Oils extracted from plants are truly a vital part of our beauty regimens. Oils are rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and fats that contribute to the overall health of our skin. Plant-extracted oils like grape seed, argan, olive, raspberry seed, and many more help soften, heal, and protect our skin from extrinsic aging. Unsurprisingly, using oils for skin and hair care dates back centuries, all the way back to ancient Egypt! If you’re not using an oil in your skincare or haircare routine I promise you’ll be excited to add one after reading this article.

scrub me secret: The comedogenic scale is a scale used to rank how likely it is that a specific ingredient, such as oils will clog pores. Oils with a comedogenic rating of 0 are said to be the least pore-clogging while oils with a comedogenic rating of 5 are said to have the most pore-clogging properties. You can easily google an oil to check its comedogenic rating. This scale is best used as a loose guideline since a lot of past research done on the comedogenicity of a product is not human-tested research. Nonetheless, the scale is still a helpful tool.

Esthetician-Approved Oils for Skin

How Does the Skin Abosorb Oil?

Due to the scientific makeup of our skin and skin barrier, we are able to absorb oils through the layers of our skin. Our skin has something called a phospholipid bilayer that actually absorbs oils and fats much more so than water.

scrub me secret: I think I was late to the game on grape seed oil, or maybe it just wasn’t highlighted at all as a beauty product ingredient up until a few years ago. But either way, my original nourishing serum facial oil formulation didn’t contain grape seed oil. When I started learning more about this ingredient I knew I had to upgrade my facial oil by adding in grape seed.

scrub me secret: While both grape seed and jojoba oil are fairly easy to find as a stand-alone oil or in a facial care product, raspberry seed oil is a bit less common. I like the Ice Queen Face Oil from the Skinny Confidential and Savor Raspberry Seed Serum.

Oils and butter for your body:

scrub me secret: The Scrub Me whipped shea butter is a product I’ve been making for over 10 years now! Sales of this body butter always go way up in the colder, winter months. That’s because everyone’s skin is losing moisture due to dryer and cold air. The shea butter is so helpful for remedying that.

Oils for Healthy Hair

How Does the Hair Benefit From Oil?

Depending on the type of oil used and the nature of your hair, oils can be helpful for coating and strengthening your hair or for adding softness and shininess. Some hair types will absorb the fats and nutrients from the oils more easily than others. High porosity hair absorbs products more easily while low porosity hair cannot absorb items as well.

scrub me secret: my multipurpose balm is a product that’s really versatile. I made it with oils and waxes that have the ability to heal and protect dry and chapped areas. But I also made sure to make the recipe have both pumpkin seed and castor oil so you can comb in into brows or lashes for hair growth.

I always love learning about new ingredients and skincare items. What are your favorite oils for skin? Let me know in the comments!