What is Frankincense? Frankincense is an oleo gum resin that has been used for thousands of years in religious ceremony, partly due to its calming effect on Central Nervous System.
Frankincense actually contains volatile oil a.k.a. essential oil, oil soluble resin and water-soluble gum.
There are quite a few species of Frankincense. The most popular and familiar in the west are Boswellia carterri and Boswellia sacra.
Anti-inflammatory cancer-fighting, skin toning and a myriad of other therapeutic compounds are found in Frankincense. Most of these therapeutic actions can be attributed to the resin acids found in the resin portion of Frankincense. The most prominent is the Boswellic acids.
Boswellic acids in Frankincense, lately researched and promoted heavily for its anti-cancer properties cannot be distilled due to its heavy molecule and are not naturally present in the distilled essential oils. It is present in the resin which is only oil soluble.
I can go on forever about Frankincense’s many wonderful therapeutic properties, such as anti-inflammatory, immunostimulant, calming to CNS, analgesic, just to name a few. For this blog, we are going to focus on its skin benefits in three forms. Due to its unique chemical composition, this ole resin gum is suitable for all skin type, especially sensitive skin, mature skin, rosacea and eczema due to its skin healing and regenerating properties.
Essential Oil
Essential oil of Frankincense is hydro distilled and contains mainly α-pinene, limonene(d), β-myrcene, sabinene and β-caryophyllene. As I mentioned earlier, it does not contain Boswellic acids.
From the chemical components above, we can see that the oil is beneficial for the skin due to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and skin healing properties.
You can purchase high quality Frankincense essential oil from Mountain Rose Herbs.
How do you use it? Add 4-5 drops up to 9 drops to one ounce of carrier oil, such as sweet almond oil or your favorite unscented lotion or cream, stir really well to make sure that they are mixed in evenly.
Hydrosol
Frankincense hydrosol is hydro distilled from the whole oleo-gum-resin. This hydrosol is dry and smells heavenly Frankincense. It works well to heal skin irritations, itchiness and minor sunburns. Using it consistently results in brighter skin and even skin tone. It is excellent for summer heat and humidity.
What is hydrosol? I wrote a post about it.
Do you know you can make your own fresh hydrosol on your stove top with a small still? Homemade hydrosol retains its vibrancy and potency when it is used within short window of being distilled.
Of course, there is no shame of buying hydrosol 🙂 You can purchase a high-quality hydrosol.
Spray liberally on your clean face and feel the instant finer and smoother complexion.
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Macerated Oil
When you make your own infused oil, you get the full spectrum benefits, including the boswellic acids that are not present in the essential oil. Evidence shows that boswellic acids appear to be the best at inhibiting the enzymes responsible for inflammation. AKBA, in particular, has shown strong antimicrobial, antitumor and immunomodulatory activities. Studies have even shown that these compounds can reverse the effects of photoaging on skin, literally reversing part of the aging process. So, you want to make your own infused oil. When you make your own, you save money and are sure that you have the best quality oil no money can buy. AND it’s super easy to make. No special equipment needed, just a pot, a mason jar/pyrex glass, olive oil and resin. You can use any other carrier oil, such as sweet almond oil, sunflower seed oil & grapeseed oil.
You can purchase high quality Frankincense resin and make your own infused oil. You can use it as it is on your skin or use as a carrier oil for any essential oils.
I made a video for you to show how to make your own infused oil. In the video, I only used 20gram of resin and 40gram of olive oil for a small batch. You want to use it up within 6 months, because it loses potency over time like anything else, though properly stored, it will last 12 months. I like to refrigerate it.
Please make sure the water is just barely simmering. High heat will turn carrier oil rancid quickly.
Leave your comment below and let me know if you have any questions.
Referrences:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6747466/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6005567/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3201914/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19918712/
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