Face Oil Skincare Benefits
Face oils often receive negative feedback due to the common belief that they can make your skin excessively shiny, clog pores, or lead to breakouts—but that’s not always true.
When applied properly, face oils can offer significant benefits to your skin. Using a nourishing moisturizer is an essential part of both your morning and evening skincare routines. However, moisturizing your skin can extend beyond just creams. If you haven't yet added facial oils to your skincare routine, you’re truly missing out.
For centuries, oils have been used to moisturize both hair and skin, yet you may still be uncertain about incorporating face oils into your personal skincare routine.
What Are Face Oils?
Face oils serve dual purposes as emollients, which add moisture to the skin, and as occlusives, which help lock in that moisture. Generally composed of a distinctive blend of essential nutrients and fatty acids that provide numerous advantages for your skin, including moisture retention, softening, and balancing effects. Depending on the specific facial oil, you may also enjoy anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits.
Benefits of Face Oils
Face oils are fantastic multitaskers: they not only add an extra layer of protection to retain and lock in moisture but also address many skin concerns. The benefits of adding face oil to your skincare routine include:
- Boosting collagen production to minimize the appearance of wrinkles.
- Protecting the skin from free radicals.
- Balancing your skin tone and correcting uneven pigmentation.
- Increasing brightness and delivering a radiant glow to mature or dull skin.
- Achieving a dewy finish when applied before or with foundation.
While these advantages generally apply, it's important to note that each type of face oil has its own unique properties.
Hydration
Face oils are excellent for replenishing the skin's natural oils while providing deep hydration. This helps prevent tightness, flakiness, and discomfort.
Skin Barrier
Face oils support a robust skin barrier, maintaining a healthy balance of oil and water. This can reduce the likelihood of dullness, redness, and dehydration.
Anti-Aging
Rich in antioxidants and essential fatty acids, face oils can effectively address signs of aging, including fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin.
Calming
Face oils can alleviate dry skin and its associated sensitivity. Oils like sunflower seed and jojoba can soothe the skin and diminish the appearance of inflammation.
Acne
Certain face oils, such as coconut oil, possess anti-inflammatory properties that can aid in treating acne.
Dry Skin
Face oils are perfect for if you suffer from dry skin due to the lack of natural oils in your skin, that can cause issues like flakiness, redness, roughness, or chapping, especially in colder climates. These oils can help replenish your skin's naturals oil and provide relief for dry skin types and the sensitivity that often comes with them. By locking in moisture, face oils help to support the skin barrier and help prevent transepidermal water loss, which can exacerbate dryness, help nourish and moisturize you skin leaving it healthy, soft, supple and radiant.
Oily & Acne Prone Skin
It might seem surprising, but face oil can benefit those with oily and acne prone skin as well. Many people with oily or acne prone skin often think face oils is not for them. However, face oil can actually help to balance out your skin's natural oil production, hence reducing excess oil production.
When the skin barrier becomes dry, your body tends to produce more oil, or sebum, as a compensatory measure, which can lead to clogged pores. By using face oil, you help keep the skin barrier hydrated, creating a balancing effect that curbs excessive oil production.
Aging Skin
As we age, the signs of aging become increasingly evident—collagen production diminishes, years of sun exposure can lead to dark spots or fine lines, and our skin may lose some of its natural elasticity.
Face oils help diminish the visibility of lines and hyperpigmentation, while their rejuvenating properties promote a firmer and more supple appearance. When absorbed into the skin's moisture barrier, face oils can make your complexion appear plumper and smoother, contributing to a more youthful look. Face oils can be exceptionally nourishing for mature skin.
Combination Skin
Caring for combination skin can be challenging, as it involves addressing the needs of both dry and oily zones on the face. The ideal facial oils for this skin type are lightweight and quickly absorbed, delivering essential hydration while avoiding heaviness or greasiness. You need a face oil that can moisturize effectively without clogging pores.
How to Incorporate Face Oil into Your Routine
There are various ways to add face oil into your daily skincare routine.
You can apply face oil alone or mix it with other skincare products like serums or moisturizers.
- Face oils can be used alone as a substitute for your regular moisturizer, gently patting the oil into your skin after cleansing and toning
- You can apply face oil after using your favorite serum to help lock on all the good active ingredients
- You can apply face oil after using your moisturizer by patting on top of the skin to lock in moisture.