Fearful Of Cosmetic Oils? Think Again.

For most of my career, oil in skincare has been frowned upon. Most of us are not accustomed to the use of oils on our skin, especially on our faces for fear of breakout. However, in the last few years, face oils and cleansing oils have made their way to the forefront of clean beauty.

Cosmetic oils have been overlooked, underutilized and frankly, underestimated in regard to the benefit they can potentially provide.

Why might that be? Two things come to mind:

• The cost of oil is substantially higher than a water-based formulation (brands are for the bottom line first).

• Additionally, if one doesn’t possess extensive knowledge in the way in which the skin functions and responds, it would be incredibly difficult to create a well-rounded, relatable, purpose driven, layered marketing campaign.

Time and experience are required in knowing the intricacies and properties oils possess. Promoting the use of oil requires a level of care, education, thus expectation provided to the consumer.

oils, like all other ingredients, measure on the ph scale; leaning towards acidic or alkaline.

This being the case, could a line offering a variety of well thought out, intentional oils be a potential fit for all skin types? Could oils offer additional benefits to the skin outside of barrier support? Could certain oils that measure as highly acidic act as corrective oils? For example,

Raspberry seed oil reads an average of 2.5 on the ph scale, making it highly acidic.

Additionally, raspberry seed oil contains a high content of vitamin A which can assist in preventing breakout and healing a variety of skin infections.

On the contrary, jojoba seed oil reads an average of 5 on the pH scale, making it a more alkaline oil. It has proven to assist in wound healing, as well as successfully treating skin disorders such as acne and psoriasis. Furthermore, it is antimicrobial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and its transdermal (topical that can be systematically absorbed and not just penetrate the skins surface).

In short, oils offer promising capabilities. I encourage you to keep an open mind in regard to what they might offer your skin.