| I love a good plant oil. They are the foundation to many wonderful natural skin care products – facial oils, serums, cleansers, moisturisers, body oils and lotions. They’re pretty much in everything except for water based hydrosols & toners. Not only do they hydrate, nourish and make our skin feel silky soft, they are rich in fatty acids which are essential to healthy, radiant looking skin. So before I spill on specific oils, it’s important to understand how fatty acids relate with our skin. |
What are Fatty Acids?
| Our bodies require fatty acids to maintain good health. Our skin is also comprised of fatty acids, so they are equally important for good skin health. And plant oils, mostly seed and nut oils are comprised of fatty acids. Most fatty acids our bodies can produce, but there are 2 that it can’t. These are known as Essential Fatty Acids (EFA). Omega 3, Fish Oils, Omega 6 ring a bell? Now if our body is deficient in certain fatty acids, we can take supplements or increase our diet intake to address. Well if our skin is deficient in certain fatty acids, we can also address by apply nourishing plant oils that are readily absorbed in to the skin. Let’s first take a look at the Essential Fatty Acids given these are the ones our bodies can’t produce. |
Linolenic Acid - Omega 3
 fish oil is one of the highest sources of omega 3 | Fish oil is the one of the highest sources of Omega 3 and is commonly subscribed for joint swelling and inflammation and heart and cardiovascular health. In relation to the skin, linolenic acid provides moisture as well as anti-inflammatory benefits so is excellent for dry skin. Dry as in it can never seem to get enough moisture, no matter what you put on. Below plant oils high in Linolenic Acid. After all, you don’t want to be putting fish oil on your face.
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Linoleic Acid - Omega 6
 the sunflower head is made up of tiny little flowers | This is a great addition to any skincare product because it helps build and maintain our skin’s natural barrier function which is vital in keeping all the bad stuff out – dirt, grime, bacteria, toxins – all the stuff we can do without. It’s also excellent at keeping the moisture in. Usually people with dry skin have a deficiency in linoleic acid. Plus as an anti-inflammatory, studies have shown it works well with oily, acne type skin. Look for products containing one of the following oils:
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Gamma Linolenic Acid - Omega 6
 the evening primrose flower only blooms at night | This is the inflammation reducer of the fatty acids, so is great for calming and soothing angry, irritated skin – especially the eczema, dermatitis, rosacea type. It also absorbs in to the skin really quickly and in several studies has proven to reduce transepidermal water loss. TEWL is a fancy way of saying the amount of water that passes through our skin from the inside out. The more water our skin loses, the drier it becomes, particularly as we get older. So for dry skin, we want to look for products containing ingredients that reduce TEWL. Oils high in GLA are not so every day:
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| There's one more fatty acid I’d like to cover that our body can produce because it’s also found in many of the oils used in skin care products. |
Oleic Acid - Omega 9
 oil is pressed from the fruit of the avocado, not the seed like most other oils | Oleic acid is actually found in our sebum. Because it closely mimics sebum it adds moisture to our skin, is easily absorbed and aids penetration of other lovely active ingredients. However those with oily, congested acne prone skin also tend to have a high amount of oleic acid in their sebum. So if this is you, oils high in oleic acid are best avoided.
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| That’s probably enough to absorb for one day. Over the next few posts I'll cover the fun stuff - my favourite oils and how I use them with different skin types. Stay tuned............Nicole @ Drift Facial Lounge x |
