Remedy Your Skin Problems With Healing Herbs

Lavender, eucalyptus, green tea and aloe are key ingredients in many modern skin care products. Here's a primer on easy, inexpensive, traditional herbal remedies for common skin conditions.

To help alleviate dandruff, aesthetician and aromatherapist Cynthia Andrews of Phoenix. Ariz., offers this treatment plan: Mix together five teaspoonfuls of jojoba oil, 12 drops of eucalyptus oil and five drops wintergreen oil in a small saucepan. Heat briefly over very low flame. Massage into scalp. Wrap hair in a cotton scarf and leave on for 15 minutes to an hour before shampooing.

Andrews says that many of her clients have healed athlete's foot with a simple mixture of lavender essential oil, which exerts antibiotic properties, and tea tree essential oil, a natural anti-fungal. Try massaging four drops of lavender oil and four drops of tea tree oil onto affected areas daily.

For drying up small blemishes, anti-fungal tea tree oil can be extremely effective, says Andrews. "Just dab it on pimples and let it dry." If you have breakouts, she suggests this mix: 10 teaspoons of apricot oil, 10 drops of lemon oil, 10 drops of cypress oil, five drops of lavender oil and five drops of clove oil. Massage into the face and down both sides of the neck. Let it dry and pat skin with tissues, if needed.

To moisturize and improve the appearance of dry skin, Los Angeles makeup artist and aesthetician Renata Elden offers this nourishing remedy: Take four drops of neroli oil -- derived from orange tree flowers -- 10 drops of lavender oil, 30 drops of jojoba oil, 10 drops of glycerine oil and 60 drops of castor oil. Mix ingredients together and apply a few drops to the face and neck. "Be sure to massage gently around sensitive areas such as under and around the eyes," she said.

For sunburns, minor burns and scalds, lavender oil can be extremely effective.