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Do facial oils really work for your skin? I’ll be taking you through all the reasons why they’re a necessary step in every routine and how you can find the top face oils for every skin type.
As I’ve gotten slightly older I’ve noticed my skin has started to dry out which has led me to incorporating oils into my skincare routine.
Even though my skin is drier now, I still get oily around the warmer months but does this stop me using oils? Absolutely not.
Today I’ll be talking about whether you should be using oils in your skincare routine, sharing some of the benefits of using facial oils and topping it off with some of my top face oils for every skin type.
Should I use a facial oil?
The short answer is definitely, but there’s also a slightly longer answer.
Facial oils are great but not all are created equally.
In general, oils are great at supporting a healthy and balanced skin barrier. They contain essential nutrients that all of our skin needs to help it function properly.
Oils are an emollient which means that they don’t penetrate the skin deeply like a serum would, instead they sit more on the surface of the skin.
While they don’t have the intense moisturising properties, they help form that protective layer on the skin that helps other skincare products underneath get absorbed by your skin more effectively.
It’s important to remember that not all oils are great for your face. You want to avoid any highly fragranced oils that you’ll normally find under the name ‘essential oils’—these can be really irritating on your skin.
VOLUMES OF BEAUTY TIP:Coconut oil is an ingredient that definitely should not go on your face. It has a really large molecule size so it sits on your face for hours and can clog your pores—leading to breakouts
When should I apply face oil in my skincare routine?
Oils are best used as the very last step of your skincare routine. Because they form that layer, if you put any products on top of them they simply wouldn’t be able to penetrate through the thick oil.
Some people can get confused over whether you should apply facial before or after your moisturiser—it should always be after.
VOLUMES OF BEAUTY TIP: A good tip is to remember to apply your skincare products from lightest to heaviest to ensure that your skin is drinking up all of the great ingredients you’re putting on it
Can facial oil replace serum?
Facial oil should not be replacing any of the skincare products you’re currently using, it’s a product that sits on the top of your other skincare products.
After putting on your facial oil, you can follow with makeup primer and the rest of your makeup. Or use it as the final step of your routine before you go to bed.
So you can continue to use your serum as you normally would!
How to apply facial oil
You don’t need to use too much oil, I use about 4-5 drops that I pat into my face straight after applying my moisturiser.
It’s also a great idea to use oils over other hydrating ingredients like Hyaluronic Acid so you’re providing your skin with the perfect mix of water and oils.
If you’re wondering where you should apply facial oil, you can apply it everywhere. You don’t even have to limit it to your face, many oils are also great to use on your body—and even in your hair.
The benefits of facial oils
You may be wondering what the purpose of facial oil is and what facial oil can do for your skin. Here are some of my favourite benefits:
- Smoother and softer skin
- Increase the effectiveness of other hydrating skincare products
- Helps to keep your natural skin barrier strong
- Creates a layer to keep your skincare products locked into your skin
- Certain formulas can help to face acne scars
What facial oil is best for my skin type?
All skin types can use facial oils, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all. You’ll want to choose the right oil for your skin type. The oils that work for super dry skin definitely won’t work for people who are more on the oily side.
Keep on reading to hear about the top face oils for every skin type.
Facial oils for oily skin
If you’ve got oily skin you’re going to want an oil that is thin and lightweight but still provides your skin with that extra barrier of protection. Here are my picks for facial oils that don’t feel thick and greasy.
Beauty Pie Super Healthy Skin Amazing Sleep Oil
A super lightweight serum that soothes and hydrates the skin. It sinks right in and is extremely breathable so people with oily skin won’t find it to be too thick and greasy.
Versed Sunday Morning Antioxidant Oil-Serum
If you have oily skin and want the benefits of an oil in a product that feels like a serum, this is the product for you. It feels like nothing on the skin!
Herbivore Lapis Facial Oil
I don’t usually talk about high-end products, but boy is this oil worth the price tag. This oil has a mix of powerful ingredients, most notably blue tansy which is an antioxidant that also helps to reduce redness and irritation.
