3 Myths About Facial Oils

Let's bust some myths.

while researching on facial oils, i came across several interesting articles relating to the topic. i resonate with some of the points being raised, but also skeptical regarding other points.

from "beauty trending now: everything you need to know about facial oils" published in huffington post:

source: droz.com

Myth: Oils cause breakouts

Fear of oils is widespread. They are deemed to make us fat and spotty. People think that facial oils or any potion with oil in it will make them break out. Stripping oils away is thought to prevent clogged pores, breakouts, and shiny zones.

Truth: Healthy fats and oils prevent skin damage and breakouts

Nuts, seeds, and olives provide oils that can actually help us to lose weight and keep it off -- these good oils are called Omegas (or fatty acids). The same apparent paradox goes for our skin. Skin needs its natural oils to keep lubricated and protected). If we strip the oil away, the skin will produce more oil to compensate. The resulting imbalances cause breakouts. Encouraging a healthy oil environment can help to repair damage and give your skin the moisturizing and hydrating support it needs.

i think it's very common for people to relate oils to breakouts because an excessive sebum production has been correlated with tendency to develop acne, but it's not as simple as that. breakouts can be an immune response to an allergen in the product you used. unless you're allergic to that oil, it will not cause a breakout. oils will strengthen the skin barrier by improving the overall condition of your skin (some oils even have anti inflammatory effects!), theoretically speaking it will prevent breakouts.

do oils clog pores? it takes two hands to clap - oils and dead skin cells (or pollutants). with proper exfoliation and cleansing, oils will not clog pores.

source: yourstrulyorganic.com 

Myth: Oil is oily

Fear of shine is one of the most common concerns with facial oils. The assumption is that only dry skins can tolerate oils and that anyone with combination or oily skin will look greasy enough to butter toast.

Truth: Facial oil is not oily

A good facial oil should sink right into the skin and not leave the surface looking for feeling oily. The secret is in the base oils. Avoid mineral oils at all costs. Look out for base oils (eg the first one to three that appear on the ingredients list) such as jojoba, meadowfoam, argan, apricot, or almond. Far from greasy, a good oil complex is the surest way to get dewy skin.

only certain oils are oily, typically it's those with saturated fatty acids. there're a whole range of oils that're high in unsaturated fatty acids such as rosehip seed oil, argan oil, and jojoba oil. some oils are known to sink into the skin so quickly, they're also called dry oils (even though the industry use dry oils to describe a blend that contains dimethicone). not only will they nourish your skin, you won't walk away with that shiny look you'd expect from oils.

source: perfectimage-llc.com

Myth: Oils are not efficient anti-agers

Even if you accept oils can be nice and perhaps beneficial, it is tempting to see them as the poor relation to creams crammed with antioxidant extracts, powerful peptides and other anti-agers.

Truth: Facial oils are chemical free antioxidant powerhouses

Let's start with some fundamentals. The best thing about facial oils is that they are not water-based. Water-based formulations (which means most creams and serums) require synthetic preservatives, stabilizers, absorbency enhancers and things that make a cream a cream. Oils don't need any of these, so what you will get is pure unadulterated botanical oils to which additional actives can be added to provide a bounty of nutrients, fatty acids, antioxidants or free radical scavengers.

while there are antioxidants in oils, i think most of the anti-aging effect of oils come from its superior ability in locking in moisture in order to maintain the youthful plumped skin. i'm not sure if the amount of antioxidants are sufficient to make any difference to our skin, neither can i be sure whether our skin utilize nutrients the way we expect them to.

IN A NUTSHELL
one thing for sure, oils are not the enemy we should avoid. we may have been led to believe that oils are bad because excessive sebum production has always been linked with acne, but correlation doesn't mean causation. obviously, something is causing the overly oily skin. by removing all oils from your regime, it's mainly addressing the symptom without treating the cause. it's only going to get worse over time (based on personal experience).

a good way to start is to incorporate additional oils into your existing cream just to give yourself some time to adjust to the notion of using oils. once you're comfortable with it, you can experiment with facial oils on their own.

TL;DR
a few drops of oil in your existing cream may surprise you pleasantly, contrary to popular belief.

more on oils next time!