I heard all about the benefits of using essential oils on skin from Eleanor Laban, creator of hair product Dollop. Ages ago I interviewed her because she has particularly good skin and I wanted to know her secret. The podcast of my interview is here – you should have a listen because she’s an interesting lady.

So inspired by Eleanor I stocked up on some A’kin Rosehip Oil from Australian natural skin care makers The Purist Company. It was on sale at my local pharmacy so only cost about $15.

Before I started using it, I expected it to make my skin oily and cause my make-up to look greasy or slide around. But not so. It sinks into my skin remarkably fast. I even follow the oil with A’kin moisture cream and it too sinks in.  And I can follow up with my usual make-up.

I use it twice daily and will continue to use it.

I’ve also been using A’kin facial scrub. It’s not all that gentle though – I prefer really gentle scrubs.

Anyway, here are the benefits of Rosehip Oil as I see them:

• Natural. It’s just one ingredient – organic rosehip oil. No worries about parabens and sulphates and the like.
• It’s cheap. Compared to other moisturisers it’s actually quite cheap. A bottle like I bought lasts months and months because you only use a few drops each times.
• It makes my skin feel really soft and smooth. I think it’s evened out my skin too – no dry or oily patches any more.
• It’s versatile. I use it on my dry, itchy legs after shaving and on my finger nail cuticles.

And I have a tip for application. Rub a few drops into your hands and then press both your hands vertically onto your cheeks for a few moments. Then move your hands so one is pressed on your forehead and the other over your chin and mouth. So you’re just pressing and holding letting the oil seep into you skin. This seems to work much better than rubbing it into face and is much gentler.