Ever wanted to try some of those hundred-dollar little vials of skin care 'serums' from some fancy sounding place in Europe? Do you want to get the same (or significantly better) benefits at a fraction of the cost? Why not make your own personal formula, with the active ingredients of your choosing, for your skin's needs. It's easy, and just a little education will go a long way...

Most of us want to change something about our skin - hydrate, smooth lines, eliminate acne, improve vitality. It's really a challenge; everyone's skin is different, with unique contributing factors to its current condition. It seems there's little we can do to make positive changes. Thankfully, the skin responds fairly readily to treatment, as it is continually ex foliating and being renewed. At any moment, we can provide it nutritional or medical support like any other organ, and its continual renewal will be quickly affected.

Enter aromatherapy. A misnomer really - we could call it 'volatile organic chemical therapy'. For the natural health enthusiast, that may not be an improvement, but it is more accurate. Aromatherapy and skin care go together perfectly. The living cellular nature of your skin makes it permeable to the oils of aromatherapy (meaning the oils are readily absorbed), and there's a fantastic variety of essential oils available with an equally fantastic number of therapeutic properties. Remember everyone's skin is different? Well, nature has an oil for you. And not just YOU, of course, but your family too: teens with acne, children with eczema, anyone that could use a dose of nature's skin healing medicines.

Making a personal formula is simple: Pick one, two, three or four essential oils. Pick one, two or three carrier oils. Measure, mix and voila! Apply frequently and revel in your brilliance for making what is likely the most effective skin care blend for your needs on the face of the planet. So let's look at the oils, the measurements, and the few tools you'll need to make your own beauty elixir.

There are MANY essential oils to choose from - these are some of the more common used for skin care, in alphabetical order: Blue Tansy, for skin irritated, generally from an allergic response. Carrot Seed, for bringing dull and dry skin back to life. German Chamomile, for most cases of dermatitis. Cistus, firms and tightens. Clary Sage, hormone-like action for aging skin. Geranium, also hormone-like, with anti-bacterial action. Helichrysum, regenerating, anti-inflammatory wonder oil - can be useful in almost every blend, though some might not love it's 'curry-like' aroma - use to smooth scars. Lavender, also regenerative and anti-inflammatory - not as potent as Helichrysum, though may be more soothing for some. Myrtle, excellent all around antiseptic/cleansing action - great for acne. Neroli, calming for damage or conditions due to stress. Palmarosa, antifungal - a nice smelling alternative to Tea Tree for athlete's foot and the like. Ravensara, anti-viral, blend 50/50 with Tamanu for shingles. Rose, hydrating, all around beauty enhancer. Rosemary, use the Verbenone type - regenerating and revitalizing to older skin, use with Helichrysum to smooth scars. Sea Buckthorn, another all-purpose wonder oil, high in anti-oxidants and regenerative compounds - used by Cosmonauts to block UV rays - sweet smelling, recommended in nearly every blend. Spike Lavender, like myrtle, general antiseptic/cleansing. Thyme linalool, also cleansing with a sweet, herbaceous aroma.

Where the essential oils are like medicines, the base oils are like nutrients - they generally serve to hydrate the skin, supply important essential fatty acids, and some have important medicinal actions of their own. Again in alphabetical order: Apricot Kernel, all around for dry and/or irritable skin. Avocado, smooth and soft, anti-inflammatory and nutrient dense - can be used as most of the base for dermatitis of all kinds. Evening Primrose, used in small amounts for its essential fatty acids and anti-inflammatory action - mix with Avocado for eczema. Hazelnut, a mildly astringent oil for oily skin - called for as the base for every acne or oily-skin-support formula. Hemp, a super-nutritive oil with a perfect balance of essential fatty acids - great for helping the skin heal. Rosehip seed, much-studied for its regenerative effects - useful for everyone except those with over-oily condtions - may reduce wrinkles and scars. Tamanu or 'Callophyllum', perhaps the most profoundly healing of the base oils, useful at 10-20% of the base for nearly every skin type, especially useful for any type of dermatitis, wound healing or scar reduction.

For virtually every common skin care need, a 1-5% concentration of essential oil in the base oil(s) is effective. This may not sound like a lot, but essential oils are exceptionally potent - 'less' really is often 'more' in aromatherapy. The total concentration of all the essential oils together should never be higher than 5% for skin care use unless specifically recommended by a therapist. To achieve a 1% concentration, use 7-8 drops of essential oil per ounce of carrier, use 25 drops per ounce for a 3% concentration. One or two ounce glass eye-dropper bottles make this easy; just fill the bottle most of the way with your carrier and use the dropper to measure your essential oils into your blend. For example, a perfect all-purpose anti-aging, scar-healing, wrinkle smoothing blend can be made using the following: For two ounces total, fill a two ounce dropper bottle half full with Wheatgerm oil. Fill up almost to the top with equal amounts of Rosehip seed and Tamanu oils. Then use a dropper and add 25 drops each of Helichrysum, Rosemary Verbenone, and Sea Buckthorn essential oils - this results in an approximate 5% concentration of essential oils. If you're not sure what concentration to use, start on the low end and see how your skin responds, the blend should be pleasant to use, never too strong or overpowering - also, if formulating for children, use with a 1% concentration for toddlers, and 2-3% for pre-teens.

That's all there is to it. Effective, personalized skin care is really that simple. No need for all those ingredients you can't pronounce, or expensive formulations you're not even sure are exactly what you need. The essential oils and carriers noted here make up the vast majority of aromatherapy recipes for the skin. If you're still not sure which to use for yourself, there are lots of wonderful texts and internet resources available to help you further decide - hopefully this let's you know how easy it is, and gives you the motivation to improve your own (or your children and family's) skin health and beauty - here's to your health and happiness.