How Facial Oils Can Benefit Your Skin And How To Apply Them

Find out how facial oils can benefit your skin – yes, even greasy skin – and how best to apply them. Here's what you need to know

- Nthabiseng Makhokha

CLEANSING OILS

Oils for cleansing might seem a radical concept. After all, isn’t the whole point of cleansing to rid your skin of excess oil? Well, think again. Not only can the right oil act as an astringent, but it can help to stabilise and regulate your natural skin oil, or sebum.

Traditional cleansers contain surfactants, elements that remove things such as dirt, oil and makeup. They also add moisturise to the skin.

Oil cleansers also contain surfactants, but the surfactants don’t do the hard graft. Oils are lipophilic, which means they’re a special type of solvent that attracts other oils. This includes sebum and some oils found in makeup. The cleansing oil works by attracting and dissolving makeup and sebum. Once that’s done, the surfactants and another ingredient called an emulsifier combine the oils and make it possible for them to be rinsed off with water.

Cleansing oils are suitable for all skin types and can be used as makeup removers, followed up with a traditional face wash if preferred. There are just a few things to note:

Dry skin This skin type gets easily irritated, resulting in redness and sensitivity. If you have this skin type, avoid using fragranced oils, whether synthetic or natural fragrances.

Oily skin Using the wrong type of oil may cause even more oiliness, defeating the purpose. If you have oily skin, avoid using cleansing oils that are made of only one oil, or cleansing oils that don’t contain emulsifiers.