Skin is the largest organ of the body, hence it needs to be given the right kind of care. Every day your skin is exposed to a lot of things, hence what you do to it when you are at home is important. I know the importance of treating my skin well, and I want to pamper my skin because that makes me happy. Being good to my skin makes me happy because I want my skin to be happy. Having happy skin means you feel good, and I want to feel good every day with my skin. For skin to look good it needs the right care, attention, and love. I want to have good and happy skin every day, and even in the many years to come. I’m already in my mid 30’s so I know that wrinkles and lines will start to appear so I want to prepare myself for that time. So that when my wrinkles occur already, and I get a little older I know that I can still enjoy pampering and having good skin.
Since there are many skin issues you may experience because of daily exposure to dust, and other factors, it’s good to have a skincare companion like peppermint essential oil. The combination of your effort in pampering, protecting, and loving your skin plus the peppermint essential oil will enable you to have the happy skin you’ll always love.
So whether you’re at home, working, exploring, or having adventures, you want to make sure that you give the right care to your skin. As for me, my thought is that since my skin is something that’s always with me, I have to make sure that oils that are good for my skin are always with me too every day. And, whatever pampering and protection I do to my skin, I also want to do it to my family and loved ones, because I want them to have happy skin too.
Since peppermint essential oil is one of the oils that has been investigated by some researchers and its efficacy has been presented, this post will focus on peppermint essential oil and its importance in skin care.
1. Sun protection
Peppermint essential oil can protect you from the sun. In a 2010 in vitro study using UV spectrophotometry it was found that peppermint essential oil has the best sun protection factor (SPF). The oil of peppermint is an ideal ingredient for sunscreen products because of its high SPF values, aroma, and cooling effect on the skin. (1) So if you’re in sunny places make sure that you have peppermint essential oil with you.
2. Pruritus Gravidarum
A 2012 study investigated the efficacy of peppermint essential oil on women who are in their second or third trimester of pregnancy and are experiencing moderate or severe pruritus. The patients were attending Rasoul Akram Hospital in Rasht in 2011. The materials used in this study include 60 mL of peppermint oil 0.5% in sesame oil for the case group as well as a placebo which is 60 mL of sesame oil for the control group. The respondents were instructed to apply the oils twice a day, for two weeks. The results of the study prove that peppermint essential oil is effective in reducing the severity of skin itch. The researchers in the study also purported that menthol is the material that’s responsible for easing the skin itch. (2)
Another study in 2016 investigated whether peppermint essential oil is an effective treatment for chronic pruritus. The 50 subjects are attending Al-Hussein University Hospital, Cairo, Egypt, from June 2014 to June 2015. The study had two groups. The first group was assigned to have the 5% crude peppermint oil in petrolatum applied on the area with skin itch. While petrolatum base will be topically applied to the participants in the second group. Both groups have 25 respondents. All of the fifty selected participants were diagnosed with chronic pruritus due to hepatic, renal, or diabetic. The topical application was done on the affected areas twice a day for two weeks. The result of the study yielded that there was a significant improvement in the patients who used the peppermint oil while there was no significance among the patients who used the placebo. For this reason, the researchers concluded that peppermint essential oil is acceptable as a treatment for skin itch. Moreover, they purported that peppermint essential oil can alleviate itch by activating A-delta fibers and k-opioid receptors. (3) Hence for your or your family’s itch concern, peppermint essential oil would be the right choice to treat it.
3. Acne
Some aromatherapy books recommend using peppermint essential oil for acne as it can decongest the skin as well as control the bacteria due to its antiseptic properties. (4) Although there are only a few articles that explain how peppermint essential oil can help treat acne, they explain it well enough. One article I found explained that since peppermint oil has menthol which can unclog skin pores, it thus can exfoliate your skin and help clean excess oil, and dirt which are the usual cause for acne. Moreover, it can limit bacterial growth. The presence of flavanones and phenolic acids which are antioxidants are also helpful in neutralizing the effect of free radicals as well as infections. (4) This makes peppermint essential oil perfect for cleaning your face and body as well as keeping your skin healthy.
As of the moment, I haven’t found any case studies or research papers that present the efficacy of peppermint oil in the treatment of acne. However, I’d like to keep looking until I find a research paper that reports its effectiveness to it.
Having good and happy skin is not just something we aim for ourselves, I think it is one thing that we also want to have for our loved ones. So if I may humbly recommend, please start storing peppermint essential oil in your homes.
Merrily care
References:
- (1) Kaur C. D., Saraf S. In vitro sun protection factor determination of herbal oils used in cosmetics. Pharmacognosy Research (2010), 2 I1)
- (2) Amjadi M.A., Mojab F., Kamranpour S.B., The Effect of Peppermint Oil on Symptomatic Treatment of Pruritus in Pregnant Women. Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research (2012), 11 (4): 1073-1077
- (3) Elsie L.T., El Mohsen A.M., Ibrahim I.M., Mohey-Eddin M.H., Mohamed L Elsie. Effectiveness of topical peppermint oil on symptomatic treatment of chronic pruritus. Dove Press Journal. Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology (2016) 333-338
- (4) Aromatherapy and A-Z, Patricia Davis. C.W. Daniel Company Limited. 1988
- (5) https://www.anveya.com/blogs/top-tips/peppermint-oil-for-acne-benefits-usage-and-side-effects
Ciele 