Oils in Skin Care Products
The best oils to use in skin care products depends upon your skin type because oils have many different skin benefits.
You need to know what issues your skin has before buying an oil to use in your skin care routine.
Oils are found in a variety of products including moisturizers and serums.
To find a good natural oil for your skin, look and see which fatty acids the oils contains.
Fatty acids impart many of the benefits that oils have in skin care.
Oils greatly affect how well your skin care routine will work by influencing absorption of other products in your skin care routine.
Oils hydrate the skin and provide protective barriers to keep water in the skin.
Oils can be used to treat:
Eczema
Psoriasis
Acne
Rosacea
The best oil for your skin depends on which of the 16 Baumann Skin Types you are.
What makes something an oil?
An oil is a substance that is liquid at room temperature and insoluble in water.
Oils are a type of lipid, which is basically a synonym for fat.
Lipids are defined as molecules that are dissolvable in nonpolar solvents.
They are hydrophobic, meaning they repel water.
There are three classes of lipids:
Triglycerides: Formed from glycerol and 3 fatty acids.
Phospholipids: Made of two fatty acids, a glycerol and a phosphate.
Sterols: Alcohols that are a subgroup of steroids with a hydroxyl group.
Oils are triglycerides that are fluid at room temperature.
Oils contain fatty acids.
Fatty acids can be classified as saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated based on their hydrogen-carbon bonds.
The benefits of oils in skin care depends on the type of fatty acids the oil contains.
Most popular oils in skin care
What are the best oils for skin care?
Oils vary in efficacy based on their fatty acid composition and the way they were processed, bottled and stored.
16 of the most commonly recommended oils in skin care:
Argan oil
Avocado oil
Borage seed oil
Coconut oil
Evening Primrose oil
Grape seed oil
Jojoba oil
Mineral oils
Olive oil
Rose oil
Rosehip oil
Sesame oil
Soybean oil
Sunflower oil
Tea tree oil
Tsubaki oil
how often should you use oils
How often should you put oil on your face?
Whether or not to use oil on your face depends upon your skin type.
Do not use oil on your face if you are an oily skin type.
If you are a dry skin type, you can use oil once or twice a day on your face.
Extremely dry skin types can use oil 3-4 times a day on the body if necessary, and 2-3 times on the face.
To find the best skin care regimen for your skin type, take the quiz and see get a custom skin care regimen.
Take the Quiz
Benefits
Oils can serve multiple purposes in skin care, but are used primarily in moisturizers.
They can work as occlusives, which create a barrier on skin that prevents dryness by preventing water from evaporating off of the skin.
They can help restore lipids and fatty acids to the skin barrier.
Fatty acids give them other qualities depending on the fatty acid.
Products containing linoleic acids are anti-inflammatory.
Oils with unsaturated fatty acids can lighten dark spots.
All oils smooth skin and help it glow.
Safety
Yes, oils are used in myriad skin care products as moisturizing ingredients and do not pose any particular risks if used appropriately.
Some oils such as lanolin or petrolatum have been observed to cause allergic reactions in some skin types.
To see which oils are right for your skin care regimen, click here to learn more about the Baumann Skin Types.
What are plant oils
What are plant oils?
Plant oils and extracts are among the most popular oils in skin care and are naturally sourced.
Plant oils and extracts are sometimes called of essential oils, check out our article on essential oils in skin care to learn more!
Several oils such as Argan oil are harvested by growers trying to give their local community better jobs, living conditions and pay.
As people grow increasingly environmentally conscious, they turn to skincare products with natural oils rather than synthetic occlusive ingredients like dimethicone and petrolatum.
Plant oils like extra virgin olive oil have been shown to have antioxidant properties.
Oils
Does using oil-based products lower natural oil production in skin?
There used to be a common misunderstanding that using oils on the skin reduced long term sebum production.
People stopped expressing this opinion in the early 2000’s, as those claims were shown to be false in multiple studies.
Using oils on the skin does not interfere or change the amount of secretions from the sebaceous gland,
It is commonly accepted that products like oil-based moisturizers do not inhibit natural facial oil production.
What does “oil-free” mean on skin care product labels?
You can tell if a product has oil in it by reading the skin care product label. The ingredient will have have the word “oil” in the INCI name.
Oil-free means that no ingredients with “oil” in the INCI name are in the product.
There are ingredients that are not classified as oils that make products feel greasy, and are not optimal for patients with oily skin. These may be found in products labeled as oil-free.
Oil-free products can be comedogenic.
In other words, products labeled “oil free” products still run the risk of feeling oily and clogging pores.
Oils on skin absorption
Moisturizing
Oils moisturizer the skin in several ways, they:
Provide occlusion
Prevent water evaporation form skin’s surface
Push other ingredients into the skin
Supply fatty acids that can help strengthen the skin barrier
Best oils in skin moisturizers?
The best oil to choose for your skin depends upon what skin issues you have.
There are multiple types of moisturizers that all work a little differently.
Many kinds of oils are considered great for skin care, but the product that’s best for you depends on your skin type.
