Relief! 5 Essential oil Recipes for Dry, cracked and Flaky Skin

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itchy bite bug spider

If you or a loved one is dealing with dry skin you are likely aware of the symptoms already.

But here’s a quick recap

Dry skin often results in a cracked and flaky complexion… Dry patches on various parts of the body – often on hands, feet and around the neck. And over time dry skin can lead to chronic wrinkling and other skin conditions. Inflammatory conditions like psoriasis and eczema are most popular.

While the root cause of dry skin may be unknown, choosing good moisturizers and essential oils that help balance skin health can be a big help.

We choose essential oils for dry skin based on their ability to:

  • Balance the production and reabsorption of sebum (skin oils)
  • Introduce anti-inflammatory properties
  • Reduce the likelihood of wrinkles developing
  • New skin-cell growth promoters
  • Anti-aging oils
  • Skin rejuvenators

Some essential oils with these qualities include:

  • Lavender
  • Helichrysum
  • Neroli
  • Rosemary
  • Rose
  • German chamomile
  • Geranium
  • Roman Chamomile
  • Frankincense
  • Myrrh
  • Sandalwood
  • Palmarosa
  • Carrot seed

Below you’ll find some recipes that you can at home which include some of the essential oils listed above. These recipes work with the essential oils listed above and combine them with nourishing carrier oils like almond and apricot kernel oil.

5 Simple Essential oil and Hydrosol Based Recipes for Dry Skin

essential oil bottle with basket and thistle

Simple Nutritive Moisturizer for Dry Skin

Ingredients:

Use as a moisturizer when needed. Can be stored in a dark 2-ounce glass container.

Simple Toner / Cleanser for dry skin

Ingredients:

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a small dark glass jar. Shake well before every use. Apply twice daily.

Simple Facial Mask for Dry Skin

Ingredients:

Directions:

  • Mix ingredients together.
  • Apply to skin and leave on for 15 minutes.
  • Rinse off with cool water.

Simple Hydrosol Spray Bottle Blend

Hydrosols are the lesser-known sibling of essential oils. When essential oils are steam distilled, the hydrosol (or hydrolat) is what’s left behind. Hydrosols are safe and effective hydration and nourishers. They’re particularly helpful by aiding in the re-absorption and balancing of the skin’s oil – sebum.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a dark, 4-ounce glass spray bottle. Spray onto dry skin day and night following cleansing.

Simple Nourishing Bath oil Blend for Dry Skin

Ingredients:

Directions:

  • Start filling your tub with warm water
  • Mix you carrier and essential oils together in a non-reactive bowl, stirring well.
  • Add to the tub and agitate to disperse blend into the bathwater.
  • Soak in the tub for 30 minutes or more, massaging floating oil droplets into dry skin.

Alternative Ways to Support Dry Skin, cracked and flaky skin

indian herbs and spices beans at a market]

Nutrition

Foods to avoid.

Most common dietary culprits of skin imbalance include:

  • Sugar
  • Dairy (lactose, casein)
  • Wheat (gluten)

These are worth eliminating from the diet to assess for a change in symptoms. Food sensitivities can wreak havoc on the skin.

Foods to consume

Your best food friends to rebalance your dry skin are foods abundant in healthy fats (saturated, omega-3) and trace nutrients (B vitamins, Vitamin A, K2). And drink lots of water.

Foods include high-fat sources like:

And foods high in skin-nourishing nutrients:

  • Liver
  • Bone Broth
  • Boiled carrots
  • Sweet potatoes

And of course, drink more water!

Check for bodily imbalances

heart rate blood pressure testing doctor

It’s possible that a dry skin condition could stem from internal imbalances, like a thyroid or liver problem.

If you have severe a severe dry skin condition that just won’t resolve it’s probably a good idea to get some blood tests done.

Some recommended blood tests:

Thyroid Panel (for TSH, T3, T4 and rT3 and rT4) 

Why? Because you may be experiencing a symptom of hypothyroidism, which commonly involves dry, cracking skin.

Liver Function Test

Why? Ever heard the phrase “your skin reflects your liver”? Liver health is completely intertwined with how the skin maintains itself.

Conclusion

young child scratching head

Hopefully, these recipes come in handy for you.

Keep in mind that the topics explored in this post only scratch the surface.

The recipes I’ve provided are solid – but there are many more options that you could investigate for external applications.

The recommendations at the end in alternative methods should provide you with a lot of skin support if undertaken and the blood tests could show you an underlying condition. But don’t limit yourself – keep researching!

Welcome to EOSanctuary

Hi. Glad to see you here. My name is Loren Elara and I run Essential Oil Sanctuary. I’d love to connect with you and share ideas. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions please let us know in the comment sections.

Essential Oil Sanctuary is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

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11 thoughts on “Relief! 5 Essential oil Recipes for Dry, cracked and Flaky Skin”

  1. Hi Loren,

    Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. It’s inspiring and so much fun to read your articles! Who taught you or did you bravely use yourself as a guinea pig? 😉

    I’ve been experimenting with essential and carrier oils for a little while now, mostly because I have such a sensitive skin. I suffer from chronic bronchitis, which might very likely be a cause of my skin problems. My skin is mildly acne prone and extremely dry. So dry that using hemp seed oil as a cleanser and a mixture of rosehip oil, lavandin essential oil and castor oil as a moisturizer twice a day doesn’t even cut it. Sadly, my face still feels itchy and tight all day long. However, now that my blemishes are finally starting to clear up, I’m hesitant to try the heavier oils because of their high comedogenic rating and their high percentage of oleic acid. Do you have any suggestions that might help me?

