There’s something magical about makeup’s ability to transform your look – and mood. Something as simple as a sweeping cat eye or a bold lip can dramatically change your energy! But, in order for makeup artistry to have its best effect, it’s crucial to care for the canvas – your skin.
Face oils help maintain the skin’s natural glow, by locking moisture and nutrients into its outermost layer. Healthy skin is key to ensuring facial makeup can be applied smoothly, and that it stays flawless throughout the day, without any unwanted cracking, flaking, or peeling!
Skincare oils not only deliver nutrition to the protective lipid layer of the epidermis, but also penetrate deeper layers of the skin. Lipophilic (or fat-loving) oils permeate the lipid layer to deliver water and active compounds to the dermis layer underneath. These bioactive ingredients stream oxygen and micronutrients through the blood of the dermis, fortifying the elastin fiber and collagen matrix that maintains the skin’s structure – in other words, enhancing its firmness and youthful appearance. Thick facial creams, on the other hand, can create a waxy layer of residue that clogs pores and makes makeup appear uneven.
Face Oil Works for Every Season
SPRING
As much as we all love a fresh spring breeze, this is the season when pollen-filled winds can leave your skin looking red and inflamed. Petroleum-based products, especially those with softening agents, often contain allergens that exacerbate redness and inflammation. Face oils are a great alternative, as they provide a protective barrier for the skin and keep environmental factors like pollen and free radicals from penetrating the epidermis. Many face oils also have natural antibacterial and antifungal properties, to keep skin free of harmful impurities.
SUMMER
Summer is the season of sun kissed skin – and sun damage. Vitamin-C rich oils like rose essential oil and neroli essential oil can effectively diminish sunspots, burns, and pigmentation – all signs of excessive sun exposure. Using face oils in warm weather may seem counterintuitive, but absorbent oils with clarifying ingredients like juniper berry and clove naturally disinfect skin, to keep pores clean despite summertime sweat!
FALL
Fall brings about dramatic shifts in weather that can wreak havoc on skin. As humidity lessens and winds pick up, skin dries out quickly. To prevent this, use lightweight face oil over your moisturizer to keep it from evaporating on your face. Fall is also a great time to use regenerative facial oils containing ingredients like sandalwood, to reverse summer sun damage and prep your skin for the winter months ahead.
WINTER
The lipids in face oil create a natural barrier that holds moisture close to the skin, to ensure your skin looks and feels hydrated, even in the face of harsh weather and winter storms. This is also the perfect season for a substantial night oil that provides deep skin repair and overnight moisture replacement.
Oils for Your Skin Type
DRY SKIN
It may be counterintuitive, but the face mists and sprays we tend to spritz our selves with in summer can have negative implications for moisture retention. When these sprays evaporate, they take water-soluble moisturizing compounds in the skin’s outer lipid layer with them. Oils strengthen this lipid barrier, creating a water sealant and protective barrier that keeps out free radicals and toxins.
OILY OR ACNE-PRONE SKIN
Excess oil production in the sebaceous glands clogs pores and hair follicles. Acne-causing bacteria can then cause the infection and inflammation that we experience as acne. Artificial drying agents can lead to skin breakage, creating a cycle of dryness and continued infection. Tea tree and clary sage oil mitigates excess oil production as they preserve sebum, for skin that feels hydrated even as natural oil production is limited!
SENSITIVE SKIN
Antibacterial and antifungal face oils may prevent infection and the resulting inflammation that causes sensitive skin to feel itchy and look red. Oils like azulene-rich chamomile are also beneficial for sensitive skin, as they have a deeply soothing and repairing effect on irritated skin.
MATURE SKIN
Face oils are especially beneficial – in fact, almost necessary – as the skin matures. Mature skin produces fewer lipids, becoming thinner over time and losing its ability to retain moisture as effectively. This leads not only to dryness, but also vulnerability to damage from the sun and bacteria. The right face oils can help the skin retain its natural moisture, and combat visible signs of aging. Rose oil is excellent at hydrating and nurturing maturing skin, while frankincense works at the cellular level to promote renewal and collagen production.
TIPS AND TRICKS
- For a long-lasting, dewy look, mix a drop of your favorite face oil into your foundation or tinted moisturizer before applying it. The lipophilic oils create a bond between make up and skin, for more staying power – and a natural looking glow.
- Walnut and avocado oils provide a great deep conditioning treatment for lips – dab some on before you go to bed at night, for smoother application of lip color the next day!
- Pure essential oils for face oils work hand-in-hand with facial peels and Retin-A products, which can strip skin of natural oils as they work to regenerate it. Highly emollient and healing face oils penetrate even more deeply into skin that has been recently peeled, and speed up the healing process.
- Use sweet almond or virgin coconut oil as a makeup remover. Both will remove makeup quickly and with minimal scrubbing, so you don’t aggravate your skin – especially the delicate area surrounding the eyes.
- Under-eye makeup and powder can look caked on as the day progresses – solve this problem by applying a small amount of face oil (especially one loaded with rose oil, like our Ultimate Brightening blend) under the eyes and around crows feet prior to applying make up. Not only will this prevent cakiness – it will also calm under-eye redness and brighten dark circles, for an instantly “awake” look.
- For dry patches on the skin, exfoliate with a gentle sugar and charcoal scrub, and then apply a light layer of oil. This will even out the texture of the skin and allow for smoother makeup application.
Stay tuned for more tips on keeping skin healthy, from the inside and out!
