After L'Oreal face oil fiasco, I thought to write a post about only oil that works for my skin (except well know oily skin friend, tea tree oil), lavender oil. When I started to explore the benefits of oils in skincare I discovered the most amazing group of oils called astringent oils. An astringent substance tends to shrink or constrict body tissues. Now you may be wondering what in the world this has to do with skincare?

 It's quite simple. When you apply astringent oils on the skin they temporarily constrict the epidermis, which means the pores will shrink. And when the pores are tighter the less oil will come out, therefore the skin will be mattified. Some people claim they can also make the fine lines less visible and smooth out raised areas and scars.
The discovery of these oils got me intrigued so I decided to test one of them. Here are some of the astringent essential oils: carrot seed, frankincense, ginger, grape seed, hazelnut, juniper, lavender, patchouli, rosemary and rose. 

Some of these oils I've tried and out of those lavender worked the best for me in the past (and is an excellent oil for oily skin) so I stepped out of my comfort zone of using it only for baths and for the first time applied it all over my face.
Lavender oil is safe to be used alone and it doesn't need to be diluted with a carrier oil (olive, sunflower, Castor, etc.). This is a rare case for an essential oil, most of them need to be diluted. If you are planning to use any oil on your skin, do the research first and make sure you are using it the way you are supposed to. 

I started this experiment couple of weeks ago, I wanted to have the time to test it properly before writing about it on the blog. Only thing I have to say is that this little oil trick blow my mind! My skin is so nicely mattified and smooth, my makeup looks amazing and my face will get shinny only later in the day.

What I do is apply couple of drops of lavender oil directly on the skin in the morning, after my toner and before moisturizing. I don't do it every day, only when I want my skin to look great, or when I have a busy day and no time to touch up my makeup. This oil makes my skin look amazing! For years I've been searching for a skincare routine that is mattifying enough and I'm finally happy with how matte my skin is. If applying oil directly to the skin seems too overwhelming for you, try adding a drop or two to your moisturizer. It will also give you great results.

Lavender oil helps not only with skin mattifying, it has other benefits that will help your oily skin:

-it's a natural antiseptic, which means it fights against pimple and acne causing bacteria
-it has strong anti-inflammatory properties so it can calm inflamed acne
-strong healing properties of lavender oil are well known, it can heal pimple scars fast

This oil did wonders for my skin, give it a go, just keep in mind that your skin may react differently.



Posle fijaska sa L'Oreal uljem za lice, mislila sam da je došlo vreme da napišem post o jedinom ulju koje prija mojoj koži (pored dobro poznatog prijatelja masne kože, ulja čajnog drveta, tj. čajevca). U pitanju je ulje lavande. Kada sam počela da istražujem upotrebu ulja u nezi kože, otkrila sam neverovatnu grupu ulja pod nazivom adstrigentna ulja. Adstrigentne supstance su one koje teže tome da sužavaju i stežu tkiva. Sada se možda pitate kakve to veze ima sa negom kože?

Veoma je jednostavno. Kada nanesete adstrigentno ulje na kožu ono privremeno ''stegne'' površinski sloj kože i time sužava pore. Ako su pore uže luče manje ulja, pa će tako i koža biti matirana. Neki tvrde da ova ulja mogu i da učine bore manje vidljivim i da izjednače neravne površine i ožiljke na koži.
Otkriće adstrigentnih ulja me je toliko fasciniralo da sam morala da probam jedno od njih za negu kože. Ovo su neka adstrigentna eterična ulja: ulje semena šargarepe, ulje tamjana, ulje djumbira, ulje semenki grožđa, lešnikovo, klekino, lavandino, ulje pačulija, ruzmarinovo i ružino.

 Neka od ovih ulja sam već probala i od svih mi je lavandino najbolje odgovaralo (a takođe je odlično ulje za masnu kožu) pa sam izašla iz svoje standardne rutine korišćenja lavandinog ulja samo za kupke i nanela ga i na lice.
Lavandino ulje se samo može bezbedno koristiti i nije mu potrebno ulje za razblaživanje (obično se koristi maslinovo, suncokretovo, ricinusovo, itd.). To je redak slučaj sa eteričnim uljima, ona uglavnom moraju da se razblaže. Ako planirate da koristite bilo koje ulje na svojoj koži, prvo ga istražite da biste bili sigurni da ga koristite na ispravan način.

Počela sam da eksperimentišem pre nekoliko nedelja, želela sam da imam dovoljno vremena da ga testiram pre nego što počnem da pišem ovaj post. Moj jedini zaključak je da me je ovaj mali trik sa uljem oduševio! Koža mi je tako lepo matirana i glatka, šminka mi izgleda sjajno a lice mi se prosija kasnije u toku dana nego inače.

Ja ga nanosim tako što umasiram nekoliko kapi direktno na kožu, ujuru, posle tonera a pre nanošenja kreme. Ne koristim ga svakodnevno, samo kada želim da mi koža izgleda lepše, ili kada imam dosta obaveza tog dana i znam da neću imati vremena da popravljam šminku. Od ovog ulja mi koža izgleda neverovatno. Godinama sam bila u potrazi za rutinom za negu kože koja je dovoljno matirajuća i konačno sam zadovoljna. Ako vam nanošenje ulja direktno na kožu zvuči ekstremno, probajte da dodate kap ili dve u kremu za lice. To će vam takođe dati odlične rezultate.

Lavandino ulje ne služi samo za matiranje, ima druga svojstva koja pomažu masnoj koži:

-prirodni je antiseptik, što znači da pomaže u borbi protiv bakterija koje izazivaju bubuljice i akne
-ima jaka protivupalna svojstva, pa može da umiri akne koje su već upaljene
-jaka isceljujuća svojstva lavande su dobro poznata, može brzo da zaleči ožiljke od bubuljica

Ovo ulje je čuda učinilo za moju kožu, probajte ga, ali imajte u vidu da vaša koža može drugačije da reaguje. Ulje koje sam ja koristila je Kirka etarsko ulje, može da se nađe u prodavnicama zdrave hrane i u Liliju.