Face Oil Benefits For All Skin Types

The world of skincare is diverse with a tremendous range of products to choose from—and the options can be pretty overwhelming.

You may not have heard of face oils, but there are lots of them. In fact, the list of face oils goes on and on. It includes such common ones like argan oil, rosehip oil, jojoba oil, grapeseed oil - the list goes on.

Which face oil should you choose? How do you know which facial oils work best for your unique skin type? How do you integrate face oils into your routine for maximum effectiveness? 

In this article we’re giving you a simple breakdown of the top face oils so you can use them to cleanse, moisturize, soften, hydrate and protect your skin. So we’re making it easy for you with a simple breakdown of face oils and facial oil benefits, so that you can finally have the smooth, clear complexion you've always wanted.

What Is A Face Oil?

Every skin type can benefit from facial oils, including sensitive skin.

Oil ingredients are used in face oils because they provide the ability to make skin smoother and stronger.

Plant oils are rich in antioxidants, which are essential for neutralizing free radicals and reversing the damage caused by the sun's ultraviolet rays and environmental pollutants.

This formula combines all the best anti-aging ingredients to help fight wrinkles and improve your skin's strength, so it can appear firmer, more youthful, and more resilient.

Some of the most popular face oils in skincare include:

• Rosehip oil
• Jojoba oil
• Argan oil
• Grape seed oil
• Tea tree oil
• Avocado oil
• Marula oil
• Squalane oil
• Evening primrose oil

While face oil skincare products are often diluted with soothing ingredients and are considerably gentle on the skin, it’s important to note that some essential plant oils are extremely potent. Use plant oils with caution and do not apply them directly on the skin without a carrier oil, like argan oil, rosehip oil, jojoba oil, or grapeseed oil.

What Are The Benefits Of Face Oil?

Facial oils work alongside the skin’s natural oils to balance skin complexion, lock in moisture, and reduce the skin’s natural sebum production along with a multitude of other benefits.

There are three main types of facial oils: nourishing, hydrating, and conditioning. Nourishing oils help hydrate skin and boost its appearance by locking in moisture. Hydrating oils add moisture to the skin and provide a soft, smooth feeling. Conditioning oils contain anti-aging properties that help firm skin while reducing wrinkles and fine lines. A good oil should feel smooth on the skin, without greasy or sticky feeling.

Facial oils that contain essential fatty acids, like linoleic acid, linolenic acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid, provide us with the fundamental components that strengthen our skin’s outer, protective barrier. This skin barrier reinforces our cell walls, locking moisture into the skin and preventing water evaporation. 

Thanks to their rich composition of vitamin C and vitamin E (the quintessential moisturizing vitamins), facial oils are skin-hydrating powerhouses. 

Facial oil benefits for skin:

• Strengthens the skin barrier to trap moisture and hydrate the skin
• Supports soft and supple skin
• Evens skin complexion
• Regulates natural sebum (oil) production
• Reduces acne breakouts and blemishes (anti-inflammatory properties)
• Cleanses the skin (antibacterial properties)
• Boosts the skin’s resilience and elasticity
• Neutralizes free radicals to provide noticeable anti-aging effects
• Reduces fine lines and wrinkles
• Soothes sensitive skin
• Reduces the appearance of enlarged pores
• Treats rosacea, eczema, and skin rashes

To experience the incredible benefits of facial oils, it’s important that you first understand your specific skin type. Knowing your exact skin type will enable you to choose the best facial oil to fulfill your skin goals.

What Face Oil To Use Depending On Skin Type?

You can’t apply a one-size-fits-all approach to skincare. Everyone’s skin composition is unique, so a product that works for someone else might not work for you. With a better understanding of your specific skin type, you can refine your skincare routine and opt for face oils that complement your skin.

Best Face Oils for Dry Skin

Facial oils are ideal for dry skin, because these oils coat the skin and strengthen our skin barrier. This barrier traps moisture in the skin to prevent water loss. By permeating the skin’s surface, facial oils penetrate deep into our skin layers to provide favorable hydration.

• Argan oil
• Grapeseed oil
• Squalane
• Rosehip oil

Best Face Oils for Acne-Prone Skin

While some facial oils are infamous for clogging pores and causingmore acne breakouts, many facial oils are extremely effective for treating acne. Facial oils that have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties can reduce acne-related sebum production and cleanse toxins and bacteria.

• Tea tree oil
• Squalane oil
• Jojoba oil
• Evening primrose oil

Best Face Oils for Oily Skin

As counterintuitive as it sounds, face oils can workwonders for oily skin. If you have an oily skin type, the last thing you probably thought of adding to your skincare routine was more oil. Surprisingly, face oils cancomplement our skin’s natural oils by balancing oil production.

• Jojoba oil
• Tea tree oil
• Squalane oil
• Marula oil

Best Face Oils for Combination Skin

Facial oils are beneficial for regulating combination skin as many of them have natural anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. These ingredients are excellent for unclogging pores, removing acne-causing bacteria, reducing oil production, and hydrating the skin.

• Grape seed oil
• Tea tree oil
• Jojoba oil
• Marula oil  

When To Use Face Oils?

Using face oils helps your skin stay moisturized longer because they’re absorbed by your skin and are then stored in your skin's oil glands.

The humectant properties in facial oils make them the perfect sealing ingredients for moisturizers. They help keep your skin supple by making the surface feel smooth.

Humectants are substances that help us retain water and moisture in our skin.

One of the most popular skincare ingredients to protect against dryness is hyaluronic acid, which can attract and hold up to 1,000 times its weight in water. Dermatologists recommend applying a hydrating serum with hyaluronic acid under a face oil.

You can only apply your facial oil to your skin once the hyaluronic acid has been absorbed into your skin. This is a good tip to avoid your facial oil from clogging up your pores.

Oil isn't waterproof; it's designed to moisturize the skin.

You can apply a facial oil in the morning and at night. Unlike some other skincare ingredients like retinol, the facial oil ingredients shouldn’t increase your skin’s sensitivity to the sun or heat, so they’re safe to apply in the morning.

Depending on how concentrated your facial oil product is, applying 2 to 3 drops of oil is usually sufficient. After your skin has absorbed the facial oil, and you’re reveling at your noticeably radiant skin, you can apply a moisturizer for additional hydration. 

Applying your skincare routine from lightest weight (made of smaller molecules) to heaviest weight (made of larger molecules) is a good rule for layering skincare products. Small-molecule ingredients can’t penetrate through large-molecule ingredients to reach the skin, so small-molecule ingredients need to be layered first. Otherwise, large-molecule ingredients will sit on top of the skin, preventing overlying ingredients from reaching the skin.

The molecules that make up facial oils are larger than the molecules that make up many serum and acid skincare products, but facial oil molecules are smaller than the molecules that make up most creams and moisturizers. This means your face oil needs to be layered after serums, but before heavy creams or moisturizers.

As always, be sure to end your skincare routine with a layer of sunscreen (at least SPF 30). Allow your skin to fully absorb the sunscreen before applying a layer of make-up. While many skincare products strengthen the skin barrier to provide additional protection from sun damage, no skincare ingredient should completely replace sunscreen. 

With a seemingly endless variety of facial oils to choose from, and countless facial oil benefits to experience, these hydrating and soothing ingredients deserve a spot in your skincare routine. No matter your specific skin type or skincare concern, face oils can soften, strengthen and restore your skin health, while targeting and treating undesirable skin conditions. 

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