With blends to treat every skin type or woe, natural oils might just be the best beauty fix out there…
Words: Jessica Lacey
The world of beauty can be lightening paced, with new hi-tech formulations appearing what feels like weekly, but one skin saviour has survived millennia – and that’s the humble oil.
Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and burial sites depict that early tribes used a variety of plant-based oils in their bathing rituals, including castor, olive, sesame and moringa oils. “Botanical oils have been used for thousands of years across the world to protect, moisten and nourish the skin,” says medical herbalist and renowned skin expert, Dr Mariano Spiezia of InLight Beauty. “They’re an excellent natural source of skin-loving nutrients such as essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.”
Oils are capable of feeding, hydrating, treating, calming, and even cleaning our skin, but how can something so basic rival the latest sci-fi serum? It has a lot to do with something called biocompatibility. Much of our skin is made up of lipids very similar to the anatomy of oil, and therefore readily accepts it. “Skin is impermeable, so water-based products evaporate, rather than penetrate the deeper layers with nutrients. Oils are also water-free so there’s no dilution and no need for synthetic preservatives,” explains Dr Spiezia.
The recent trend of multiple skincare steps adopted from Eastern cultures has left a lot of us with confused complexions, suffering from serious product overload. “People go overboard with products, creating problems they then need to correct by using further products. Many dry out the skin and then require others to replenish it,” explains Micaela Nisbet, oil worshipper and founder of indie skincare brand Neighbourhood Botanicals. She heralds from the Australian hippie beach culture of surfing every day with hair soaked in almond oil and bodies drenched in plant oils. “We need to scale back and oils are a sure, natural route to rectifying the problems we’ve created.”
Super seeds and flower power
Oils can be split into two identifiable camps with very different properties; vegetal/plant oils and essential oils. Plant oils are naturally derived from the fatty parts of the plant such as seeds, kernels, nuts and fruits. They are rich in essential fatty acids and vitamins, the most common you’d see being sweet almond oil, rosehip oil, sesame seed oil and jojoba seed oil. These vegetal oils have cascading levels of penetration a
