Everything You Need to Know About Essential Oils

A couple of years ago, an out-of-nowhere, over-text-message breakup sent me running to a best friend. What followed can only be described as the strangest coping mechanism I have ever witnessed. She first had me strip down to my bra and underwear, after which she lit a bundle of white sage and wafted the smoke around my body “to cleanse the energy.” She then placed crystals on my back and proceeded to douse my entire body in essential oils. I should mention that this woman has a master’s degree in chemistry. She is no fool, but this shit was absolutely nutty.

Suffice it to say, the ritual didn’t work quite as planned. I later got back together with the ex, and he inevitably broke up with me over text again. While this was clearly more about the relationship than anything else, I prefer to avoid any potential trauma and continue to attribute it to the essential oils.

As you can imagine, my thoughts on essential oils have been laced with skepticism and reluctance ever since. And the more I’ve learned about them, the more hesitant I’ve become. When it comes to skincare, essential oils have proven to be quite controversial ingredients. Let’s discuss.

What are essential oils?

Good question. Essential oils are the volatile essences of plants, which can be extracted from the flowers, bark, stem, leaves, roots, and sometimes fruits of any plant. These plant extracts create unique, complex fragrances. In general, essential oils tend to be used one of two ways: inhalation and/or topical application.

Okay, so why do people use them?

Each essential oil comes with a slew of health-related claims. For example, peppermint is said to boost energy and aid digestion, while many believe that bergamot can reduce stress and improve skin conditions like eczema. See below for a list of ten popular essential oils and associated health claims, but let’s keep in mind that these are claims (not facts)

Do essential oils actually work?

Honestly, I don’t know. For some people (like my aforementioned friend) there are clear benefits. She suffers from migraines and has found that essential oils that help her manage them. I prefer Lexapro to lavender, but to each their own!

Isn’t this supposed to be about skincare?

Whoops, sorry—I got a little carried away. Back to why you’re all here. Essential oils are fairly common ingredients in skincare products, largely because some of their components are super beneficial for skin. For example, many essential oils are rich in antioxidants, while others contain antibacterial ingredients that protect against visible skin problems. Sometimes, they’re just included because they make a product smell nice without adding any artificial fragrances.

Okay, so what’s the big deal about them then?

While many essential oils seem great for the skin, most of them can also irritate and damage the skin due to various fragrant ingredients often found in these oils. Even essential oils used to combat acne (like tee tree oil) can cause serious irritation, Plus, they haven’t even proven themselves to be as effective (let alone more effective) than benzoyl peroxide. All of this rings even truer for people with sensitive skins and/or acute skin issues. And the effectiveness of any given essential oil (as well as how damaging that essential oil might be) has to do with many, many different things: the purity/quality, shelf-life/stability/oxidation, dilution in the formula, etc.

But I’m using a ton of products with essential oils in them, and my skin looks great. That means it’s not damaging my skin, right?

Here’s the issue: as reactive as skin can be, it can also be very good at hiding irritation. Irritation, which aids the aging process, often occurs underneath the skin’s surface, leading to visible problems later on.

Oh man. So I should get rid of all of my beauty products that have essential oils?

It’s never that simple, is it? First of all, you already purchased this stuff—throwing it out is a waste of money. Plus, the dialogue around essential oils in skincare is hotly debated. If you feel like they’re working for you, do what you think is best. And, research suggests that certain amounts of essential oils (around 0.1% to 0.25%) can be non-irritating. On the flip side, that research doesn’t take two important factors into account: first, that a lot of skincare products contain more than one essential oil and second, that many people use multiple skincare products that have essential oils in them. So let’s keep in mind that this is a fairly messy topic.

That being said, when buying new skincare products, I’d suggest making an effort to try and find ones without essential oils—to me, the potential negatives often outweigh the positives. A good rule of thumb: if a product smells great, it probably has an essential oil in it. You can also check the ingredient list for any sort of fragrant oil or plant extract, but I recognize how confusing ingredient lists can be. There’s a slew of brands, like Paula’s Choice, The Inkey List, and The Ordinary, that actually do that detective worth for you.

But, as always I want to be real here, and I know that if I found out one of my favorite, holy grail products contained essential oils, I’d probably keep using it. So if you are going to use products with essential oils in them, try not to keep them out in the open in a bathroom. Both prolonged exposure to heat and light exposure oxidize essential oils, which makes them less beneficial and far more damaging. Instead, keep them in cool, dark places (like a drawer). And make sure you pay attention to expiration dates. Essential oils used past their shelf life can wreak havoc on the skin.

Anything else?

Of course I have more to say. Essential oils can be totally beneficial and therapeutic. I’d just suggest sticking to smelling them rather than applying them to your face. Get a candle or an essential oil diffuser, and call it a day! And never get back together with a guy who dumps you over text.