Oils for Use on Face. How to Match Oil to Suit Your Skin Type?

Hair care isn't the only thing that natural oils are cut out for. The oils largely benefit the skin and are our allies when fighting for flawless complexion. Which oils are worthing adding to your face care? Obviously, it depends on your skin type and its needs. Why don't you check it and use their great potential?

Moisturizer, cream, serum, gel, ointment, cleanser - each of these face products can be replaced by one natural oil presented by nature. If you match it to suit your skin type and needs, be sure that you're gonna totally turn your looks around.

It's time for skin care in tune with nature!

Facial care with oils

Oil treatments enjoy great popularity and you can actually use them for the skin too. Face oil treatments are the natural way to take care of skin, effortlessly replacing a moisturizer, day and night creams. Well-suited oils bring back the sufficient skin's moisture, normalize acid-base balance, rebuild hydro-lipid layer and have so many amazing qualities we don't even know about.

Of course, the best oils for face care must be cold-pressed, unrefined and organic. If they come from a natural, reliable source, like the ones designed by Nanoil, we can be certain that the effect will be far better and the oils will be much safer, even if the skin is sensitive.

Are oils worth applying to face skin?

Without doubts, they are! Natural oils surely top readymade products because they:

• improve skin's moisture in a natural and durable way
• don’t contain any potentially harmful substances
• are suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin
• are rich in fatty acids and antioxidants essential for skin
• are versatile and can be used in a variety of ways

Obviously, you must stay reasonable - oils are effective when you match them to suit the needs of your skin. A wrongly-chosen oil is likely to clog and weigh it down. Luckily, it's a very rare situation.

How to choose the best oil for face care?

Over 100 vegetable oils are used in the cosmetic industry. How do you know which natural oil to choose for your skin care routine? The content of polyunsaturated omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids is the key criterion when making the choice. The amount of EFAs in an oil tells us which skin type is a particular oil suitable for.

The basic round-up says there are:

• drying oils (over 50% polyunsaturated acids) - the most lightweight, fastest-absorbed oils, not leaving a greasy film on the skin. Suitable for oily and problematic skin; it works as an oil-based make-up primer.
• semi-drying oils (20%-50% polyunsaturated acids) - have a lightweight consistency and shouldn't weigh down skin yet might clog oily skin. Recommended for normal and combination skin types.
• non-drying oils (below 20% polyunsaturated acids) - their consistency is quite heavy, they take longer to penetrate skin, may clog the pores and leave a greasy layer. They make good match with dry and aging skin which isn't prone to comedones.

Oils suited to oily and problematic skin

In accordance with the above mentioned, drying oils are ideal for greasy and acne-prone skin. These dry oils have the right consistency and, thanks to good absorption, they neither clog skin pores nor disturb the balance of sebum glands. Which oils should you pick for oily, problematic, acne skin?

• Jojoba oil - unrefined and cold-pressed jojoba oil has similar structure to human sebum protecting, among others, from the loss of moisture and other outside elements. Thanks to that, it is absorbed better than some moisturizers. It is truly effective in acne skin care owing to its antibacterial, soothing and cleansing effect. It brings relief to problematic skin.

• Rose oil - natural oil extracted from the flowers of wild rose is mostly recommended for mature skin but it works for treating broken blood vessels too. In small quantities, it also benefits problematic complexion and skin prone to irritations and redness. It is a source of vitamin C, has a brightening, antioxidative and soothing effect. The oil reinforces the skin's natural protective barrier, promotes repair and reduces redness.
• Grapeseed oil - rich in antioxidants, grape oil is a treasure trove of unsaturated fatty acids which make up 90% of its composition. This is what makes the oil stand out among other oils, making it a remedy for many skin problems such as oiliness, blackheads, acne. It is said to be one of the most nourishing oils owing to the diversity of vitamins (A, E, D and K).
• Linseed oil - its characteristic feature is a brilliant proportion of omega-3 and omega-6 acids, as well as the content of rarely-occurring omega-9 acid. The oil is well-absorbed so it is suitable for oily and acne skin. It has anti-inflammatory effect, accelerates healing, brings relief and restores sebum balance. 

