Our skin tells the story of our life. Born smooth and unmarked, it soon becomes a living diary etched with time. Childhood tumbles leave their trace, as do motherhood, illness, trauma, and joy. Fine lines form with smiles and sorrow. Stretch marks, scars, tattoos, and wrinkles all speak to the lives we’ve led, the bodies we’ve lived in, and the experiences we’ve weathered. Skin is memory made visible.
Culturally, skin is loaded with meaning. We speak of developing “a thick skin” to protect ourselves from criticism, or how something “gets under our skin” when it affects us deeply. To “have skin in the game” is to risk something personal. Skin is a symbol of vulnerability and strength, boundary and belonging. It is our frontline with the world — an energetic and physical barrier that communicates who we are.
Beneath the metaphor, the skin is also our largest organ. It weighs about 8 pounds and spans roughly 21 square feet. It hosts immune cells, processes sensation, regulates temperature, and allows for the absorption of nutrients and oils. It is made of three layers: the epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. And though we often think of it as merely surface, it is an active participant in our physical and emotional health.
Skin is also marked ritually. In many cultures, tattooing is more than body art; it is spiritual, ancestral, and transformative. From the Māori to modern expressions of identity, skin becomes a canvas for story and symbol. It is where we declare our affiliations, our grief, our love, our rebellion.
In the symbolic view, skin becomes more than flesh. It is the medium through which we interact with the world and express our inner self. It is a site of transformation — where wounds heal, marks are made, and healing can occur.
Plant Gifts For The Skin
Plants speak to us in many dialects. Fixed oils, pressed from seeds, nuts, and kernels, are rich with fatty acids and nutrients that feed the skin, calm inflammation, and carry the more volatile essences. They are steady, grounding oils that remain stable, and in their constancy, they create a foundation for healing.
Essential oils are their opposite in nature — volatile, light, and highly aromatic. They are captured most often by steam distillation, drawing out the plant’s breath, which evaporates on the air and enters through both skin and nose. Through olfaction, these aromatic molecules pass directly to the limbic system of the brain, awakening memory, stirring emotion, and opening pathways of imagination.
Fixed oils, pressed from seeds, nuts, and kernels, are rich with fatty acids and nutrients that feed the skin, calm inflammation, and carry the more volatile essences.
Absolutes, coaxed from delicate blossoms like jasmine or rose through solvent extraction, preserve what cannot survive distillation. They carry the dense perfume and soul of flowers, and in their intensity, speak to states of passion, devotion, grief, and joy.
When applied to the skin, these plant gifts move beyond surface. They permeate the body’s boundary, flow into the bloodstream, and extend into the subtle body, altering mood, memory, and energy. Through scent, they bypass reason, weaving themselves into the unconscious where they shape the stories we tell ourselves about who we are. In this way, they are both chemistry and poetry, both medicine and myth.
Different oils touch different aspects of the self. Fixed onion oil soothes shingles. Fixed tomato seed oil calms irritated skin and acne. Fixed quinoa seed oil encourages collagen production and renewal. White birch essential oil disrupts pain signals. Petitgrain essential oil balances excessive perspiration. Neroli essential oil softens stretch marks and eases emotional strain.
Symbolically, spinach absolute or lime essential oil blended with fixed guava oil and applied to the breastbone can nurture the heart chakra. Vetiver essential oil on the soles of the feet grounds scattered energy. White lily absolute evokes Hera, fixed olive oil resonates with Athena, and pink damask rose absolute channels Venus.
Myrrh absolute offers solace in grief, juhi absolute supports meditation and origin memory, and fixed cherry oil stirs unbridled joy. Each plant becomes a teacher, lending its qualities to our own inner landscape.
The skin is not just a boundary; it is a living record of your life and a channel through which nature speaks. When you engage with fixed oils, absolutes, and essential oils through the skin and through scent, you enter a layered dialogue — between body and plant, past and present, self and story. In this way, the skin becomes a place not only of protection, but of remembrance and expression of inner wellbeing.
Blends To Support The Skin And The Self
NOT UNDER MY SKIN BLEND
1 part fixed raspberry seed oil
1 part fixed cucumber seed oil
This blend creates a subtle barrier, protecting you from absorbing external emotional turbulence. Fixed raspberry seed oil helps maintain strong energetic boundaries for the empath, while fixed cucumber seed oil refreshes the spirit, especially when you feel overwhelmed, exhausted, or energetically raw. Together, they offer a sense of safety, restoration, and clear emotional space. Apply to the heart chakra in a counter clockwise circle.
MORE THAN SKIN-DEEP BLEND
1 tablespoon fixed sweet almond oil
1 tablespoon fixed papaya seed oil
6 drops narcissus absolute
This trio supports graceful aging and the reclamation of inner beauty. Fixed sweet almond oil helps release fear around aging. Fixed papaya seed oil transforms sexual energy into poise and inner radiance. Narcissus absolute aids in letting go of attachment to surface identity, encouraging a deeper connection with soul and essence. This blend honors beauty as something lived, not worn. Apply to the second chakra in a recumbent moon shape.
Candice Covington is a certified aromatherapist, massage therapist, healing arts master, and energy worker. A former aromatherapist for the Chopra Center, she is the founder of Divine Archetypes, an essential oil and flower essence company, and the author of Floral Absolutes: Aromatic Healing for the Physical, Emotional and Energy Body (2025, Inner Traditions.)
Find holistic Aromatherapy Resources in the Spirit of Change online Alternative Health Directory.
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