Vol. 1 No. 10

Your skin is a mirror of your internal well-being. Fresh, glowing skin reflects real health. Conversely, drab, dry, wrinkled and blemished skin may be a sign that your health can be improved.

“After hiking in the mountains of Nepal and baking on a beach in Thailand in

1988, I had the best tan of my life. Not only did I have a great tan - my skin had aged 5 years in 5 weeks. I was shocked. (Please understand that in Minnesota, where summers are short and winters are long, getting tan has been a perennial obsession for those with light skin. Being of Norwegian and Scottish ancestry, I REALLY qualify.) When I thought about the long-term implications of all that sun damage, I felt sick. Had I laid the groundwork for skin cancer? That’s when I got serious about rebuilding and protecting my skin. My first step was to avoid further damage by using sunscreen every single day (fifteen years later, I still apply sunscreen every morning). Next, I tried several reputable skin care lines - with no results. None of the products made a genuine difference in my skin.

New Possibilities Emerged

Then a friend introduced me to therapeutic-grade essential oils and lent me a book by leading British aromatherapist, Valerie Worwood. In her book, The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy, I found a statement that gave me real hope for rescuing my skin:

“Cellular regeneration is the key to a youthful skin, and essential oils provide a way of doing this…The nutrients and proteins in essential oils help to maintain the mattress-like bounciness of collagen, upon which the outer layers of skin rest, and encourage the regeneration of new cells. The circulation-stimulating properties of the oils oxygenate the blood which in turn energizes the cells, allowing regeneration to take place.”1

Essential Oils Saved My Skin

Following Worwood’s recommendations for “maturing skin”, I nourished my skin with rose, sandalwood and geranium essential oils. When I saw genuine improvement in the texture, moisture level and smoothness of my skin, I was convinced that essential oils really DO work. Years later, my 47 year-old face is supple, smooth, with little evidence of sun damage. I am grateful for the restoration I experienced and for essential oils - my “weapon”against photo aging.”

Bonnie McDermid, Minneapolis, MN

1 Worwood, V.A. (1991). Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy. San Rafael: New World Library.

2 Lawless, J. (1995). Rose Oil. Thorsons: London.