Ask Jade No 2
“If I use face oils, do I still have to use a moisturizer?”
It’s getting colder out, and you’re doing your best to keep your skin fully hydrated, while trying not to overload your face with unnecessary products of course. Balancing serums, face oils, and creams. You skin care pro, you. So, just what does your skin actually need? Don’t be fooled into thinking you need 3 different night creams and a dozen face oils for a glowing complexion. For optimal cold weather skincare – you reallyonly need one, the rest is gravy.
Truth be told, much of the skin care industry is focussed on creating single use products with single use results, which leads to complicated skin care routines that cost too much money and leave you with a 25-step skin care routine for no good reason. “Wouldn’t it just be easier to have one product that does everything you need instead?” Yeah, we thought so to. Let’s break it down:
Your body already produces oil:
Without any additional product, your body’s version of a moisturizer is secreting oils from glands both on the top of your skin, called the stratum corneum, and the inner layer of your skin, called the sebum. Now, not to get all science-y on you, but every oil is hydrophobic. This means that it wants to trap water and keep it from escaping. Think of your skin as a bunch of bricks, and the oils naturally being secreted on your skin as the mortar sealing them all together. When your skin isn’t producing enough oil(mortar), the water seeps through the bricks and disappears. This is what we call dehydration! Ensuring that your skin has a healthy amount of oil present keeps the skin plump, smooth and moisturized. What a perfect world that would be.
Those who have dry skin are typically not producing enough sebum on their own, allowing these “bricks” to come apart, and the water once trapped inside is lost without enough oil present to trap it. On the other hand, those with oily skin are generally producing too much sebum, and opposite occurs.
So, what is a face oil designed to do?
Face oils are designed to supplement the natural oils that your skin isn’t, (or is) producing. The idea is that the additional oils will compensate for water loss, and help restore your skin’s moisture barrier, keeping your skin moisturized for longer. Depending on the oil, whether it be jojoba, rosehip, maracuja, or others, you may very well be getting additional benefits such as anti-inflammatories or antioxidants. Full disclaimer: these are just add-ons – the most prominent feature these face oils present is there moisturizing ability.
Ok, now what’s the difference between a face oil and a face cream?
A face oil is an occlusive product – meaning that it traps moisture within the skin, but it doesn’t help to create more of it. So, what if you need more of it? A good, well rounded face cream has both occlusive and humectant properties. A humectant is any ingredient that can bring in more hydration to your skin, either by pulling it from the air around it or from other water-based products. Think of humectants as a force that will draw in moisture, while the occlusive will lock that moisture in. You need both of these things to keep a healthy, happy sebum!
The million-dollar question: “If I use face oils, do I still have to use a moisturizer?”
YES! But you already knew that - you’re so smart. A well rounded face cream has everything you need for a successful skin barrier, with both humectant, and occlusive ingredients to target all avenues of hydration + moisture in a single product. We’re going to brag for just a sec, because our Truly Moisturizing Face Cream includes x4 different face oils and x4 different humectants, so you don’t have to buy 13 different products to get the job done.
Are face oils bad?
Not at all sister. Face oils are a great way to encourage the skin to retain more of its own water quantity - and are especially handy for those struggling with dry skin. Where companies go wrong is failing to disclose that face oils are often included in their serums, cleansers, face creams, and other products which already contribute to water retention. To say that individual face oils are a required part of everyone’s skin care regime is some stellar marketing, but it definitely doesn’t apply to everyone!
- Jade xo
We recommend:Truly Moisturizing Face Cream