Facial oils for dry skin
When you have dry skin you just want the most nourishing oils, here are some of my picks that are going to deliver intense hydration and leave your dry skin feeling smooth and soft.
The Inkey List Squalane
Squalane is one of my favourite skincare ingredients, it’s super hydrating and is the perfect facial oil for glowing skin. This particular product from The Inkey List is one of the best, and most affordable, products I’ve come across.
The Ordinary 100% Cold-Pressed Virgin Marula Oil
This oil is great for severely dry skin, it’s what I reach for in the Winter when my skin can get super dry and flaky. It always works wonders when used as pre-shampoo treatment for your hair!
Superdrug Vitamin E Skin Oil
I love face oils with Vitamin E, not only does it make my skin dewy and radiant but it also helps to protect against environmental damage. This oil is on the heavier side so if you don’t have super dry skin you may find it greasy.
Facial oils for combination skin
With combination skin you have a bit more freedom with formulas than someone with super oily skin, but it’s still probably a good idea to avoid anything too heavy.
Indeed Labs Squalane Facial Oil
Another great Squalane oil from Indeed Labs, this one is slightly thinner than The Inkey List’s product which makes it far more suitable for people with combination skin.
Sunday Riley C.E.O Glow
Another pricy product that I would pay for over and over again. This face oil is made using Vitamin C and Turmeric and has made such a difference in the brightness and tone of my skin.
The Ordinary 100% Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil
Rosehip oil is a very common oil that a lot of people use as it delivers so many benefits. It helps target early signs of aging, delivers seriously radiant skin and a whole lot of hydration.
Facial oils for acne-prone skin
With acne-prone skin, you want something that’s going to repair and soothe your skin while being non-comedogenic.
Facial oils can help acne but you also need to be careful you don’t choose a facial that clogs pores.
Beauty Pie Plantastic Overnight Miracle Oil
This is a beautifully nourishing oil that is formulated with an amazing set of oils to really help whip your skin back into shape. It also contains Bakuchiol which studies have shown mimics some of the benefits you see from using retinol.
Garden of Wisdom 100% Pure Prickly Pear Seed Oil
Prickly pear is an oil that I don’t hear too much about for some reason, despite it being an insanely effective ingredient at calming down inflammation and fading away dark spots and acne scars.
Pai Rosehip BioRegenerate Oil
When my skin is struggling this is always the oil that I use, it really helps to fade any acne scars and always manages to calm my skin down better than any other product. This is one of my absolute holy grail skincare products.
Where else can you use facial oil?
Although I love using these oils on my face, there are plenty of other ways that you can use the oils.
Now while I wouldn’t recommend using the Sunday Riley or Herbivore oils anywhere other than your face (they’re way too expensive for me to even consider putting them somewhere else), some of the more affordable single-ingredient oils can be used elsewhere in your beauty routine.
Firstly is your hair. You can either put a few drops into dry hair to help it look more shiny and to get rid of any dry ends. Where my hair is thin and quick to get greasy, I like to use a few drops of oil as a pre-shampoo treatment for a few minutes before getting into the shower.
Especially in the winter when my skin is dry and rough I like to add a few drops of oil into my daily body moisturiser for that extra hit of nourishment.
Finally I use these oils on my nails, it helps to keep them moisturised as well as keeping your cuticles nice and healthy.
Yessss! I love this post because I’ve been super into facial oils lately. They’re just so luxe and the skin benefits are amazing!
-Ashley
Le Stylo Rouge
Great and in-depth post on facial oils! My fave is the Superdrug Vitamin E skin oil & the C.E.O Glow oil! I really love glowy + radiant skin so these are no-brainers! Thanks for the deets!
Cheers,
Sara
https://thecliqueblog.com
Ooh! I have to admit, I’ve never really used oils on my face before. I have combination so it’s been tough to try an oil and look like I dunked my face in grease haha Loved the list you provided. Thanks for sharing x
http://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com
I love using facial oils! Many of these I have never heard of so thanks for sharing.
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
I have not done much research on facial oils, and really appreciate this post! I’ll definitely look into some of these options. =)
I hope you are having a great week!
