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Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Oils in your skin care products

There is a misconception that oil in products (moisturizers) is a bad thing. I disagree. Oil-free products have to add fillers and emollients in order to make their product smooth and spreadable. If a product isn’t using oil(s), it is probably using synthetic, nonnutritive ingredients to replace natural oils.

High-quality, vegetal (vegetable) oils are not detrimental to an oilier skin type; petroleum derived oils, like mineral oil, probably are. Please do not shy away from using “oil” in your moisturizers if you have oily or normal to oily/combination skin. If the product is made for your skin type, you should be fine—as long as it is a quality product. As I've talked about in this blog, cheaper products with cheap ingredients (like mineral oil) are probably not going to work well if you have problem skin.

Here is a short list of oils that can be found in moisturizers. These oils (vegetable and other) are preferable to mineral oil or petroleum derived ingredients. This list is not every oil that is available, but it gives you something to compare with the products you are using. Note: termed vegetable oils, most of the following come from nuts and seeds:
  • Almond Oil, Sweet Almond Oil
  • Castor Oil
  • Coconut Oil, Hydrogenated Coconut Oil
  • Corn Oil
  • Olive Oil
  • Palm Kernel Oil, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil
  • Pumpkin Seed Oil
  • Shea Butter
  • Soybean Oil
  • Sunflower Seed Oil
  • Wheat Germ Oil

Just because you are using a moisturizer with one or more of these oils in it doesn’t mean it will turn out to be a great product for you. But if you find your creams have mineral oil or petroleum listed as the main ingredient, I would opt for a moisturizer that contained more organic, “natural” ingredients and vegetable oils such as those in this list.

Please note: If you have internal allergies (food allergies) to any of the above, more than likely they will not make good ingredients in a topical skin care product—for you.

For more information, see: