Reducing Allergic Skin Reactions With Essential Oils

By Camilla Restrepo, CAHP®-AM, RPN

Reducing Allergic Skin Reactions With Essential Oils

I truly believe in the power of healing ourselves with our Mother Earth. Everything we need to live a healthy and happy life is already all around us. Although it is true that we do not always know where to look, and not all of us have access to her many ingredients, the healing power of nature is here. Lately, I've come across a lot of concerns around allergies, more specifically allergic reactions in the skin. I became very curious exploring how essential oils could help improve a variety of symptoms and I found a few oils that have powerful effects on healing skin and reducing the discomfort associated with allergic reactions. Let's chat about them!

 

Our skin

Our skin is the largest organ and it serves as a protective barrier from the outside environment among many other things, and you must protect it, so that it can protect you! When thinking about all the ways that skin can be damaged, it can either be from external factors or from the body's internal responses to stress. To keep things broad, because this can be such a complex topic, let's focus on some of the more common symptoms associated with skin allergies.

  • Itchiness
  • Rash
  • Redness
  • Swelling
  • Cracked skin
  • Scaling
  • Raised bumps

This is caused by the histamines that are released by the body when it perceives an allergen that needs to be removed. It's the histamines that activate the increased blood flow to a certain area of the body and it results in inflammation on the skin. This is what causes all of the symptoms that we want to get rid of

 

So how can essential oils help?

Essential oils have many therapeutic properties that we can use as medicine within our home. Here are some of the properties that we look for in essential oils if we want to improve the symptoms :

Antipruritic (reduces itching) Anti-inflammatory (reduces inflammation) Vulnerary (helps heal skin tissue) Anti-allergic (help reduce allergic response) Anti-microbial (prevents infection) Analgesic (reduce pain)

 

How to blend?

Many essential oils have some of these properties, but I would like to share a personal blend I use! When it comes to essential oils, less is more. They are very concentrated and we want to make sure we don't cause further damage to our skin by underdiluting. To avoid adding too much, I usually don't use more than 3-5 oils in a blend. I love knowing how they will work synergistically, not just mixing a bunch for the sake of it.

Jojoba Oil (60mls) - 5% essential oil blend

.      Essential oil name  Latin name drops
       German Chamomile       Matricaria recutita  8 drops
Blue tansy Tanacetum annuum 8 drops
Lavender Lavandula angustifolia 5 drops
Peppermint Mentha x Piperita 5 drops
Lemongrass Cymbopogon citratus 4 drops

 

With this blend we can work on reducing the itching, swelling, redness and promote skin healing- because ultimately we want to keep our skin barrier optimized and healthy. Give this blend a try if you have a reaction, hives, eczema, bug bite, or even a mild burn! It is a great addition to your first aid kit at home!

 

📒References:
Fowler, P (2022). What are histamines? https://www.webmd.com/allergies/what-are-histamines
Holmes, P (2016). Aromatica: A Clinical Guide to Essential Oil Therapeutics.
Rhind, J.P. (2016). Aromatherapeutic Blending: Essential Oils in Synergy.

📷Photo credit: by Canva 

👩‍💻About the author:

Camila Restrepo, CAHP®-AM, RPN, has found a passion for all things aromatherapy and is especially enthusiastic about supporting women on their self-empowerment journey. Camila comes from a nursing background and has had the honour of working very closely with people from all walks of life, including mothers and newborns, forensic psychiatry patients, palliative patients and the geriatric community. Camila is the founder of Essentsia Apothecary, a company proudly focussed on teaching people safe essential oil use and offering natural products to support their self-care journey. Committed to her lifelong learning, Camila is currently studying reflexology and reiki, and is advancing her nursing career into medical aesthetics.  

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