Oils suited to normal and combination skin

Semi-drying oils make the best choice for normal skin which doesn’t face to many problems or combination skin which is half-dry and half-oily. Their consistency lets them work in inner skin structures as well as on the surface (no clogging or weighing down). Which oils should you test on normal or combination skin?

• Argan oil - it is the most popular and definitely the highest-rated beauty oil, rich in strong antioxidant: vitamin E. It has a wide range of uses for combination skin and for skin which is hard to classify. It doesn't only protect and boost moisture but also firms up, smoothes wrinkles, reduces acne, soothes irritations, revitalizes and rebeautifes skin.

• Almond oil - unrefined sweet almond oil is tempting both because of amazing scent and spectacular effect. It is suitable for normal and combination skin, perfectly absorbed, not leaving a greasy layer. It works like a quality anti-wrinkle cream, effectively adding elasticity, smoothing and enhancing skin. In addition, it nourishes and makes sure there's enough moisture.

• Apricot oil - it is a natural emollient extracted from the seeds of apricot; its lightweight consistency lets you use the oil for normal and combination skin types without any limits. It has lots of vitamins thanks to which it delivers nutrients, delays aging process, enhances skin repair and ensures velvet-like softness.
• Cottonseed oil - a fine-quality cottonseed oil is essential mostly for combination skin prone to dryness and first signs of aging e.g. fine lines. It gives lots of moisture, repairs, has antiinflammatory effect and mostly improves elasticity, not clogging skin pores.

Oils suited to dry and aging skin

If your skin is very dry or mature, turn to non-drying oils which are the thickest and have a much heavier consistency, forming a non-porous protective layer and effectively locking water in. Which oils will enhance dry and aging skin?

• Avocado oil - a powerful ingredient in many natural cosmetics designed for dry skin because of being one of the best moisturizers among oils. It is a popular substance thanks to the protective effect (e.g. it shields against free radicals, premature aging), anti-wrinkle effect and making skin supple. Regular application of avocado oil to skin enhances its appearance.

• Macadamia oil - natural macadamia nut oil is a perfect cosmetic for aging, fatigued skin. It is a brilliant skin care oil smoothing, softening, protecting against the sun, nourishing, upgrading moisture, having antibacterial and regenerating effect. This oil guarantees diversity of effects.

• Coconut oil - a really popular oil having a stunning aroma provided it's unrefined and cold-pressed. It boosts skin's moisture, locks water in, softens and smoothes out. Too bad, it is quite challenging to apply coconut oil to face skin because of its naturally thick buttery consistency.
• Olive oil - on a daily basis, it seems to be more popular as an ingredient for cooking. Olive oil is an incredible source of nutrients for the skin too. It helps repair skin encouraging the epidermis to rebuild itself. It prevents aging and dehydration so the skin is moisturised, nourished and elastic all the time.

How to apply oils to the face skin?

Knowing which oil to choose for use on facial skin matters a lot and lets you avoid some skin care fails. A well-suited oil will moisturize the skin yet not leave it greasy. Besides all that, you must also know how to actually apply oils to skin so as to use 100% of their potential and power.

There are lots of ways to do it. OCM, or oil cleansing method is one of them - use oils instead of make-up removers and micellar water in order to get rid of all impurities. Easily and naturally. Besides that, oils should be used after cleansing as a skin-conditioning cosmetic - as replacement for a cream, before applying a moisturizer or serum, as an ingredient in a DIY facial treatment. If your oil is lightweight and drying, use it as an effective make-up primer which will both nurture your skin and set make-up to last long. Oils for a face massage is another great idea to make use of them: it increases blood flow, upgrades your skin care, adds elasticity and enhances the face shape.