Natural Skincare Oils I've Tried

I don't have horrible skin, in fact, I get quite a few compliments on my "nice skin" but as a very fair skinned girl, when rashes, pimples, and zits come out to play, they are a huge contrast on my skin. I've tried the usual, benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid, but they would just dry out my skin, create irritation, or make the case worse than before. I'm a huge fan of natural and organic products since they are definitely more gentle on the skin. I've tried out a couple of natural oils for my skin and would just like to share my experience and thoughts about them. I'm not a professional by any means, and with all skincare products, the way the oils worked on me may not work the same on you. Another perk with natural oils is that there are MANY different uses; however, I will only be referring to what I used the oil for :)

Tea Tree Oil

What I Used It For - Spot treatment for pimples/zits.

My Experience - There are lots of raves on the result of using tea tree oil on pimples and zits. It is also featured in many acne related skincare products. However, this did not work for me at all on my pimples. So now I use it to clean my eyeliner brush because it has natural antiseptic properties :)

Where to Buy - (~$7 for 10 mL) - The particular one I bought is called "100% Pure Thursday Plantation Tea Tree Oil" and I purchased it at a natural health food store. You should have no problem finding it at any natural health food store, but make sure it states it's 100% Pure as with all other oils.

Manuka Oil - *****

What I Used It For - Spot treatment for cystic acne

My Experience - I've always had random periods during the year where I would get cystic acne. My cystic acne would be deep below the surface of my skin and would take months to disappear. It would appear as a bump and the same color as my skin - they would also hurt when I pressed on them. Let's just say, they were SUPER annoying. Manuka Honey is different from Manuka Oil from my research online, but I don't really know the clear answer to this. All I know was the honey was a super messy application and I've always wanted to try the oil since it absorbs in the skin much easier. I used this in conjunction with Emu Oil (below) which was suppose to act as a carrier and effective for transferring the Manuka Oil deep into the skin.

I attacked my beast by using the oil during the day and applied 0.5% benzoyl peroxide at overnight while I slept. The results? The cystic acne slowly disappears! By no means did it magically disappear overnight but I gave it a couple of weeks and it worked!

Where to Buy - (~$17 for 10 mL) - East Cape Manuka Oil 100% Pure, from ebay, direct link here.

Emu Oil

What I Used It For - Spot treatment used in conjunction with Manuka Oil and Manuka Honey for cystic acne

My Experience - Not really sure if using this was more effective, but certainly did not irritate my skin in any way. Plus it provides fishy omegas to the skin :)

Where to Buy - (~$15 for 30 mL) - Kalaya Pure Emu Oil found at natural food store or Walmart.

Cod Liver Oil - *****

What I Use It For - Skin, Hair, Nails

My Experience - I actually was recommended to use this by Michelle from BeautyEditor.ca during a time my cystic acne on my chin was growing one after another and I was desperate to try anything I could get my hands on! She told me the wonders of Cod Liver Oil in terms of it providing Vitamin A (what Accutane is based on) and Vitamin D. She recommended me these capsules she purchased online and I quickly realized they were not cheap! I was also skeptical of using it because I had an allergic reaction to retinol (a form of Vitamin A) from an anti-wrinkle product I used previously.

This was not the first time I've heard good things about Cod Liver Oil, I knew people who took this daily who lacked Vitamin D. Pet owners also use this on their dogs to promote healthy shiny fur. My sister also forwarded me to Kandee Johnson's (YT guru) video on how she also used Cod Liver Oil to achieve flawless looking skin. I think after that video I was pretty much sold because the exact cod liver oil liquid Kandee was using was easily accessible for me and would not require me to make a purchase online.

I've been taking 1 tsp of this cod liver oil liquid twice a day (before lunch, and before bedtime) for about a month and a half now. Since then, I haven't grown any painful cystic acne and have only grown one unnoticeable cystic zit on my chin and one my forehead, which disappeared completely with my Manuka Oil and 0.5% Benzoyl Peroxide attack within 2 weeks. These two cystic zits were not like the others that grew before, they were what I'd call a MILD cystic zit, as in, it still hurt when I pressed on it, but it was much flatter and did not grow into a large mound, and the time it took for it to disappear was definitely much quicker.

This is quite an improvement since my cystic acne was non-stop growing one after the other, and they usually took about months to disappear.

Of course this is not a miracle oil, since many other factors come into play, like stress, exercise, and diet, but I just can't pinpoint it. This is the closest thing I've come to in treating those annoying spots! Taking cod liver oil is also more of a method of preventing acne rather than treating it after the fact it has grown. There is an extra bonus that taking this also provides Vitamin A and D & Omega 3. This also promotes healthy hair and nails :)

Where to Buy - (~$25 for 250 mL) - Carlson Cod Liver Oil Lemon Flavor, I purchased it at my local organic food store, direct link to the company website here.

You have to make sure the Vitamin A and D ratios are at the right amounts! The liquid form is more potent than the capsule form. The only reason I didn't purchase the capsule form because they usually contain soybean oils and soybeans may cause acne! Did not want to risk that :p

Camellia Oil

What I Use It For - Pre-mature wrinkles, dry patches of skin, rashes

My Experience - I actually only recently purchased this for the purpose of my forehead lines (yes I'm paranoid) and have been using it for 3 days, no drastic changes yet! I have used this on these dry red rashes I randomly get around my face and neck and it seems to be working quite great on those!

Where to Buy - (~$12 for 60 mL) - Silkia Camellia Oil 100% Pure, from ebay, direct link here.

In Conclusion

I know this was a long post but I just wanted to bring attention to alternative methods of treating your skin with natural and organic products in times of desperate needs! I'm definitely sticking to my Manuka Oil and Cod Liver Oil routine, and I really hope the Camellia Oil works wonders too :) These oils may take longer to work but they have great results and are much more gentle on your skin. If you have any other recommendations or questions, please let me know!