Mother nature doesn’t make it easy to maintain a youthful glow on our skin. Wrinkles, fine lines, sagging skin, scars, age spots, and other blemishes are a reality that’s hard to avoid as we get older.
Maintaining a good diet, avoiding toxic chemicals in our environment, and steering clear of alcohol and smoking can help us maintain great skin health. But, try as we might, free radicals will always find their way into our body from the air we breathe, and the food and drink we put in our bodies.
Skin aging is inevitable, but can be controlled.
Skin aging is inevitable, but there are several great skincare products out there that can help to slow this natural process, and even reverse the early signs of aging. However, most of these products make a lot of promises and cost a ton of cash, if you use them regularly.
If you’re trying to avoid expensive commercially-produced skincare products, you’ve come to the right place. The all natural oils listed on this page have been found to offer the same benefits as commercial products, and can be mixed together as desired to maximize their anti-aging benefits.
Here’s my top 8 list of recommended natural anti-aging oils
1. Lavender Oil
Lavender oil is very popular for essential oil diffusers, soaps, fabric softeners, and many other products. The scent of lavender is widely considered one of the most relaxing and rejuvenating found anywhere in nature. It’s also in this top 8 list of healing and restorative oils for the skin because of how effective it is at boosting the body’s defenses against free radical damage.
Lavender oil naturally boosts the production of free radical fighting antioxidants glutathione, catalase and superoxide dismutase. It’s a powerful antimicrobial and antibacterial too, making a little lavender oil rubbed on an injury, or added to a bandage just what the doctor ordered for cuts, abrasions, and burns.
Mix the following ingredients together to maximize the skin healing and anti-aging benefits of lavender:
• Lavender: 10 drops
• Aloe Vera: half ounce
• Virgin Coconut Oil (regular or fractionated): 1 ounce
Melt the coconut oil if necessary, then combine ingredients in a blender or small shaker bottle and mix thoroughly. When using regular melted coconut oil, it will solidify, creating chunks after the mixture cools, so it’s best to make and use this recipe right away.
If using fractionated coconut oil, multiply the recipe as much as you like and store in a cool place. Shake well before each use.
2. Jojoba Oil
Jojoba oil is found in nearly every restorative skin product on the market. It stimulates collagen synthesis, reducing fine lines and wrinkles. It also speeds up wound healing, preventing the formation of unsightly scars, and also mimics our bodies natural skin moisturizing compounds.
Oxidation is the number one reason our skin and body ages. It’s a natural process that can be accelerated by exposure to chemicals found in the air, food, water, and common skin care and body grooming products that come in contact with our bodies. Jojoba accomplishes its anti-aging benefits in the form of a number of antioxidant vitamins and minerals including: vitamin B complex, vitamin E, chromium, copper, zinc, and iodine.
Jojoba also closely mimics a moisturizing fatty substance released by our skin called sebum. Sebum levels need to be high enough in order to prevent dry skin and flaky scalp, while excessive amounts can lead to acne and skin breakouts. Jojoba doesn’t just add moisture to the skin, it also prevents the formation of excess sebum on our skin.
3. Avocado Oil
Avocado oil is a top 10 anti-aging and restorative for beautiful skin. It can be somewhat messy to deal with, so it’s not really something you want to rub on your skin before heading off to work in the morning. It’s great all over the body and best taken in the evening a couple of hours before bed.
Avocado oil contains high amounts of lecithin, oleic acid, vitamin E, and potassium — all of which are essential to slowing the signs of aging on the skin. These ingredients penetrate the outer epidermis and move into the dermis where new skin is generated and older cells are fortified.
Many women also like to use avocado oil in a hair wrap, as it penetrates the hair and follicles to encourage more growth and strength. If you find avocado oil too thick and sticky for regular use, it can be mixed thoroughly with thinner oils such as rose hip, lavender, carrot, pomegranate, or frankincense as desired.
4. Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is popular for the healthy medium-chain triglyceride fats it contains, with the majority being lauric acid. Lauric acid is a powerful moisturizer that can leave your skin feeling soft and silky for the entire day. While it moisturizes below the skin, it also forms a barrier between your skin and the elements to lock moisture in and keep oxidants out.
