Many people are still horrified at the idea of using an oil on the skin, especially if they have an oiler complexion, however, facial (and body!) oils are a key part in anti-ageing skincare no matter what your skin type. 

Why should you use Facial Oils? 

Creams, gels and serums have been the main options in mainstream anti-ageing skincare for many years in beauty. However, the product format of a gel serum or cream isn’t effective for 'anti-ageing' 

Most gels and creams contain synthetic chemicals, one of the most frequently used ingredients in other ‘natural’ brands is propylene glycol. Propylene glycol is used as a humectant and helps ingredients penetrate the skin and it enhances the texture of products, it makes them feel ‘nourishing’.  Although other products would say that they use this in ‘safe’ amounts, why would you want to put something like that on and absorbed into your skin. The only benefit there is to this is for a product formulator, not to the end-user. The other issue with Propylene Glycol is that it absorbs water, so when it’s used in skincare it dehydrates the skin, even in formulas that claim to be hydrating. 

Secondly, we need to look at molecule size, for a product to be anti-ageing, it needs to be absorbed into the skin at the deeper Hypodermis areas. Creams, gels and serums tend to have larger molecule size so they sit on the surface of the skin, this can make your skin feel good but, because it’s not being absorbed it’s not doing anything more than that. You want the preventative or rejuvenating molecules to penetrate the skin and work on factors that will make a long-lasting difference to your skin: new cells, elastins, collagens and fibres all of which are much further into the dermis. 

Why Natural OIls work

We all know that we should be eating lots of vegetables and fruit and how important they are to keep us healthy. The key element within the fruit and veg that keeps us healthy is in the natural oils of the fruit and veg (yes, all plants have a natural oil as its absolute essence). It is within this oil that all the repairing, rebuilding fatty and amino acids live. These plant oils contain high levels of therapeutic grade antioxidants which are also  easily absorbed  because they are smaller molecules.

Why are antioxidants so important? 

Scientists agree globally that ageing is down to one critical factor: oxidative stress from free radicals. This is about 80% of the reason why we decay over time and ultimately die. It's essentially the ‘rusting’ of human beings at a cellular level. If we can stop this oxidative stress we slow down the ageing process and the only way we can do this is antioxidants. It therefore makes sense to use the most powerful concentrated form of these antioxidants i.e natural plant oils. BUT, buyer beware! Not all plant oils are created equally, Our founders John and Karen have spent 20 years researching and picking the best oils and sourcing the purest, most therapeutic versions of these to make our products. Research has shown that it is these oils, in our expert formulations which slow down free radical damage, which is at least 80% of the cause of ageing skin wrinkles, fine lines.

Should I be using oils even if my skin is oily?

The interesting thing about pure, therapeutic plant oils, in the right combination, they can regulate your oily skin by balancing your sebaceous gland and stopping the overproduction of oil. Certain fruit oils can also break up the oils on the surface of the skin, preventing breakouts and blocked pores. 

How should I use facial oils?

Facial oils should be used after cleansing the skin to get the ingredients into the skin, a cream should then be applied over the oil to seal the facial oil into your skin. 

"If you have very dry skin, on the face or on the body, massage the oil into damp skin, this helps seal water, hydrate the skin and leaves the skin feeling wonderfully soft and moisturised" says John, beauty expert and co-founder.

For any more information, you can email John for personalised advice on john@naturalelementsskincare.com 

Which Natural Elements Facial Oil is right for me?