Evening primrose. Image courtesy of Royal Horticultural Society
By now, you’ll have gathered I am a lover of oils. They are a wonder to me and probably as natural and pure as anything you can get to put on your skin. So if it’s good enough for the outside, then it’s good enough for the inside.
Take evening primrose – it is a plant that has a multitude of uses. Leaves, flowers and root can be eaten, and the seeds make oil which is great for treating dryness and eczema, which I have suffered from since a toddler, and of course it helps keep PMS at bay. Just look at those bright golden yellow flowers, who wouldn’t want some of that glow working it’s way from the inside! I’ve been taking 1000mg a day since I was 15 and I swear it has helped me manage my dry and sensitive skin. I am pretty sure I would be a flakey old lizard without it.
Flax seed oil is another wonder oil, along with avocado and almond oils. I have not been as religious with these as I have been with evening primrose oil, though I will be found munching on almonds quite regularly (almost too regularly!). If I have an eczema breakout, I reach for one of these oils to help ease it from the inside, and use an extra dose of rosehip oil on the outside morning and night. It usually does the trick and desensitises my skin.
An alternative to taking evening primrose oil supplements is Biona Organic’s Essential Daily Balance Oil. It’s organic, vegan and cold pressed, and has omega 3-6-9 in the correct 2:1:1 ratio (which is supposed to help with all sorts of body functions). As I don’t eat as much oily fish as I should, I drizzle it over salads, and also when I notice I haven’t been eating a balanced diet (i.e. plenty of avocados, almonds and flax seeds – sometimes you just don’t have time). It’s my back up during the winter months when skin is probably feeling quite stressed having been exposed to the perpetual cycle of hot and cold.
Have a go and see what you think. Let me know if you notice a difference after taking it for a few months. Why not start now, when the cold and wind doesn’t seem to be letting up any time soon. Good luck!
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