Facial Oil

We’ve seen them all over our Instagram feeds, Snapchat stories, and Youtube Skincare recommendations. A beauty routine staple for most, they’re worth the hype. Yes, I’m talking about facial oil. Whether you’re dealing with breakouts or concerned with anti-aging, dryness, redness, or even oiliness, chances are there’s a facial oil available that you (and your skin) will love. 

While our skin creates its own natural oils, there is a delicate balance that must be maintained or else all hell may break loose (cue dramatic music), specifically a 70% water and 30% oil ratio to remain balanced. For some, the skin over-produces oil, leaving us susceptible to breakouts. For others, and as we age, this process can also decrease, creating fine lines and wrinkles. By using a facial oil, you can help maintain this fragile balance by retaining moisture in the skin while also protecting it from free radicals, sun, and environmental toxins that cause the breakdown of collagen and damage the barrier function of the skin.

Another important thing to note when maintaining the skin’s proper balance is knowing how and when to use oil in your skincare routine. A general rule of thumb for skincare product application is to work from thinnest-to-thickest in regard to consistency. Hydration and moisturizer are not the same. Therefore, hydrating serums such as hyaluronic acid or glycerin that provide the skin with hydration should always be applied before moisturizer, as a moisturizer’s main job is to reduce transepidermal water loss by forming a barrier over the skin’s surface. While facial oils and moisturizers can provide superficial hydration (nourishing only the topmost layer), they can’t be compared to true hydrating heavyweights like hyaluronic acid, which binds water to skin cells.

I know it sounds tricky but hear me out. What happens when you pour oil into a cup of water? The water can never evaporate because the oil creates a barrier over it. Using oil and moisturizer on the skin following your cleansing routine works the same way. This is why facial oil can be used as the final step in the moisturizing part of your skincare regimen because it helps to retain what moisture is already present on the skin at the time of application.

Now that I’ve rambled us all into a biology course, it’s the perfect time to let you know that an important step in knowing which facial oil to choose is knowing your skin type. Need help finding out what skin type you have? Check out this post from Tatcha where they provide two ways you can determine your skin type at home.

Without further ado, *fist pump* let’s see these oils.