In 1910, while working in France at a family-owned cosmetic laboratory – mainly for the development of perfumes – French chemist and scholar, Rene-Maurice Gattefosse, received a third degree burn on his hand and forearm. Looking for the nearest cooling agent to calm the severe burn, Gattefosse plunged his arm into a vat of lavender essential oil. The burning sensation slowly diminished and, as he…

The benefits of essential oils in skin care are wide and varied, making them ideally suited for use in many types of facial treatments and for numerous skin types and conditions. What must be clearly understood when selecting essential oils for professional skin care treatments is that not all essential oils are created equal; their quality varies greatly. Therefore, it is vital for professionals to…

Proper context is imperative when working with a client who is receiving chemotherapy for cancer. Skin care professionals are not treating cancer; they are working with the presenting conditions of a client and their skin. Presenting conditions can be caused by medical treatments for cancer, side effects from medications, or even nutritional status. According to Cancer Treatment Centers of America, at the time of diagnosis,…

Anti-cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy, target therapy, and radiotherapy, may cause common dermatological side effects, the most predominate of which is hyperpigmentation. Treatment-induced hyperpigmentation from chemotherapy is believed to directly cause a toxic effect on melanocytes. Hyperpigmentation may result from a response to stimuli such as hormones, irritation, and inflammation and may generally be caused by a weakened or disturbed immune system in oncology clients.