oil you consume, particularly avoiding fatty, processed foods or anything deep-fried. But gone are the days when oils were stuck on the “bad for you” list; we now know that using them the right way in the right amounts, they should be near the top of your “good for you” list.

Where can I buy Dana's Book?

The Skin Regime; Boot Camp for Beautiful Skin, available as a Kindle download or Buy paperback to buy your paperback copy from Platinum Skin Care. You can also read the first chapter--FREE--by click here to read 1st chapter.

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