Healthy Oils for Beautiful Skin

  Before turning to clean products, if I ever heard about oils used in skincare, I would always think: how grose. Oils must be sticky, greasy, and would just sit on your skin all day, right? Turns out: completely wrong!

  Vegetable oils contain numerous beneficial ingredients that nourish and moisturize the skin. They are very easily absorbed, and do not just sit on your skin as a layer of oil. They are effective in fighting signs of aging, regenerating skin, calming breakouts, moisturizing. Vegetable oils contain amino acids and vitamins that are vital for healthy and glowing skin.

   Another impressive property of oil is its multitasking ability. Oils can be used as moisturizers, instead of expensive serums, as make-up removers, body moisturizers, shaving creams, acne treatments, hair treatments and probably much more!

  Today I will briefly go through some of the most beneficial beauty oils, their properties and uses. I hope you find it useful and interesting!

Olive Oil

Olive oil is a well-known source of amino acids and vitamins when added to fresh food. What is probably a little less known is the cosmetic properties of pure virgin olive oil. It consists of 77% monosaturated fatty acids, 14% saturated fatty acids, and 9% polysaturated fatty acids, vegetable mucilage, Vitamin E and Vitamin K. Olive oil can be applied to skin, especially dry patches like elbows and great for nails. It is fantastic at restoring dry hair: just rub some very lightly warmed olive oil onto your hair ends and/or head scalp before bed, pop a towel on your pillow and wash out in the morning. Result: beautifully moisturized silky hair!

Coconut oil

This is a true multi-tasking wonder oil! For a while considered unhealthy because it mostly consists of saturated fat, it is now recognized that the structure of the fats is special. Saturated fat consists of strands of fatty acids. The fatty acids in turn consist of carbon chains of varying length with hydrogen atoms attached. What is special about coconut oil is that its carbon chains are made up of medium-chain fatty acids, which may be more easily absorbed and metabolized by our bodies than long-chain fatty acids (being either saturated or unsaturated). Medium-chain fatty acids are said to be rejuvenating for the skin. Coconut oil is therefore moisturizing and is easily absorbed. In addition, it has great antiseptic properties: it is effective against fighting a variety of infections due to its anti-fungal, antiviral and antibacterial properties.  

 The topical uses of coconut oil are countless: moisturizing, amazing natural make-up remover (even for eyes), shaving, hair treatment, it can even be used as a deodorant! And on top of everything, smells divine too... 

Rosehip oil

  Rosehip oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids. It has a very high absorbing level, penetrating the skin and restoring the needed moisture balance. Rosehip oil is rich in many vitamins and essential fatty acids. It contains vitamin A (great for balancing skin and fighting signs of aging), Omega 6 oils (for protecting the natural barrier of our cells to environmental damage, critical for cell membrane structures), Omega 9 (for supple and moist skin), Omega 3's (for softening and moisturizing the skin, Lycopene (a powerful antioxidant found in the skin of the rosehip), Beta-Carotene (a pro-vitamin A and an antioxidant to help sun-damaged skin).
  It is well known that rosehip oil can help fight signs of aging and scar healing. What is a little less known is that rosehip oil can help heal breakouts as well, due to its healing and anti-inflammatory properties. And it is less irritating to the skin than tea tree oil or even lavender oil. 

Jojoba Oil

  Jojoba oil is very beneficial for skin. It is very rich in natural elements such as zinc, copper, silicon, iodine, chromium, Vitamins E and B group and various acids. Jojoba oil has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, moisturizing and soothing properties.  Because of these, jojoba oil is great for moisturizing the skin, nourishing it and making it more glowing. Jojoba oil is also considered to be good acne treatment as it is soothing and anti-inflammatory. 

Argan Oil

Last but most definitely not least we have argan oil. Argan oil is extracted from the kernels of the argan tree, which grow predominantly in Morocco, it is one of the rarest and most expensive oils.  Argan tree groves can survive 125-450 years! Berber women have long known the healing power of argan oil and have been using it to protect their skin, nails and hair against the harsh weather conditions for centuries. Argan oil is now gaining popularity in Western skincare also. It contains 80% unsaturated fatty acids, and 0.8% plant sterols, which improve skin metabolism, reduce inflammation and promote moisture retention. In addition, argan oil has extremely high content of Vitamin E. Because of all these wonderful contents, argan oil is considered to be a great anti-aging oil. It is said to help reduce wrinkles by restoring the skin's hydro-lipid layer.