On the other side of the fence are those who favour facial oils. To be completely honest I sit firmly in the middle enjoying the benefits that both can give me. I use a facial oil every morning but I always follow up with a good quality moisturiser with a sun screen. In the evening I use oil as this is when our skin is most dehydrated and it gets a full night of un interrupted working time.
We hear and read a lot these days about the many moisturisers on the market and their benefits but I thought you might like to know a little more about facial oils and why I think they are worth trying.
Facial oils are free from water and contain only plant oils which are rich in varying degrees of vitamins, antioxidants, minerals and fatty acids. Prepared facial oils consist of a base oil such as almond or jojoba oil in which an essential oil (or seed oil) such as rosehip or pomegranate oil can be diluted.
Facial oils are applied directly to the skin, whether it's your face or entire body and because oil dissolves into the skin easily, it is a great delivery system for beneficial nutrients. Prepared oils also soften the skin, help the skin to naturally retain moisture and they protect and help regenerate skin cells.
'What !?' I hear you say 'How can they do all this?' Well put simply, it's been proven that certain acids in the oils can help maintain and repair skin cells, whilst at the same time they inhibit skin damage and inflammation which is ageing.
When applying oil you need only a few drops, if you add too much you will overload the skin.
Drop the oil into the palm of your hand and gently rub your hands together to warm it up. This will help to spread the oil evenly over dry skin. Alternatively you can apply whilst your skin is damp (but not wet!)
Always massage the oil into your skin well. Take a bit of time and enjoy a few moments to do a proper job.
I feel massaging your face is an important part of any beauty routine. I like to pull all sort of faces in the mirror to wake up the muscles and give the face a bit of a workout. When massaging, I use the palm of my hand in an upward motion, incorporating my face, neck and decolletage. Always avoid going too close to your eyes. As oil will slowly work it's way across your face don't overload the eye area or you'll find that a very small amount will go into the eye and although this isn't dangerous, it's a bit uncomfortable especially if you wear contact lenses.
There are lots of facial oils on the high street but here a few of my favourites:
Trilogy Rosehip Oil £18
Tried, tested and bought for friends. This is a lovely light oil, great for all skin types.
I'm currently loving this oil, great for dry / combination skin.
Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate £35
Little bit more expensive but a great oil full of omega rich primrose oil and smells gorgeous.
Again a little pricey but a very little goes a long way. This is great for very dry skin and best applied at night. If this one is too rich for your face you can use it on your elbows and other dry areas on you body.
If you want to know more about creating your own facial oils check out this website:
http://www.naturalbeautyworkshop.com/my_weblog/2007/12/creating-moistu.html
