Grab the closest essential oil product, warm it up between your fingertips or apply it to your pulse points and breathe in… and out…
It’s more than just a nice scent. The pure essential oils in Esker Fields products work with your brain and body to create the desired effects of relaxation, grounding, energy and soft, glowy skin. Essential oils have been used for thousands of years for medicinal and cosmetic purposes.
And for good reason, there is science behind why essential oils are so beneficial to our wellbeing and skincare. It’s really fascinating stuff I learned while training as an aromatherapist. If you’re curious too, here’s why essential oils make you feel and look good.
The Benefits for Skincare
Essential oils help us look after our skin and get a gorgeous glowy look due to their medicinal properties. Many are anti-inflammatory meaning they help reduce skin inflammation and irritation which could show up as eczema and psoriasis. The antibacterial properties of essential oils mean they can clear the skin of acne and keep it looking healthy.
Some essential oils were used for wound healing as they speed up the restorative process. This means they can help with blemishes and promote cell regeneration which keeps the skin looking fresh.
Combined with creamy butters like shea and cocoa and enriching carrier oils like sweet almond and rosehip, essential oils create powerful body and skincare products that are completely natural.
The Benefits for Wellbeing
As you inhale essential oils, whether the pure blends in the rollerballs or combined with butters and carrier oils to create a body or skincare product, the tiny molecules stimulate smell receptors inside your nose. Then these receptors send signals to the limbic system. That’s where the magic happens.
This is a really powerful part of the brain because it controls mood, memory, the nervous system and bodily functions related to the stress response like breathing and heart rate. Stimulating it with different essential oils leads to all kinds of positive changes in how we think, feel and behave. It can take us from groggy to energised, distracted to focused and tense to relaxed.
Note that the limbic system manages functions often associated with stress responses alongside emotions and memories. So we can connect specific scents with certain emotions and bodily responses. For example, if you do breathing exercises that calm you down every time you inhale the Relax rollerball, the brain will associate that scent with calming down and follow suit every time. This boosts the positive impact essential oils are having on your system.
The 5 Days of Self-Care Challenge has some great exercises to do when using essential oil products to train your body’s response to their scent.
5 Essential Oils and Their Healing Properties
The ingredients in Esker Fields products are chosen specifically for their therapeutic qualities. I thought about the impact I wanted the product to have on wellbeing and the skin and chose essential oils that would achieve the desired effect. There’s a reason why the Refresh & Uplift shower gel is made with lime and grapefruit essential oils and the Relax & Unwind shower gel with frankincense and sweet orange.
To give you an idea of what different essential oils can do, I’ve picked 5 essential oils commonly used in our products and outlined their results for both wellbeing and skincare.
Lavender Angustifolia Essential Oil
Lavender is a great all-rounder because it works on both the nervous and cardiovascular systems. So it can sedate or stimulate depending on what the person needs and the other essential oils in the blend.
It can lower your blood pressure to calm you down or raise it to energise you. It can reduce your temperature to help you focus or give you that warm cosy feeling. It also has antimicrobial, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that speed up the healing of the skin.
Use it for:
- Stress relief and relaxation with the Sleep Sound rollerball
- Creating a tranquil environment for sleep with the Sleep Please Mist
- Healing dry skin and flare-ups like eczema and psoriasis with the Moisturising Hand Cream
Peppermint Essential Oil
The power of peppermint comes from the menthol it contains. Menthol is incredibly cooling and even pain relieving. It can be used topically to soothe sore muscles. Inhaling it applies the cooling effect to headaches and migraines and can help spark concentration. It can cool skin irritations too and has antimicrobial properties to combat acne.
Use it for:
- Relaxing your muscles after a long day with the Lavender & Peppermint foot cream
- Dispelling tension headaches with the Clear Head rollerball
- Finding focus with the Clear Focus rollerball
- Soothing irritated skin with the Peppermint lip balm
Frankincense Essential Oil
Frankincense has been harvested from the resin of the Boswellia tree and used for its therapeutic properties for centuries. The resin is released when the tree trunk is cut to heal the bark so it has wonderful healing properties for us too.
It’s said to help with healing emotional scars like headaches and grief. It’s very calming and grounding because inhaling frankincense relaxes the muscles between your ribs, increasing the capacity of your chest and allowing you to breathe deeper and slower. On the skin, it reduces the appearance of blemishes, fine lines and wrinkles like healing wounds on a tree. It can also cause the skin to contract which lifts the skin and is a catalyst for skin cell regeneration.
Use it for:
- An anti-ageing skincare treatment with the Nature’s Glow moisturising balm
- Calming your breathing with the Relax & Unwind body oil
- Healing emotionally and physically with the Moisturising hand cream
Vetiver Essential Oil
Extracted from the roots of the Vetiver plant, this essential oil has a rich, earthy aroma that is deeply grounding and calming. Its amazing therapeutic properties have earned it the name the Oil of Tranquility. It calms the mind, reduces anxiety, promotes relaxation and has sedative properties that help with sleep. It’s a great emotional and mental anchor so can enhance focus and concentration too. When applied to the skin, it helps with scars, acne and maintaining a bright, youthful complexion.
Use it for:
- Deep relaxation like an aromatherapy bath with the Relax & Unwind shower gel
- Anchoring yourself, calming the mind and drifting off to sleep with the Sleep Sound rollerball
- Replenishing the skin with the Soothing After Shave Balm
Rosemary Essential Oil
I describe this essential oil as a breath of fresh air! Inhaling rosemary brings mental clarity and concentration, alleviating stress and anxiety. It does wonders for the nervous system and has even been linked to performance and memory in studies. The pain relieving property can ease headaches and sore muscles. As a natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agent it clears the skin of acne and inflammation and helps your natural glow shine through.
Use it for:
- Clearing your mind with the Clear Focus rollerball
- Alleviating headaches with the Clear Head rollerball
Essential oils are like nature’s gift to us. They know what parts of the brain and body to tap into to calm us down, lift us up and keep the skin smooth and supple. The science proves that it’s worth utilising essential oils in your everyday products for a wellbeing and skincare boost. Browse the Esker Fields shop to take your pick of essential oil-infused products. For video guides on how to use the art and science of essential oils to manage stress and feel calm and collected, sign up for the 5 Days of Self-Care Challenge.