Why Face Oil is the best type of moisturisation for all ages, genders and skin types
Using a quality face oil you will deeply hydrate and nourish your skin leaving you with a radiant and clear complexion. You will not look oily!
Oil has created a bad name for itself in skincare because nobody wants to look oily. Little do you realise that your skin needs oil in order to stay healthy. Even products that claim they are oil free contain a type of (synthetic) compound that has similar properties to oil. Without some form of oil, our skin would dry out and crack leaving us vulnerable to infections.
Read more about what your skin health can tell you about your overall health in my previous article:
How our skin works
Skin is built up of three layers, epidermis, dermis and hypodermis. The epidermis is the outer layer and what we all see and fuss about. However the dermis, middle layer, is where all the action happens. The hypodermis, the lower layer, is mainly made up of fat for insulation.
To keep its surface (epidermis) nice and elastic and free of cracks (potential site for infection), the middle layer (dermis) provides moisturisation in two ways.
- Blood vessels in the dermis enable water to be drawn up to the epidermis which keeps our skin hydrated from inside.
- Our sebaceous gland produces its own oil, commonly known as sebum, which comes out of every hair follicles and lubricates our skin from the outside.
In an ideal world our skin would always be perfectly balanced by this natural mechanism and we would not feel the need to apply any additional moisturiser. However it is the exposed skin — mainly our hands and face that then to suffer. We do not for example feel the need to moisturise our bum cheeks.
There are only three types of moisturisers
Exposed skin is subject to unavoidable environmental factors such as dry weather, lots of sunshine, cold winds, water, the use of soaps and detergents as well as makeup. All of these take moisture away from the surface of the skin causing it to feel dry, or even crack.
Moisturisation
In order to compensate for the environmental factors that dry out our skin, we apply all sorts of moisturisation.
Now there is a lot of marketing BS around skincare products, which is not surprising considering it is a whopping $350bn dollar industry. If you ignore the marketing you will realise there are only three types of moisturisers.
Emollients (softening)
These penetrate the outer layer of the skin, filling in the cracks and keeping the surface of the skin moist, flexible and smooth. Sebum, the oil naturally produced by our skin, is an emollient. All moisturisers will contain some type of emollient but a ‘cream’ or ‘lotion’ will be thinned down, usually with water or alcohol, so it will be less effective at restoring the moisture in your skin.
Natural examples: almond oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil, any other plant oil
Humectants (water magnet)
These draw moisture to the surface of the skin from the deeper layers. They can be viewed as a double-edged sword because they enhance the skins own hydrating ability however over use can cause premature drying of the deeper younger layers of our skin as excessive moisture is evaporated on the surface.
Natural examples: honey, aloe Vera, seaweed, glycerine
Occlusive (barrier)
These act as a barrier on the surface of your skin preventing moisture evaporation (think of a lip balm). Environmental factors such as hot or cold weather, low humidity indoors or outdoors, chlorinated swimming pools, excessive use of soaps, can all cause our skin to lose too much moisture. In these cases, it is advisable to use a moisturiser which contains some occlusives. Remember that by nature they do not absorb into the skin so expect a very rich moisturiser.
Natural examples: beeswax, shea butter, any other nut butter
Why use face oil
Face oils are pure emollients — they soften the surface of the skin by filling all the tiny cracks. Many face oils are now branded as serums to avoid the oil stigma.
But I have oily skin, I don’t want to apply more oil!
Plant oils, which are the key ingredients in all quality face oils, are very easily absorbed by the surface of the skin because they are similar to sebum. They provide a simple moisturisation and do not add unwanted residues or toxins which need to be processed by your skin.
Using a face oil you are helping your skin do its housekeeping. When the surface of your skin is well hydrated it enables this large organ to focus on repairing itself with new skin cells. This is the key to healthy, radiant skin throughout your life.
Age
Naturally our skin will get dryer as we age due our sebum production slowing down. This means there is less oil on the surface causing more micro cracks. Many people will only start using face oil at this stage. However, using a face oil earlier in life can help protect your skin from premature ageing due to environmental factors.
Skin type
Many people say, but I have oily skin, I don’t want to apply more oil. There are two scenarios I’d like to address:
- Puberty. This is a very unique phase in our life in many aspects, but I’m referring to skin. The sudden change of our internal hormonal environment can cause our sebaceous glands to go haywire. As they suddenly produce excess amounts of oil the exit of the hair follicle gets blocked and a swelling and infection develops, which we call acne. More than ever, hygiene is important — this means hands off! And face oils may not be appropriate, depending on the severity of acne.
- Everything post puberty. Many adults are traumatised by their acne troubled teenage years and have bought into the idea of stripping their skin of all its natural oils. This leads to our sebaceous glands being in permanent overdrive trying desperately to keep our skin hydrated and healthy. Using a face oil can actually help control your sebum production.
Gender
Skin is skin. Other than facial hair, which can have its own skin related challenges, our skin is the same. It all benefits from good care. Most products, especially face oils, only differ in their scent not the core ingredients. So stop worrying about who the product is marketed too.
How to apply face oil
Facial oils are best applied straight after a shower or bath. The heat will have dilated your pores so they can more easily absorb the oil, and the water and soap you just used will most likely have dried out your skin, so the oil is much needed.
Pour a small amount of oil into the palm of your hand — somewhere between a pea and almond size. Rub your palms together so the oil is nice and warm, then apply to your face.
You may notice that the oil absorbs quicker in some areas than others — this is completely normal. Feel free to apply more oil to areas which feel dry and less to those which are naturally more greasy. If the oil has not completely absorbed in the required amount of time, use a tissue to pat off any excess.
Closing thoughts
Like any other organ our skin is at the mercy of how we decide to treat it. Just as we may choose to eat organic food to avoid potentially harmful substances, we should carefully consider what we are feeding our skin.
Pure plant oils are the most similar to our natural sebum, so surely they are the best!
