It seems that almost every time I turn around, a client is telling me how they use a face oil to hydrate their skin and combat anti-aging.
I'm not sure where the messaging came from, but the truth is - this couldn't be farther from the truth.
Oils are anhydrous - meaning they don't contain any water.
Typically, oils are made up of a blend of oils, waxes and maybe some esters. The claims that these types of ingredients would increase hydration just doesn't make any sense.
When you get to the science of it, most facial oil formulations are causing inflammation and therefore, majorly impairing your skin's barrier (you know, the part of your skin that not only helps you look beautiful, but also helps to keep you safe and healthy!).
And damage to the skin barrier is going to attribute to faster aging and other skin conditions.
So, essentially, many oil formulations (but not all - keep reading!) are doing exactly the opposite of what you want them to do.
But why?
Well, friends. It's rather simple from a skin perspective.
Our skin requires three elements to maintain the balance of our skin barrier.
1. Fatty Acids - think hyaluronic acid
3. Ceramides
If a product or a combination of products (aka a skincare routine!) lacks these elements or you add too much of any one of the elements, you will find the skin barrier breaking down because the ratio of these three elements has been altered.
When you change the ratio, you change the skin's natural function and cause it to act accordingly - which means you will see a breakdown in the way it works.
Think about it this way. You need food, water and sleep in order to properly function as a human being. And you need them in certain amounts.
If you alter any one of those, things start going awry.
You could try to then throw exercise in (which I hear is supposed to be good for you!), but if everything else is off, exercise probably isn't going to help.
It's essentially the same thing that's happening here.
The benefits that some oils could have will be null and void due to the damage they're causing to your skin's barrier.
And, again, remember - oils are anhydrous.
Oils nourish and can provide certain "moisturizing"/soothing benefits when used in the right way and if they're the right oil, especially something like Jojoba Oil (which is molecularly almost identical to our skin's natural oil), Hemp Seed, Grapeseed, Vitamin E or a combination of these.
They are an occlusive. They can help to lock in moisture.
However, they cannot hydrate your skin on their own.
How to properly use oils
Add an appropriate jojoba based facial oil to your already balanced skincare routine as the very last step to lock in the moisture from your other hydrating skincare products.
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