Beauty oils: what they do and why you need them in your skincare regime
- Serums and essences are often the focus of skincare regimes, but there's one ingredient that will help them work even better – beauty oils
- Oils can address dullness, acne, irritation, and signs of ageing by creating a barrier that allows whatever else you have applied underneath to get to work
Many balk at the thought of using oils on their face; they see them as being too greasy, of no help for an oily skin type, or likely to end up all over their pillows. However, using oils can improve the look and health of your skin.
In humid Hong Kong, the heat, air pollution and icy cold air conditioning can be a lot for our skin to handle. A normal day out and about can leave your skin clogged, zapped, and overproducing natural oils. Because of this, people often conclude their skin type is oily when in fact it’s really dehydrated, and give beauty oils a wide berth even though they are the one thing that can really make a difference to their skin.
What do beauty oils do?
Oils are either emollient, which soften the skin, or occlusive, which trap moisture on the skin. They don’t themselves hydrate your skin, but instead create a top layer that traps whatever essence, serum, lotion or moisturiser you apply, allowing these to reach the deeper layers of your skin and perform to their full ability. This is why applying a beauty oil is always the last step in your skincare routine. If you apply an oil first, it will create a layer your lighter products can’t penetrate, and everything will go to waste.