Amber
Visit AvecAmber.com
Follow Avec Amber on Bloglovin
This is really useful! I’m thinking of incorporating facial oils into my routine and this post came just in time.
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
There are so many amazing face oils out there. I would love to try the ordinary brand. I’m currently using a k-beauty one.
http://www.fashionradi.com
I love facial oils – the miracle oil by Elizabeth Arden is one of my all time favourites. This was a really informative read; I’ve been doing my skincare routine wrong though so I shall fix that! xx
mia // https://beautiful-inspiring-creative-life.com/
This was such an interesting post, I loved reading it! I’m a bit scared of face oils because I have combination skin and I always felt like face oils would make me breakout but you explained this so well, I now know I need to add a face oil to my routine!
Great post, I absolutely love the tips and tricks when it comes to this skincare element. I’m clueless with oils so really enjoyed this. The Versed oil is going on my wishlist!
Anika | chaptersofmay.com
What an interesting post. I don’t know as much about skincare as I should do so this was so informative. I like the sound of the one from the ordinary because my skin is really dry at the minute xx
Hannah | https://luxuryblush.co.uk/
Such a great post!
I really hate it when people push the rhetoric that breakout-prone skin shouldn’t use oils. I have severely acneic ski that breaks out so easily, but a really good oil will actually help with this rather than make it worse. Of course, there are plenty of oils that will make things much worse, but the right oil can be a game-changer!
Beauty Geek Blog
Thanks so much for teaching me something new today! I’ve never really looked into face oils and wasn’t really sure if they were great for my skin (I have really dry skin). But I will definitely check out some of these that you mentioned specifically for dry skin!
Wishing you a beautiful rest of your week, Molly!
Make Life Marvelous
I think face oils are great for anyone with dry skin, or mature skin or for people that live in cold dry climates. Thanks for the round up on these oils. I an using one now but will need a new one in the near future so will have to try one of these. Thanks for posting
Allie of
http://www.allienyc.com
I’ve been meaning to try Pai’s facial oil, sounds so good! x
Zoey | http://www.zoeyolivia.com
What a great collection of facial oils! I love the Sunday Riley one and have been wanting to Pressed Virgin Marula Oil for my dry skin!
Eileen | yesmissy.com
Great choice and review. These all sound so good!!
Cheers,
Diana, Guid to Choose Bridal Jewellery
I really love The Ordinary 100% Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil because even though I have naturally oily skin, I can really feel the benefits from applying it to my face every other night (especially during winter when my skin dries up from the heater). Roseship is amazing and i honestly believe every woman should try it out. What’s best, the one from TO has a great price (I really love TO products).
Hugs, Ana
http://www.labellesociety.com
This is such an informative and helpful post! I didn’t know I needed to add face oils to my skincare routine, I mainly try to avoid them because I hate that heavy/oily feeling on my skin and thought it was optional. But I’ll defiently have to check these out!
Thank you for sharing!
Loren | Plaid and Sugar
So many here I want to try! Rosehip is always my go to and I love the PAI one! xx
Danielle’s Beauty Blog
I love using facial oils so much! I have really dry skin so it’s a game changer for me. I need to try rosehip oil! I’ve heard such great things about it!
Jill
https://jilliancecilia.com/
I love using face oils, they just leave your skin feeling wonderful, don’t they? I like to use rosehip oil with a few drops of lavender for a real pampering feeling. Also, use an amethyst roller to help soak it in.
Thanks for sharing!
Aimsy xoxo
Aimsy’s Antics
This is such a helpful post! I use facial oils in the winter and they really help with my dry skin. I’ve been wanting to try the Inkey List Squalane! Thanks for sharing your recommendations!
Jill – Doused in Pink
Squalane is an amazing ingredient – love the Indeed Labs formula in particular!
Jasmine xx
Jasmine Talks Beauty
So many helpful tips! I tried the Beauty Counter face oils two years ago and they caused such bad acne for a long time… so now I’m scared to try face oil again, but I really want to get into it!
Miles of smiles,
Grace
gracefulrags.com