    Thanks in advance. Happy holidays! ?

    Denise

    1. Thanks for the kind words Denise. I think you’re on point with what you’re using now. I think adding a hydrosol spray mixture could really help you too. I use hydrosols of rose, helichrysum, geranium and lavender mixed together in a spray bottle for my face. It’s a great healer and toner!

      Beyond that, I think you might want to look into healing your skin from the inside out. Foods, allergies… these are where you will find resolution from the root cause of your issues.

      Thanks for commenting! Happy holidays and best of luck to you Denise

      -Loren

      1. Hey Loren,

        Thanks a lot for your advice. I will try to get my hands on some hydrosol whenever I can.

        In fact, I have been trying to heal from the inside out for almost a year now specifically for my skin. Very low sugar, loads of whole foods, veggies and good fats (coconut, avocado). I still eat gluten and dairy (cheese!) though, because 1. it is very hard not to consume bread in The Netherlands; and 2. cheese is the one and only food I am not willing to give up… For all the good my diet is doing me, I haven’t noticed even the slightest change regarding my skin. By using oils, however, I have for the first time in my life. If my skin issues are related to my bronchitis or maybe my hormones as well, I cannot change much about that. That being said, I am adjusting my cleansing methods to at least count those out as a cause. So your advice is cherished, thank you so much!

        Best wishes,

        Denise

        PS: I have to say, it is refreshing to ask a guy other than my 80-year old dermatologist (who told me the only option was to go to the solarium every other day, oh yes, he really did……..!) for skin advice. Your name is a hundred times nicer too! ?

        1. Great to hear back Denise!

          It sounds like you are really taking charge of your health! Sometimes these conditions can be a blessing in disguise. Eventually you will heal your skin and improve many other aspects of your health in the process:)

          As far as food and hormone balance go a next step you might be interested in is ayurvedic health for the skin and hormone balance. Shatavari is a fantastic herb for female reproductive and hormones and this herbal formula puts together herbs that cleanse the blood and improve the skin. Also food combining is a helpful tool for healthy digestion and skin as well!

          Best of luck to you Denise – and if you have any more questions or comments please make yourself heard:)

          -Loren

  2. Loren, my daughter has awful, dry, chapped skin. Gets horrible eczema patches on her arms especially. Her skin is reslly rough, especially on her back. She is 6 and has had dry skin and eczema since she was 3 months old…her hands bled from dry skin at that time. She is off of sugar completely and has been for about 7 months. She is off of gluten also…has had very minimal amounts at times, but otherwise off for about 3 years or more. She’s done dairy free, for as long as 4 months before and short spurts otherwise. She’s went egg free for 4 months along with dairy and gluten free. She’s on cod liver oil, vitamin b, d and a. She’s tried high dose probiotics. She’s on a kulti vitamin. Has taken a few years of omega 3, 6 9. I feel like we have tried EVERYTHING! And I’ve tried making creams and lotikns with frankincense and lavender using coconut oil, avocado oil, flax oil, hemp oil, castor oil. Nothing much seems to work. We’re praying for the answer but not finding it yet. Help?

    1. Thanks for your comment, Angela.

      First of all – good for you for doing what you can for your daughters skin health. It takes a lot of time, effort and money to research and purchase these medicines. Not to mention the energy it takes to the shape diet of a young one around so many food exclusions.

      What you’ve done so far covers most of what I know that’s out there for healing skin disorders. The only other recommendation I can conjure up is potential lifestyle adjustments – particularly, limiting stress as much as possible. Both mental and physical. With the diet and remedies you’ve been applying so far you’re covering a lot of internal health markers. But make sure she’s not coming into contact with physical allergens or toxins in the home or school environment.

      For mental stress try to limit exposure to stresses in the family, at school etc. Early bedtimes and early rising are also helpful for the body/mind.

      I wish there was more I could recommend. I’m sure you will find something that works. Good job with your persistence and good luck on your journey!

    2. You must try colloidal silver soap and creams! Do a bit of research regarding it! You’ll be so glad you did!

  3. Hi. I’ve been searching for oils that would be good for dry skin. I suffer from psoriasis however it’s not severe.
    I have a very dry skin on my hands and my face. I’ve been using jojoba or coconut oil together with frankincense oil but I’ve noticed that my skin on my hands is getting horrible, very dry and looks like it’s aging within last 2 weeks when I’m using oils (I’m only 32). What am I doing wrong?

    1. to anna, DONT use coconut oil!! its horrible for dry skin and i finally had to give it up after being in love w/ it using it on everything, hair, food, body, oil pulling….my skin cant tolerate it anymore. im not sure if i can still eat it but im definitely not putting it on my skin ever again! its comodogenic which means it causes acne and thats because over time it will severely dry ur skin, its astringent. maybe people w/ normal or oily skin can use coconut oil but not people w/ dry and dehydrated skin. dry skin can cause acne!

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