The main anti aging benefits from coconut oil are accomplished via the lauric and other fatty acids. However, it also contains healthful doses of vitamin E, which has many benefits to the skin because of the high level of tocopherols it contains. Tocopherols are a very potent antioxidant that are effective both on the skin’s surface and in the blood stream (learn more).
Last, coconut oil is a natural sunscreen, with an SPF 4 rating. While nobody would recommend you spend a day at the beach with it on, coconut oil offers decent protection when you go outside for short bursts of time in the sun. To make a natural coconut oil sunscreen with an SPF of 25 or higher:
Mix the following (credit: The Coconut Mama):
• 1/2 Cup Virgin Coconut Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Non Nana Zinc Oxide
• 1 Tablespoon Red Raspberry Seed Oil
5. Frankincense Oil
Frankincense has health-protective and restorative benefits dating back to biblical times. It’s a viscous, aromatic resin taken from the Boswellia tree in Africa. You might know it more for its use as a spiritually-uplifting additive to incense, or as a perfume in Eastern cultures. However, it’s also highly sought after for its ability to reverse the signs of skin aging.
Oil is extracted from the Frankincense resin and contains a good deal of health boosting compounds for the skin including: monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, monoterpenoles, sesquiterpenols and ketones. These ingredients penetrate the skin to reverse skin aging signs such as wrinkles, sun spots, and age spots. A popular mixture to use for reversing age spots is frankincense and lavender mixed at a 1:1 ratio.
This thin anti-aging oil is best mixed with a carrier such as avocado, coconut or jojoba, but works just fine on its own, too. Frankincense can be applied as often as you like to wrinkles, wounds, scars, or cracked, sagging or peeling skin to promote healing and even out skin tone.
6. Pomegranate Seed Oil
The oil extracted from the pomegranate seed is one you’ll find listed in virtually every commercially available anti-aging formulation for skincare. It’s valued for its ability to protect against and fight skin cancer. This natural anti-aging oil is widely used and revered for clearing up a number of skin issues.
Pomegranate seed oil contains powerful antioxidants that can penetrate the top layer of the skin into the dermis layer where skin development and regeneration occurs. It contains heaping doses of punicic and ellagic acids that gives skin what it needs to develop and maintain elasticity (elasticity is reduced by oxidative damage which causes fine lines and wrinkles).
Rub pomegranate oil liberally on any part of the body you want to protect against skin aging. It’s also used for common skin irritations and ailments like eczema, psoriasis, burns, and many others.
7. Argan Oil
Argan oil is derived from the kernels of the Argan tree, native to Morocco. It’s popular in its home country as a delicious oil for dipping bread in and for drizzling on various popular dishes. As an anti-aging serum, Argan oil makes the top 10 list because it contains heaps of essential fatty acids and antioxidants.
Argan oil is made up of primarily omega 3s, and linoleic and oleic acid. These fatty acids help moisturize the outer and inner layers of skin, to facilitate healing and prevent skin from drying out. Argan oil also contains vitamin E; an antioxidant, which is highly regarded for its anti-aging benefits.
Finally, the triterpenoids found in argan oil help to balance sebum levels, making skin moist, but not too moist, which helps with oily skin and acne. While argan isn’t the cheapest anti-aging oil to buy, a little goes a long way.
8. Sweet Almond Oil
Sweet almond oil comes from the sweet almond tree and has no scent to it, unlike others mentioned on this list. Sweet almond is regarded by many as a far superior natural aging and skin moisturizing oil. One of the most alluring qualities of this particular oil is that it’s rich in skin-health-boosting fats, but doesn’t leave a residue on the skin like avocado or coconut.
Sweet almond has loads of moisturizing and revitalizing omega 6 fats that penetrate the skin quickly and keep it moisturized for hours. It also contains lots of vitamins E and K which are easily absorbed into the skin. Vitamin E helps to reduce the signs of aging and increase elasticity. Vitamin K helps to fortify skin cells and promote more blood flow.
Sweet almond oil should be your go-to moisturizer for work, school, or any other environment where overwhelming scents are discouraged to protect those who’re scent-sensitive.
Closing
There are, of course, many other natural oils that can prevent and improve the signs of aging on our skin. In my opinion, the 8 mentioned on this page are far superior, offering a potent mix moisturizing fats, protective antioxidants, and other ingredients that can help to slow down and even turn back the clock.
