The Ultimate Guide To Face Oils

Why Face Oils Should Be Incorporated In Your Daily Routing

The two questions we receive most often about face oil are: “But will it make me break out?” and “But do I really need another product?” The answer to both of these, in almost every instance, is that not only will face oil not cause you to breakout; it will absolutely change your life—for the better. This is true regardless of skin type!

Regardless of your skin type, face oils are beneficial for everyone and should be incorporated into your daily skincare routine. Oftentimes, you won’t need as much makeup because your complexion will be more even and glowing. You may also find that you don’t need as many other skincare products due to the fact that face oils can serve multiple purposes. They have a naturally comforting texture and are quickly absorbed by the skin without any additional ingredients needed.

The feel of a product is important—if you don’t enjoy the texture, you’re likely not to use it. And why would you buy it again? (Cosmetic formulators often spend large sums perfecting texture with ingredients that are unnecessary and sometimes harmful.)

Face oils have withstood the test of time, being used in various forms for millennia by people all over the world. If it didn’t work, it wouldn’t have lasted that long. Slathering face oil on clients is a common practice among makeup artists because they want their client to look fantastic when they leave their chair. Slowly but surely, word has spread about this amazing product.(Sophia Loren even credits her lifetime of olive oil baths as one of the reasons her skin remains so beautiful in her 80s.)

We test all of our products (they have to pass both our standards for clean beauty and our editors’ testing on bathroom counters and in makeup bags) at 100% Pure so that you can be sure you’re only getting the best of the best. Not to mention, we love them too! Here’s why, along with a list of some of our top picks according to skin type.

Face Oils Benefits

Instant Results

If you have never before tried face oil, you will see significant advantages immediately. Most moisturizers on the market today rely heavily on waxes to help lock moisture inside the skin. However, this practice can also inadvertently seal out some of the beneficial water and oils that are part of the original formula. Face oil presents a much different solution in that it all sinks right into your skin for immediate results. Moreover, most oils available comprise advantageous ingredients such as antioxidants, polyphenols, and omega fatty acids.

Firms and Brightens Tired Skin

The miracle oil deeply nourishes skin and instantly plumps lines, thanks to its natural retinol alternative bakuchiol. It can be used day or night, absorbs instantly, and only a few drops are needed to keep your skin looking healthy for hours.

Multipurpose

Face oil is an all-around amazing product with multiple purposes: you can use it for basic moisturization, to touch up your makeup, or even as a makeup remover. If you’re in a pinch, face oil can also be used as frizz fighter, cuticle and under-eye cream, and lip balm. Just avoid using it on the T-zone unless you have very dry skin.

Our Favorite

If your skin is causing you trouble with dryness, oiliness, or breakouts, this cocktail of 22 active botanicals will restore your skin better than anything else on the market. Our beauty experts, both young and old(er), all agree that this product is amazing. It’s loaded with phytonutrients and minerals that balance the skin, revitalize tired cells, soothe irritations, and give your complexion an incredible boost of energy.

Good for Both Dry and Oily Skin

Face oils can repair damage to your skin, getting rid of lines and making it smoother. Oils are also beneficial for non-dry skin types. Most natural plant oils won’t clog pores like synthetic or mineral oils will. If you use products that tend to dry out your skin, such as Retin-A or Accutane, using an oil can help prevent further damage.

Multipurpose

A deeply hydrating and nourishing organic botanical cream doubles as an eye cream and cuticle treatment, leaving your skin supple and radiant.

Amazing Results

Although plenty of conventional beauty companies have begun to sell face oils, we prefer the all-natural variety for a couple reasons. Firstly, there’s no need to improve upon perfection—often, adding extra ingredients just lessens the potency of the base oils. Secondly, many clean face oil producers have been in the business longer than their bigger counterparts and know exactly what works best on skin.

For Acne and Wrinkles

A good treatment contains retinoic acid, which is extracted from rose hips. Retinoids are derivatives of vitamin A, and they have been shown to have a multitude of benefits for skin health, including reducing the appearance of lines and wrinkles, stimulating cellular turnover, unclogging pores so they appear smaller and less visible, and evening out skin tone.

For Sun Damage

Antioxidants are excellent for staving off UV damage—which can manifests as premature lines, blemishes, and dullness. This particular potent formula contains an array of replenishing ingredients (including hydroxytyrosol, a very powerful antioxidant derived from olive trees). It absorbs immediately and leaves behind a glowing sheen.

Bonus: Make-Up Touch

If it’s 4 pm and you’re looking tired, before you add any makeup, smooth a tiny bit of face oil between your fingers and pat it on over cheeks, under eyes, over lips, at the temples and forehead.

Use a small amount of oil, you can always add more later. Also, under the eyes is a good place to smooth away any smudged mascara or liner—but keep in mind that it might cause your eye makeup to run, so be careful not to get any oil on your actual eye makeup.

Allow the oil to seep in for 60 seconds. Next, add a little bit of lip color, then analyze your appearance and see if anything else is needed like concealer or cheek color. By following these steps, you will end up using less makeup overall but your skin will appear healthy and glowing.

A makeup artist we know creates mini bottles of face oil for her clients to bring with them in their evening bags, so they can touch-up during the event. All you usually need is lip color and the oil.